First Cohort

Dr. Olajire Samson Olanrele holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China. His academic background integrates electrochemistry, catalysis, computational modeling, and materials science. His doctoral research focused on heterogeneous catalysis, renewable energy storage, and atomistic simulations (DFT,MD, Monte Carlo), with a particular emphasis on CO₂ electroreduction, ORR/OER in fuel cells, and the remediation of polysulfide shuttling in lithium-sulfur batteries.

At METU, Dr. Olanrele is conducting postdoctoral research under the ENRICH TOGETHER Fellowship. His research focuses on the ‘computational design of highly functionalized catalysts for CO₂ electroreduction, aiming to promote the formation of long-chain hydrocarbon products’. The project employs advanced simulation techniques to develop efficient and selective catalytic materials for carbon conversion.

Dr. Olanrele has authored publications in peer-reviewed journals and presented his work at international conferences. He is deeply committed to interdisciplinary research, particularly in integrating computational modeling with experimental efforts to address pressing challenges in energy and environmental sustainability.

He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemical Sciences at Mountain Top University, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Doğa Veske got his bachelor's degrees on Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2016), and on Physics (2017) from Middle East Technical University (METU). Then, with a Fulbright Fellowship he completed his PhD at Columbia University in 2022 working on gravitational wave observations and multimessenger astronomy. Between 2022 and 2024 he was a postdoc at the Institute of Theoretical Physics of Heidelberg University. In Fall 2024, he returned to METU with the International Early Career Researchers Fellowship of TÜBİTAK.

With the ENRICH-TOGETHER project at METU, he is working on the estimation of the depths of the mixed layers in the seas and oceans by using atmospheric muon flux. This innovative method can provide the estimations of the mixed layer depth, which is crucial for understanding the marine ecosystems, remotely without in-situ measurements.

Sinem Ayhan holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bologna, which she completed in 2014. Following her doctorate, she pursued research positions at various academic institutions in Germany, including the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) in Bonn, the University of Münster, the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin, and the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies in Regensburg.

Prior to her academic career, she gained substantial policy experience as an expert at the Undersecretariat of the Treasury in Turkey, where she worked for five years.

Ayhan’s early research addressed gender disparities in the Turkish labor market and the effects of employment policies. More recently, her work has focused on the intersection of climate change and labor economics.

In May 2025, she joined Middle East Technical University (METU) as a fellow of the ENRICH-TOGETHER program. During her fellowship, she is leading a research project on the labor market implications of the green and blue transitions in Turkey. The project aims to identify green jobs, assess the employment potential of the green economy, and examine job creation dynamics, with particular attention to gender imbalances during this transition.

Dohoon Kim is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University (METU), specializing in advanced cementless construction materials and radiation shielding technologies. He earned his Ph.D. in Urban Infrastructure Engineering from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), where his dissertation focused on the development of artificial aggregates using cementless binders for neutron and gamma-ray attenuation. He also holds a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering with a minor in Disaster Management Engineering from UNIST. His professional journey includes prior roles as a postdoctoral researcher at UNIST and as the founder and CEO of Shielding-AIMS, a startup focused on radiation shielding materials.

His current research at METU involves the AI-Optimized Electrochemical Carbonation of Construction and Demolition Waste (ACCEL project), funded by Horizon Europe. He has contributed to multiple national R&D initiatives in Korea, addressing topics such as fly ash-based neutron shielding materials, boron mine wastewater recycling for radiation shielding, slag-based concrete for 3D printing, and carbon-neutral cementless technologies. His core interests lie in the development and microstructural analysis of cementless binders, artificial lightweight aggregates, and electrochemical carbonation processes for sustainable infrastructure.

Dila Dönmez holds an MSc and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU) in Turkey. During her MSc, she focused on the production of Pickering emulsions in a stirred tank. She completed her Ph.D. in 2024 at The Ohio State University (OSU), where her research centered on encapsulating fish oil with glycated phospholipids using batch processing and reactive-extrusion methods. Following her postdoctoral work at OSU, where she specialized in extrusion-based encapsulation of bioactive compounds in pH-triggered natural polymer gels, Dila is now leading a new EU-funded project at METU. Her current research investigates the encapsulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) using Maillard-reacted plant-based proteins, employing reactive-extrusion methodology. Her work aims to enhance the stability, bioavailability, and delivery of bioactive compounds through innovative encapsulation technologies.