Okyay Kaynak

Timeline

1. 1969–1972

   Engineering degrees in Birmingham

   He takes a first-class BSc and a PhD in electronic and electrical engineering at the University of Birmingham in 1969 and 1972.

2. 1972–1979

   Engineering work in Saudi Arabia

   He works in industry from 1972 to 1979, including about three and a half years as a project engineer in Saudi Arabia.

3. 1979

   Joining Boğaziçi University

   In 1979 he joins the electrical and electronics engineering department at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.

4. 2002–2003

   IEEE Industrial Electronics Society president

   He serves as president of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society in 2002–2003.

5. 2005–2016

   Editing three IEEE transactions

   In 2005–2006 he serves as editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, in 2009–2012 as co-editor-in-chief of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, and in 2014–2016 as editor-in-chief of IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

6. 2016

   Humboldt and China Friendship honours

   He receives the Humboldt Research Prize and the China Friendship Award in 2016.

7. 2020

   A Turkish Academy prize

   In 2020 he receives the Academy Prize of the Turkish Academy of Sciences, and he is a member of that academy.

8. As of October 2026

   Emeritus at Boğaziçi University

   He is currently an emeritus professor at Boğaziçi University, holding the title of UNESCO Chair on Mechatronics. He presently serves as founding editor-in-chief of the Springer journal Discover Artificial Intelligence. His current research interests are in the broad field of intelligent systems.