MELİKE NİKBAY

Professor of Aerospace Engineering · Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics · ITU Ayazaga Campus, 34469 · (+90 212) 285 31 16 · nikbay@itu.edu.tr

Melike Nikbay received her B.S. degree in 1996 and her M.S. degree in 1998 from Bogazici University Mechanical Engineering Department in Turkey. She got her M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1999 in USA. She completed her Ph.D. in 2002 under the supervision of Prof. Charbel Farhat in the field of "Coupled Sensitivity Analysis by Discrete-Analytical Direct and Adjoint Methods with Applications to Aeroelastic Optimization and Sonic Boom Minimization" at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she worked as a research assistant at “Center for Aerospace Structures” between 1998-2002.

Regarding industrial experience, she worked at R&D Center of an appliance manufacturer company, Arçelik A.S. (Beko), in Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics Group between 1995-1998. After her Ph.D., she worked as R&D Leader of Kalekalıp A.S. Defense and Aerospace Division between 2003-2004. Finally, she started a full-time academic career as an assistant professor at ITU Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2004 and since then she led Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) studies at ITU. During her sabbatical between 2014-2015, she worked at Multidisciplinary Science and Technology Center of US Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. During 2015-2016, she worked at NASA Langley Research Center and directed a research project on “Impact of Aeroelastic Uncertainty on Low Sonic Boom Aircraft Shaping Optimization” as part of the Commercial Supersonic Aircraft Technology program.

After returning to her academic position at ITU in September 2016, Melike Nikbay was promoted as a full professor in 2017. She is the director of AeroMDO Lab, the Aerospace Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Laboratory that she founded in 2019. Currently, she serves as the Chair of Astronautical Engineering Department since May 2024.

She has represented Turkiye at NATO Science and Technology Organization Applied Vehicle Technology Panel since 2008 where she carried out various leadership roles in the technical committees and contributed with scientific work to the research task groups. She has chaired the Technical Committee Mechanical Systems, Structures and Materials (2016-2018), the Support Committee (2021-2023) and is also a member of the Scientific Committee in NATO STO AVT Panel. She is the director of AVT-385 Research Lecture Series on “Multi-Fidelity Methods for Multidisciplinary Design Optimization”. Since 2010, she has worked as an External Expert Evaluator of the European Commission in the Cleansky and EISMEA programs in the field of Aviation. In 2017, she became “AIAA Associate Fellow". She was recognized by the "Young Contributor" award in 2016 and recently by the “Panel Excellence” award in 2024 by the NATO Science and Technology Organization.

Her research interests are in “Advanced Computational Design, Multidisciplinary Analysis and Design Optimization, Multi-fidelity Modeling Techniques, Surrogate Modeling, Machine Learning, Uncertainty Quantification, Aeroelasticity and Aeroelastic Optimization, Fluid-Structure Interaction Problems, Sensitivity Analysis with Direct and Adjoint Methods, Reliability Based Design Optimization, Robust Optimization, Stochastic Optimization, Sonic Boom Minimization” mostly with applications to aeronautical, defense and space systems.

Experience

Chair of Astronautical Engineering Department

Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Istanbul, Turkey
30 April 2024 - Present

Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Istanbul, Turkey
8 March 2017 - Present

Founder and Director of Aerospace Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Laboratory

Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Istanbul, Turkey
November 2019 - Present

Part-time Faculty Member

Isik University, Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, Istanbul, Turkey
14 February 2011- 2017

Senior Research Engineer contracted through National Institute of Aerospace

NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA

Project: NASA Commercial Supersonic Technology (Project Manager: Peter Coen)

Research Area: Impact of Aeroelastic Uncertainty on Low Sonic Boom Aircraft Shaping Optimization (Supervisor: Lori Ozoroski)

September 2015- September 2016

Visiting Faculty at Multidisciplinary Science and Techology Center

US Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, USA

Consultant with Wright State University and Wright State Research Institute

Research Area: Fluid-Structure Interaction, Aeroelasticity, Sensitivity Analysis, UQ

(Supervisor: Dr. Raymond Kolonay)

September 2014-September 2015

Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Istanbul, Turkey
24 March 2011 - 8 March 2017

Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Istanbul, Turkey
27 July 2004 - 24 March 2011

Head of Multidisciplinary Optimization Group in ITU Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
September 2006 - Present

Research and Development Leader

Kalekalip Makina ve Kalip Sanayi A.S., Defense and Aerospace Division (Kaleaero), Istanbul, Turkey

Managing foundation of R&D Department (Hired personnel, planned the infrastructure and software investment of the CAE laboratory (CAD, FEM, CFD), business development in international concurrent engineering projects (with Locheed Martin, Heroux-Devtek (Canada) on Joint Strike Fighter F-35), started collaboration with UK Royal Military College of Science & Cranfield University on grenade launcher project, and took courses on "Light Weapon Design" and "Guns & Ammunition Systems" in UK.

08 March 2003 - 10 June 2004

Research Assistant

University of Colorado, Boulder, Center for Aerospace Structures
September 1998 - September 2002

Research and Development Engineer

Arcelik A.S., Istanbul, Turkey

Developed "Heat-Gain" code which is a heat transfer analysis and insulation design code for refrigerators, managed Heat-Gain Project, developed lumped models for heat transfer and pressure characteristics of evaporators and condensers for air conditioners, participated in calorimetric room experiments for refrigerator insulation system, iniatiated implementation vacuum insulation panel (VIP) technology into refrigerator insulation system and designed a new model refrigerator door with VIP, studied gasket region heat transfer, supported solid modeling and mesh generation studies for CFD analyses for refrigerators.

08 March 1996 - 31 July 1998

Education

University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering Sciences

GPA: 4.00/4.00

December 2002

University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

M.S. Aerospace Engineering Sciences

GPA: 3.91/4.00

May 1999

Bogazici University, Turkey

M.S. Mechanical Engineering

GPA: 3.42/4.00

June 1998

Bogazici University, Turkey

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

GPA: 3.31/4.00

January 1996

Besiktas Ataturk Anadolu Lisesi, Turkey

Lycee

GPA: 9.33/10.00

June 1991

FIELDS OF INTEREST

Teaching Experience

Current

Awards & FELLOWSHIPS

Aerospace Multidisciplinary Design Optimization LABORATORY

AeroMDO Lab (Aerospace Multidisciplinary Design Optimization) is established in 2019 in Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Current Research Topics are covering the following disciplines and topics:

Aerodynamics & Aerodynamic Shape Optimization
Aeroelasticity & Aeroelastic Optimization
Aeroacoustics and Sonic Boom Minimization
Integration of Propulsion Systems to MDO
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
Reliability Based Design Optimization
Uncertainty Quantification
Reduced Order Modelling
Multifidelity Analysis and Optimization
Machine Learning
Sensitivity Analysis

Go to AeroMDO Lab »