Biography of the Principal Investigator


Dr. Tuncay Yalçınkaya
Professor
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Middle East Technical University (METU)
06800, Ankara, TÜRKİYE
: (+90-312) 210-4258
: (+90-312) 210-4250
: yalcinka@metu.edu.tr

I earned my BSc degree in Aerospace Engineering from Middle East Technical University in 2003. Subsequently, I attended the COMMAS (Computational Mechanics of Materials and Structures) course at the University of Stuttgart, where I obtained my MSc degree in Computational Mechanics in 2005 under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Miehe. Following this, I served as a PhD researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, where I completed my PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2011 under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Marc Geers. Following a postdoctoral grant at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre from 2010-2013, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford and as a Lecturer at St. Anne’s College, Oxford University, from 2013-2015. Since 2015, I have held the position of Lecturer, initially starting as an Assistant Professor, later promoted to Associate Professor, and then to Full Professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to visit esteemed institutions such as Monash University in Australia (2017), Doshisha University in Japan (2018), Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany (2019), and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (2020). I am actively engaged in professional organizations, being a member of EERA (European Energy Research Alliance), JPNM (Joint Program of Nuclear Materials), and ESIS (European Structural Integrity Society). Furthermore, I proudly serve as the national representative of Türkiye in ESIS.

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands 2011
  • M. Sc., Computational Mechanics, University of Stuttgart, Germany 2005
  • B. Sc., Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye 2003

Experience

  • Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, October 2025 - Present
  • Associate Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, September 2019 - October 2025
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, February 2015 - September 2019
  • Coordinator, Aerospace Engineering Program, Middle East Technical University, Northern Cyprus Campus, Kalkanli, NC, October 2017 - July 2018
  • Vice-Chair, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, December 2015 - July 2018
  • Lecturer in Engineering, St. Anne’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK 2014
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Oxford, Department of Engineering Science, Oxford, UK 2013-2014 (with Professor Alan Cocks)
  • Postdoctoral (Grantholder) Researcher, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport, Safety of Future Nuclear Reactors Unit, Petten, The Netherlands 2010-2013 (with Dr. Karl-Fredrik Nilsson.)
  • PhD Researcher, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands 2005-2010 (Advisor: Professor Marc Geers)
  • Research and Teaching Assistant, University of Stuttgart, Germany 2003-2005 (Advisor: Professor Christian Miehe)
  • Intern, ASELSAN Ankara, Türkiye 2002 Summer
  • Intern, First Air Supply and Maintenance Center, Eskisehir, Türkiye 2001 Summer

Visiting Positions

  • Visiting Associate Professor, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Freiberg, Singapore, January 2020
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Chair of Micromechanical Materials Modelling, The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany, July 2019
  • Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Materials and System Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, July 2018
  • Visiting Research Scientist, Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, July 2017

Professional Activities

Administrative Activities

  • Program Coordinator, Aerospace Engineering Program, Middle East Technical University North Cyprus Campus, Kalkanli, North Cyprus, October 2017-July 2018
  • Vice-Chair, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, December 2015-August 2018, Responsibilities: Graduate Studies, Procurement operations, Infrastructure
  • Erasmus Coordinator, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye, December 2015-October 2017 and January 2022 - Present

Editorial Activities

  • Associate Editor of International Journal of Material Forming (Springer), (05/12/2025 - Present)
  • International Advisory Committee Member of International Journal of Material Forming (Springer), (24/01/2021 - 05/12/2025)
  • Editorial Board Member of Computer Methods in Materials Science, (16/11/2020 - Present)
  • Editorial Board Member of ESIS Publishing House (ESIS - PH), (04/01/2020 - Present)
  • Regional Editorial Board Member of Frattura ed Integrità Strutturale (Fracture and Structural Integrity), (01/11/2019 - Present)
  • Special Issue Editor of the Procedia Structural Integrity, Proceedings Series for the International Workshop on Plasticity, Damage and Fracture of Engineering Materials (IWPDF)

Awards/Grants

  • ESIS fellow as of 2024
  • ESAFORM Scientific Prize 2014
  • Marie Curie Fellowship (Co-Funded Brain Circulation) - EC-FP7 Marie Curie Action, 2013-2015
  • Scholar of the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) during the whole study at University of Stuttgart 2003-2005
  • Scholar of TEV (Turkish Education Association) during whole study in METU, Ankara 1998-2003

Projects

  • Development of Fracture Toughness Calculation Methodologies for Steels Under Neutron Irradiation (Nötron ışınlamasına Maruz Kalan Çeliklerin Kırılma Tokluğu Hesaplamaları Üzerine Metot Geliştirme), 2411, TENMAK FÜZYON TEKNOLOJİLERİ ÇAĞRILARI, 2025 - 2027, PI, Ongoing.
  • Modeling of Plastic Material Behavior of Single Crystal Nickel Alloys, University-industry collaboration project with TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI), 2025 - 2026, PI, Ongoing.
  • Modeling the Cold Dwell Fatigue Behavior of Titanium Superalloy Microstructures in Gas Turbine Engine Components (Titanyum Süperalaşımlı Gaz Türbin Motor Bileşenlerine Ait Mikroyapıların Soğuk Bekleme Yorulma Davranışının Modellenmesi), TÜBİTAK 1002-A, 2024 - 2025, PI, Completed.
  • Coordination of the European Nuclear Materials Community for Energy Innovation (CONNECT-NM), HORIZON-EURATOM Project, 2024 - 2029, 43 European Partners, Ongoing.
  • European Materials Acceleration Center for Energy (EU-MACE), CA22123, 2023 - 2027, Management Committee member, and WG2, WG4, WG5 member, Ongoing.
  • Agricultural Revitalization in Higher Education Institutions of Asian Countries, ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE, 2023 - 2026, Ongoing.
  • Multiscale Modelling for Fusion and Fission Materials, H2020 (EUATOM) Project, 2017 - 2021, PI, WP3 (Deformation mechanisms at the grain scale in F/M steels) and WP4 (Channelling at the polycrystal scale in F/M steels), 20 European Partners, Completed.
  • SLIPLOC: SLIP LOCalization in irradiated steels and consequences on mechanical damage, EERA Pilot Project, 2016 - 2020, WP3 (Polycrystal simulations and experimental validation) leader, 10 European Partners (CEA, SCK-CEN, PSI, METU, CIEMAT, JRC-IET, CNRS/GPM-CNRS/CEMHTI, UPC, UA, IMDEA), Completed.
  • Modelling of damage initiation and fracture propagation in ductile materials through micromechanically consistent porous plasticity and cohesive zone modeling approaches (Sünek malzemelerde hasar başlangıcı ve kırılma ilerlemesinin mikromekanik olarak tutarlı porlu plastisite ve kohezif alan teknikleri ile modellenmesi), 117M106, TÜBİTAK 3501, 2017 - 2020, PI, Completed.
  • Strain gradient crystal plasticity modeling of polycrystal metals (Çok taneli metallerin gerinim gradyan kristal plastisite yöntemi ile modellenmesi), 215M381, TÜBİTAK 3001, 2016 - 2017, PI, Completed.
  • Micromechanical modelling of size dependent plasticity behavior in polycrystalline materials (Çok taneli metallerde buyukluge bagli plastisite davranisinin mikromekanik modellenmesi), BAP-08-11-2016-031, ODTU BAP (METU Scientific Research Project), 2016-2017, PI, Completed.
  • Plastic microstructure evolution in metallic materials, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, (COFUND), 2013 - 2015, PI, Completed.

Memberships

  • EERA - European Energy Research Alliance
  • ESIS - European Structural Integrity Society
  • ESIS National Group Responsible/Chairman for Türkiye
  • ICF - International Congress on Fracture

Supervised Theses

Talks

  1. Multi-scale modeling of damage and fracture to enable sustainable next-generation energy materials and technologies
    25 February 2026, EU-MACE MC meeting and Joint workshop (EERA&AMPEA&E3S) on Sustainability in next generation energy materials and technologies, Maison Irène & Frédéric Joliot Curie, Brussels, Belgium

  2. Opening Talk of IWPDF2025
    24 September 2025, 4th International Workshop on Plasticity, Damage and Fracture of Engineering Materials (IWDPF2025), İstanbul, Türkiye

  3. Uncoupled Damage Modeling in Flow Forming Processes: An Assessment of Failure Mechanisms
    5 June 2025, The 20th International Conference on Strength of Materials, Kyoto, Japan

  4. Phase field modeling of fracture in dual phase microstructures
    24 September 2024, The 11th International Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling (MMM11), Prague Congress Center, Prague, Czech Republic

  5. Opening Talk of IWPDF2023
    4 October 2023, 3rd International Workshop on Plasticity, Damage and Fracture of Engineering Materials (IWDPF2023), İstanbul, Türkiye

  6. Phase field modeling of ductile fracture andapplication in metal forming
    21 April 2023, International ESAFORM Conference 2023 (ESAFORM 2023), AGH-UST, Kraków, Poland

  7. Microplasticity and related size effects, damage and fracture in polycrystalline metallic alloys
    14 January 2022, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Aachen, Germany - INVITED TALK.

  8. Micromechanical modelling of inter-granular damage and fracture in polycrystalline aggregates
    30 January 2020, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore - INVITED TALK.

  9. Micro-mechanical Modelling of Plasticity, Damage and Fracture in Metallic Materials
    1 August, 2019, King’s College London, London, UK - INVITED TALK.

  10. Modelling of inter-granular damage and fracture in polycrystalline aggregates
    24 July, 2019, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany - INVITED TALK.

  11. Micromechanically motivated inter-granular cracking in polycrystalline aggregates
    26 June, 2019, 6th International Conference on Material Modelling, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

  12. Physics based cohesive zone relations for intergranular cracking
    19 January, 2019, 18th-GAMM-Seminar on Microstructures 2019, WIAS Berlin, Erhard Schmidt lecture hall, Berlin, Germany

  13. Inter-Granular Cracking through Micro-Plasticity and Cohesive Zone Modeling
    25 October, 2018, Workshop on Plasticity, Damage and Fracture of Engineering Materials, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Ankara, Turkey - INVITED TALK

  14. Experiences through an International Mobility Program
    22 October 2018, Successful Cofund Researchers, Co-Funded Brain Circulation Scheme2 (CoCirculation2) Kick – Off Meeting at Tubitak, Ankara, Turkey - INVITED TALK

  15. Micromechanical Modelling of Inter-Granular Localization
    Damage and Fracture, 27 August, 2018, 22nd European Conference on Fracture - ECF22, Belgrade, Serbia

  16. Crystal Plasticity: Grain Boundary Microstructure Formulation
    21 July, 2018, Mechanical and System Engineering Department, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan - INVITED TALK

  17. Grain Boundaries in Polycrystalline Plasticity
    4 July, 2018, 10th European Solid Mechanics Conference, Bologna, Italy

  18. Three Dimensional Grain Boundary Modeling in Polycrystalline Plasticity
    24 April, 2018, 21st ESAFORM Conference on Material Forming, Palermo, Italy

  19. Size Effect in Polycrystal Plasticity
    6 September, 2017, COMPLAS 2017 Conference, UPC, Barcelona, Spain - INVITED TALK at Size-effects in Metal Plasticity Minisymposium

  20. Intra- and Inter-granular microstructure evolution in plasticity
    25 August, 2017, Experimental and modeling aspects of multi-scale deformation heterogeneity Workshop, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

  21. Microstructure evolution in plasticity
    19 July, 2017, Materials Engineernig Department, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

  22. Intrinsic and Statistical Size Effects in Microforming
    26 April, 2017, 20th ESAFORM Conference on Material Forming, 26-28 April 2017, Dublin, Ireland

  23. Microstructure evolution in plasticity
    24 August, 2016, 24th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ICTAM 2016) Conference, 21-26 August, 2016, Montreal, Canada

  24. Inter-granular Microstructure Formation and Evolution Through Crystal Plasticity
    28 July, 2016, 12th World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM2016) Conference, 24-29 July, 2016 Seoul, Korea

  25. Micromechanical cohesive zone relations for ductile fracture
    20 June 2016, 21st European Conference on Fracture (ECF21), 20-24 June, 2016, Catania, Italy

  26. Strain Gradient Polycrystal Plasticity for Micro-Forming
    28 April 2016, 19th ESAFORM Conference on Material Forming, 27-29 April 2016, Nantes, FRANCE

  27. Microstructure evolution in Plasticity
    21 January 2016, Invited Talk at Colloquium Materials Modelling at the Institute for Materials Testing, Materials Science and Strength of Materials (IMWF), University of Stuttgart, in Stuttgart, GERMANY.

  28. Micromechanically motivated cohesive zone formulation for ductile fracture
    14 September 2015, ENUMATH2015, in Ankara, TURKEY.

  29. Strain Localization in Multi-Slip Crystal Plasticity
    9 July 2015, 9th. European Solid Mechanics Conference, Madrid, Spain.

  30. Modelling of grain boundaries in a strain gradient crystal plasticity framework
    23 July 2014, 11th World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM XI) — Barcelona, Spain.

  31. Energy-based modeling of localization and necking in plasticity
    3 July 2014, 20th European Conference on Fracture (ECF20) — Trondheim, Norway.

  32. Micro-mechanical approach to metal forming
    9 May 2014, 17th Annual Conference on Material Forming – ESAFORM 2014 — Espoo, Finland - INVITED PLENARY TALK FOR THE ESAFORM SCIENTIFIC PRIZE.

  33. Plastic slip patterns through rate-independent and rate-dependent plasticity
    8 May 2014, 17th Annual Conference on Material Forming – ESAFORM 2014 — Espoo, Finland.

  34. Crystal plasticity, strain gradient crystal plasticity and microstructure evolution in metals
    6 May 2014, N-FRAME WORKSHOP organized by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Langholmen Prison, Stockholm, Sweden - INVITED TALK.

  35. Physics based modelling of nuclear structural materials
    2 December 2013, 24th NeT Steering Committee Meeting, Institute for Energy and Transport, Joint Research Centre - European Commission, Petten/The Netherlands - INVITED TALK.

  36. Deformation patterning and grain boundary modelling through strain gradient crystal plasticity
    28 September 2013, University of Oxford, Department of Engineering Science - Oxford, United Kingdom - INVITED TALK.

  37. Rate dependent plastic microstructure evolution through strain gradient crystal plasticity
    6 January 2013, PLASTICITY 2013 - Nassau, Bahamas - INVITED TALK.

  38. Multiscale Modeling of Plastic Microstructure Evolution in Metals
    31 October 2012, Bilkent University - Mechanical Engineering Department, Ankara, Turkey - INVITED TALK.

  39. Modeling of localization and microstructure evolution in metallic materials
    22 October 2012, 1st International Workshop on Physics Based Modeling of Material Properties and Experimental Observations, 22 October - 23 October 2012, Ankara, Turkey.

  40. Deformation patterning through non-convex strain gradient crystal plasticity
    09 July 2012, 10th World Congress on Computational Mechanics, (WCCM 2012), 08 July - 13 July 2012, Sao Paulo, Brazil - INVITED TALK.

  41. Deformation patterning and grain boundary modeling through strain gradient crystal plasticity
    27 March 2012, 83rd Annual Meeting of the International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 26 March - 30 March 2012, Darmstadt, Germany - INVITED TALK.

  42. Deformation patterning through nonconvex strain gradient crystal plasticity
    5 January 2012, Aero 30 (30th Anniversary Seminar Series), Aerospace Engineering department of Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey - INVITED TALK.

  43. Microstructure evolution in crystal plasticity: strain path effects and dislocation slip patterning
    20 October 2011, PhD Defence, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

  44. Non-local crystal plasticity modelling of Generation IV nuclear reactor components with special focus on grain boundaries
    8 September 2011 COMPLAS XI - XI International conference on computational plasticity, Barcelona, Spain.

  45. Deformation patterning in non-convex strain gradient crystal plasticity
    28 April 2011 Leibniz University of Hannover, Graduate School Music, Hannover, Germany - INVITED TALK.

  46. Plastic slip patterning through rate dependent non-convex gradient-enhanced plasticity
    82nd Annual Meeting of the International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 18 April - 21 April 2011, Graz, Austria.

  47. Plastic slip patterning driven by rate dependent non-convex strain gradient plasticity
    4th European Conference on Computational Mechanics, 16 May - 21 May 2010, Paris, France.

  48. Plastic anisotropy induced by strain path changes in BCC metals
    M2I conference 2008 (Materials to Innovate the Industry), Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, 2008.

  49. A Composite Cell model for BCC Structured Metals Under Strain Path Changes
    8th World Congress on Computational Mechanics (WCCM8), 5th European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering (ECCOMAS 2008), 30 June - 4 July 2008, Venice, Italy.

  50. Composite cell model and strain path change effects
    27 May 2008, University of Dortmund, Mechanical Engineering Department - INVITED TALK.

  51. Modeling of strain path change induced anisotropy in BCC structured metals
    IUTAM Symposium on Multi-Scale Plasticity of Crystalline Materials, 05-09 November 2007, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

  52. Anisotropy during monotonic and multi-stage loading in BCC structured metals
    9th US National Congress on Computational Mechanics, 22-26 July 2007, San Francisco, United States.

  53. Strain Path Change Induced Anisotropy in BCC Structured Metals
    13th International Symposium on Plasticity and its current applications, 2-6 June 2007, The Hotel Alyeska, Girwood, Alaska, United States.

  54. Strain Path Change Effects in a BCC Crystal Plasticity Framework
    9th Engineering Mechanics Symposium 26-27 October 2006, Congress Hotel De Werelt, Lunteren, Netherlands.

  55. A BCC Crystal Plasticity framework for strain path effects
    7th World congress on computational mechanics, July 16-22, 2006, Los Angeles, USA.

  56. Theory and Numerics of Material Forces in Thermo-Elastic-Plastic Materials
    31.05.2005, Lecture Series of the Institute of Applied Mechanics (Civil Engineering), Universitat Stuttgart, Germany.