MS Data Science @ Sabancı University
Computational Social Science, Network Science & Algorithmic Fairness
I'm a second year Master's student in Data Science at Sabancı University, advised by Dr. Onur Varol. My research interests lie at the intersection of computational social science, network analysis, and algorithmic fairness.
My first paper studies the topical and social structure of Bluesky starter packs. I'm now investigating fairness and systemic bias in curation, network structure, and user exposure.
ICWSM 2027: under reviewNetSciX: submitted
We examine whether human-curated starter packs capture meaningful topical and social groups. Semantic and network analyses show coherent communities, alongside limited coverage of members' wider audiences.
Predicted injury severity in U.S. traffic crashes with class-weighted models and examined results using SHAP, LIME, and DiCE. With Başak Çarhacıoğlu and Ahmet İhsan Gül.
Built a skill extraction and normalization pipeline for Turkey's largest job platform using LangChain, GPT-4o-mini, and HDBSCAN. The resulting knowledge graph contains over 114,000 nodes and roughly 61 million edges.
Online behavior, digital communities, social platforms, misinformation and polarization.
Network structure, homophily, community formation, and diffusion.
Personalization and user modeling.
Bias in LLMs and how people interact with AI systems.
Oct 2025 – Present (3 terms)
Sabancı University
Led recitations on implementing core ML models, wrote and graded homework and quizzes, held weekly office hours.
Jan to Aug 2024
iLab
Built a RAG-based usability testing tool with LangChain, OpenAI API, MongoDB, and Docker.
Sep 2025 to Jun 2027 expected
Sabancı University
Research with Dr. Onur Varol at the VRL Lab.
Sep 2020 to Jun 2025
Sabancı University
Network ScienceVisual explanations and interactive tools for centrality, random graphs, diffusion, and more.Notes on research, technology, learning, and whatever else I get curious about long enough to finish.
Read the blog
I'll listen to almost anything, but lately it's mostly K-pop, rap, Japanese folk, progressive rock, and K-indie. I also play guitar. Though I must say, I like my HSS Strat and how I look with it.
I love whodunnits and murder mysteries and could genuinely talk about them for hours. Also into psychological thrillers and Korean cinema. Park Chan-wook especially.
Some YouTube channels I watch regularly:
VeritasiumThe Rest Is ScienceHowtownNumberphileThe VergeStarTalkWVFRM PodcastMic The Snare
Linguistics, etymology, mathematics, sociology, urban studies. I game sometimes too.