PROFILE

Civil & environmental engineer, biotechnologist, microbial ecologist, creative scientist, transdisciplinary  multimodal storyteller

• Proactive, critical, solution oriented, interdisciplinary experimental scientist also experienced in big data analysis and computer simulation 

• Project manager and executer in non-governmental organization and academia

• Strong communicator and mentor, gained experience through publishing articles, presenting, teaching, supervising students (individuals / teams), comic making, animation/game making, performing arts (for experts and public)

• Motivator committed to inclusivity and attentive listening, fostering positive learning environments.

• Multipotentialite, both big picture and detailed oriented thinker, philomath, autodidact

• Adapted to work in multicultural, international settings

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EDUCATION

• Technical University of Denmark, Kongens-Lyngby, Denmark

       PhD in Environmental Engineering, 2011                                                                                                   

• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

​       MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2005​

• Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey (accredited by ABET)

       BSc in Environmental Engineering (Honor Student), 2002

       Minor in German Language Teaching, 2002

 

EXPERIENCE

Studio Visionarrate, Wageningen, Netherlands

Founder - Oct. 2024-present

 

• Undertaking projects and providing multimodal storytelling services for science education and outreach

• Skilled in translating complex concepts into accessible formats for a wider audience 

 

Wageningen University Research (WUR), Wageningen, Netherlands

Faculty - Aug. 2020-Aug.2024

(Food Microbiology, Microbial Biofilms, Food Safety Risk Assessment)

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• Supervised and mentored research theses and internship students

• Coordinated, supervised and delivered multiple courses in food microbiology, food safety risk assessment and inter-departmental courses (food product design)

                                                                                  

MICRO-C-OMICS 

Creator - Dec. 2017- present 

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• Developing engaging visual content, including comics, animations and interactive story-games, to communicate complex scientific concepts (mainly microbial life) and science inspired reflections

• Cultivating expertise in visual communication, design principles and storytelling methodologies

• Integrating insights from educational research, science communication and cognitive science into communication strategies

• Strategizing the application of multimodal storytelling techniques to enhance engagement, impact and creativity in research and educational initiatives

 

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Scientist - Oct.2015-Oct. 2017   

(Microbial Ecology, Biofilms, Hydraulics)     

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• Prototyped flow-channels to study microbial biofilms, performed microbiological, image and (statistical) data analysis, reported the findings

• Initiated the setup of basic microbiology lab, protocols and bacterial strain inventory

• Lectured in multidisciplinary course and mentored thesis students (biofilm formation on bioinspired self-cleaning materials in collaboration with Material Science Department)

 

Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 

Assistant Professor (TT)-Formal Appointment Process - Nov. 2013-Dec.2014

(Environmental Engineering, Microbial Biotechnology, Microbial Ecology, Biofilms)

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• Engaged in an extensive, formalized institutional process for position establishment, official approval, including mandatory exams and training

• Actively engaged in self-directed preparatory work for the prospective role, including refining research proposals, course development, research group management plan

• Published research paper, gave research seminars

• Outcome: Formal process was unexpectedly terminated after one year due to unprecedented institutional political dynamics/re-prioritization

 

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Postdoctoral Researcher - May 2013-Jul. 2013  

(Microbiology, Biofilms, Water Treatment, Public Health, Medical Science)   

• Developed microbiological sampling plans for drinking water supply systems in residential dwellings

• Prepared questionnaires for Cystic Fibrosis patients and healthy people

 

Technical University of Denmark, Kongens-Lyngby, Denmark

Postdoctoral Researcher - Nov.2011-Jul. 2012

PhD Researcher - Jul. 2008-Oct.2011

Research Assistant - Sep.2007-Jun.2008

(Microbial Ecology, Biofilms, Soil Bioremediation, Soil Physics, Water Stress, Microalgal Fuels)

 

• Developed realistic experimental model to study microbial colonization rates, gene expression, water stress responses

• Analyzed microscopy images and transcriptome data (R statistical software)

• Communicated findings in journal articles, at conferences and regular lab group meetings

• Lectured, prepared and led exercise sessions, prepared and evaluated homeworks, organized field trips in  Wastewater Treatment Course

• Supervised thesis students, maintained lab-group web page

 

North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

Graduate Research Assistant - Aug.2005-Dec.2006

(Solid Waste Management, Life Cycle Analysis, Decision Making)

 

• Run simulations of solid waste management scenarios for the Municipality of Wake County-NC using a life cycle based multi-criteria decision making model, analyzed and reported the simulation results

• Managed stakeholder relationships between academia and external partners, contributing to the practical impact and funding of research

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North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

Graduate Research Assistant - Aug.2003-Aug.2005

(Wastewater microbiology, Bioprocess Engineering, Filamentous Bulking)

• Designed and operated lab scale wastewater bioprocessing reactors, performed standard tests for environmental biotechnology

• Applied molecular biology, classical microbiology methods, microscopy, and image analysis techniques for microbial identification and monitoring

• Communicated research findings in articles, at conferences and regular lab group meetings

 

Foundation for Environmental Education Turkey, Ankara, Turkey 

National Coordinator and Manager - Jan. 2003-May 2003

(Eco-schools and Learning about Forests Projects)

• Managed and coordinated educational programs for schools, aligned with global program directors

• Secured grant for publication educational materials from United Nations-Small Grant Program

• Developed educational materials and organized training seminars

• Initiated Regional Representatives Program involving teachers from participating schools

• Established external advisory committee involving NGO representatives and diverse stakeholders to support the projects 

 

Thames Water, Izmit, Turkey

Intern - Summer 2001

• Performed microbial and chemical drinking water quality laboratory tests, prepared water mass balance calculation sheets and reported results

• Acquired knowledge on dam operations, water treatment and water supply 

 

Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Intern - Summer 2000

• Designed and performed anaerobic toxicity assays, analyzed data and reported results

• Acquired research skills

 

OTHER LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Coordinator of Eco-Schools National Training Seminar Organization, Istanbul, Turkey

Prepared seminar program and content, selected speakers, managed budget, led workshops,  prepared and distributed materials, managed logistics

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Vice President and Treasurer of METU Bird Watching Society, 

Initiated and managed board meetings, secured financial support for travel and on-campus activities, organized promotional activities, maintained the activity board, prepared annual activity reports

 

Coordinator of Individual-based Modeling Course (iDynoMICS), Department of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Denmark 

Managed applications, prepared the program, maintained the course webpage, managed  budget and logistics 

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Chair of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering Symposium Organization Committee, NCSU, USA

Delegated tasks to and coordinated with committee members, managed logistics and budget 

 

Member of Graduation Committee, METU

Secured financial support

 

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Jury and Public Awards for the short science movie “Quorum Sensing” at Exposure:Science Film Hackathon, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2016

• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) – NSF CAREER Grant Application Workshop Participation Grant to be held at AEESP Conference, 2013

• Travel Grant at the amount of 22600 DKK (3700 US $) by Lundbeck Foundation to attend ISME conference, 2010

• Graduate Research Assistantship by Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering Department, North Carolina State University, 2003- 2006.

• Young Scientist Grant, Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA), 2006

• US National Dean’s List 2005

• Chi Epsilon, Civil Engineering Honor Society

• Third Place in Poster Presentation in 84th Annual NC AWWA/WEA Conference, November 14-17, 2004, Charlotte ,NC

 

PUBLICATIONS

Articles

1. Gulez, G. Life in Microbial Communities (to be published in the book Co:exist by Utopiana, MētisPresses Geneva)

2. Kreft, J. and Gulez, G. (2019) Microbiological Meaning from Mathematical Models. Microbiologist, June 2019

3. Gulez, G., Altintas, A., Fazli, M., Dechesne, A., Workman, C.T., Tolker-Nielsen, T., and Smets, B.F. (2014) Colony morphology and transcriptome profiling of  Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and its mutants deficient in alginate or all EPS synthesis under controlled matric potentials, MicrobiologyOpen, Vol. 3(4), pg.457-469

4. Gulez, G., Dechesne, A., Workman, C., and Smets, B.F (2012) Transcriptome dynamics of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 under water stress. Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Vol.78, No. 3, pg.676-683

5. Gulez, G., Dechesne, A., and Smets, B.F (2010) The Pressurized Porous Surface Model: An improved tool to study bacterial behavior under a wide range of environmentally relevant matric potentials. J. Microbiol.Meth. Vol. 82, No.3, 324-326

6. Dechesne, A., Wang,G., Gulez,G., Or,D., and Smets, B.F. (2010). Hydration controlled bacterial motility and dispersal on surfaces, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 107(32), 14369-14372

7. Gulez, G. and F. L. de los Reyes III (2009), Multiple approaches to assess filamentous bacterial growth in activated sludge under different carbon source conditions. Journal of Applied Microbiology, Vol.106, No.2 pg.682-691

8. Dechesne, A., Or, D., Gulez, G., and Smets, B. (2008) The Porous Surface Model: a novel experimental system for online quantitative observation of microbial processes under unsaturated conditions, Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Vol.74, No.16, pg.5195-5200

9. Gulez, G. and F. L. de los Reyes III (2005), What Do Filaments Like to Eat? Using DGGE to Determine the Effects of Carbon Source and Seed Sludge on Filamentous Growth, 78th Water Environment Federation Annual Conference and Exposition (WEFTEC 2005), October 2-6, Washington D.C.,

10. Gulez, G. and F. L. de los Reyes III (2005), “Effect of Carbon Sources on Filamentous Growth in Activated Sludge Systems”, International Water Association, Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, July 2005,Australia

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Others

1. Editing/Translating: “Litter and Waste”, “Water”, “Energy”, “Waste Minimization and Recovery”, and “Environmental Assessment” Booklets, funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Environment Facility / Small Grant Programme (GEF/SGP) , 2003

2. Compiling/Translating: “Learning about Forests Project Guide” and “Learning about Forests Activity Guide” Booklets, funded by UNDP-GEF/SGP, 2003

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PRESENTATIONS (including peer reviewed published conference abstracts)

1. Invited Talk - Sociomicrobiology “Sculpting the Everyday / Biotopes”, an interdisciplinary seminar series by the Utopiana, Geneva, Switzerland, 27 April 2018

2. Invited Talk, Biotechnology Program Seminars, May 12, 2015, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

3. Oral Presentation, Environmental Science Institute, June 24,  2014,  Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey,

4. Poster Presentation, 14th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, August 19-24, 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark

5. Poster Presentation, Signals and Space: Spatio-temporal pattern in simple bio-systems, August 25-27, 2011, Center for Models of Life, Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen

6. Oral Presentation, Danish Microbiological Society Symposium, November, 2010

7. Poster Presentation, 13th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology, August 22-27, 2010, Seattle, WA, USA

8. Oral Presentation, Raisebio International Symposium on Microbial Contaminant Degradation at Biogeochemical Interfaces, March 2-4, 2010, Leipzig, Germany

9. Oral Presentation, CREAM International Symposium on Microbial Degradation of Soil Pollutants: Processes and Impacts, November 3-4, 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark

10. Poster Presentation, FEMS 2009. 3rd Congress of European Microbiologists, 2009, Gothenburg, Sweden

11. Poster Presentation, 12th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME-12) - Microbial Diversity - Sustaining the Blue Planet, August 2008, Cairns, Australia

12. Poster Presentation, ASM 108th General Meeting, June 2008, Boston, USA.

13. Poster Presentations, Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA) 2nd Annual Conference, March 25-26, 2006, Philadelphia, PA, USA

14. Poster Presentation, NC Branch of American Society for Microbiology, October 7, 2005, Raleigh, NC, USA

15. Oral Presentation, 78th Water Environment Federation Annual Conference and Exposition WEFTEC 2005, Washington DC, USA

16. Poster Presentation, International Water Association, Microbial Population Dynamics, July 2005, Gold Coast, Australia

17. Poster Presentation, 84th Annual NC AWWA/WEA Conference, November 14-17, 2004, Charlotte, NC, USA

18. Poster Presentation in WREE Spring Symposium in May 2004, NCSU, Raleigh, NC, USA

 

SERVICE

• Official reviewer for Biofilms & Microbiome-Nature Partner Journal, MicrobiologyOpen, Environmental Monitoring & Assessment

• Unofficial reviewer for many papers as part of training for Environmental Microbiology, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Science & Technology, PlosOne, etc

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​​PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP)

• International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME)

• American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

• Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA)

• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

• Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

• Water Environment Federation (WEF)

• American Society for Microbiology NC Chapter (ASM-NC)

• NC American Water Works Association/Water Environment Federation (AWWA/WEA)

• Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA)

 

VOLUNTEER ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES

• Important Bird Areas Training Program, World Wildlife Found (WWF)-Turkey, Dicle University and Diyarbakir Environment Volunteers, 1-4 October 2002, Diyarbakir, Turkey

• Environmental Education Camp, The Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Karadeniz Technical University and Ministry of Forestry, August 2002, Rize, Turkey

• Marine Turtles Conservation Project, WWF-Turkey, 1-15 July 2002, Antalya, Turkey

• Environmental Education Camp, TUBITAK, Akdeniz University and Ministry of Forestry, July 2001, Antalya, Turkey

• Nature Conservation & Public Awareness Exchange Program, WWF-Turkey and Naturschutzjugend (Germany), 2001, Turkey

• Environmental Policy Exchange program, organized by WWF-Turkey and Naturschutzjugend (Germany) to observe the environmental policies, and problems and solutions of Germany, 2000, Germany

• Contamination in RAMSAR Areas: Lake Burdur Exchange Program, Naturschutzjugend (Germany), 1999, Burdur, Turkey

 

INTERESTS

• Hiking, rock climbing, basketball, outdoor adventures, contact improvisation dance, motion boxing, crossfit, sci-fi, philosophy, comics, neuroscience, singing, playing ukulele (soprano & bass), percussion

• Member of Turkish Student Association at NCSU, 2003-2006.

• Member of METU Bird Watching Society, 2001-2003

• Member of the METU Turkish Folklore Society (dancing) 1997-2003

• Member of   the METU Amateur Astronomy Club, 1998

• Member of the METU Musical Society (singing, dancing, acting), 1998-2000

• Performing jazz classes from jazz singer Yildiz Ibrahimova (2000-2003)

• 3rd place in “Beatles” singing competition organized by British Council