Dr. Gönül Özen is a professor of physics at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Turkey. She did her thesis research work with Professor Di Bartolo and received a Ph.D. degree from Boston College. She was at the Physico-Chimie des Materiaux Laboratory of C.N.R.S in Paris, France for her postdoctoral research work in rare-earth ion doped glasses and glass ceramics. She also spent some time at the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory with Prof. Denning at Oxford University. Gönül is presently dedicated to research with the Di Bartolo group as a visiting scientist during her sabbatical from academic duties at ITU.

Her research interests include:

Luminescence spectroscopy of solid state laser type materials. Her research is especially concentrated on the interaction between the optically active ions in solids which results in the energy transfer processes including up-conversion.

 

Synthesis of optical materials that are single crystals and bulk glasses.

 

Thermal and micro-structural properties of tellurium based oxide glasses

During the years that she has been a faculty member at the physics department of Istanbul Technical University, she has supervised numerous theses for undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Gönül enjoys outdoor activities as well as sports such as badminton, tennis and swimming. She appreciates diverse cultures and people, demonstrated by her research in different countries.