Professor Hakan Ürey has been a faculty member at Koç University in the College of Engineering since 2001 and has served as the Vice President for Research and Innovation since January 2024. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Middle East Technical University in 1992, followed by Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
He established the Optical Microsystems Laboratory (OML) at Koç University and successfully secured substantial national, industrial, and European research funding, notably receiving the prestigious ERC-Advanced grant in 2013. Professor Ürey’s research is interdisciplinary, focusing on optical and micromechanical systems and applications, novel 3D and augmented reality display technologies, as well as biomedical systems with applications in diagnostic tests, neuroscience, and ophthalmology.

He served as the chair of the Electrical Engineering department for three years and actively contributed to the boards of KUTTAM, KUAR, and N2STAR research centers. Professor Ürey has authored over 250 academic papers, numerous non-academic articles, and has delivered more than 50 invited talks at international conferences. He holds over 60 patents, all of which have been licensed by industry and have led to the founding of five spinoff companies from his laboratory. During his sabbatical leaves, he held visiting professorships at esteemed institutions such as Cambridge University, Boğaziçi University, and Stanford University.

His achievements have been recognized through various awards, including the TÜBA-GEBİP, TÜBİTAK-Encouragement, Sedat Simavi Science Award, Elginkan Technology Award, and Outstanding Faculty Award. Additionally, he has been honored thrice with the “En Başarılı Koçlular” award for projects and companies initiated in his laboratory. Professor Ürey is a member of the Science Academy Society of Türkiye and a Fellow of OPTICA.