Dr. Ilkay Yavrucuk received his BS degree from the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey in 1995, and MS and PhD degrees from the Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA in 1997 and 2003 respectively, where he later continued his work as a post-doctoral-fellow. His graduate and post-doctoral studies were concentrated on helicopter dynamics, adaptive control systems, and rotorcraft design. His main contributions were for the Georgia Tech UAV Lab and the Carefree Maneuvering Lab, as well as to companies like Sikorsky Aircraft, Boeing and NASA.

Dr. Ilkay Yavrucuk is a recipient of the AHS Vertical Flight Foundation Award in 2001, and was a member of the winning teams of the AHS Graduate Design Competitions in 1997 and 2001, and the academic advisor for the “Best New Entrant Team” of 2008. He is the author of more than 30 scientific papers, of which two papers received Best Paper Awards at AIAA and AHS conferences in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

Currently, he is a faculty member at the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Middle East Technical University, research faculty of the Simulation Control and Avionics LAB (SCALAB), a consultant to various aerospace engineering firms, and the managing co-founder of Aerotim Dynamics.