About & CV
About me
I did my B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Bilkent University. My graduate work focused primarily on computational electromagnetics (CEM), with hybrid-GF-MoM methods during my masters, and the multiple-precision implementation of MLFMA during my doctorate.
But I didn't take the straight academic road. For more than 16 years I built things in industry: ultra-wideband phased-array antennas and electronic-warfare front-ends, semantic signal processing and post-5G research (recognized with a top individual research award), and most recently radar and communication systems as an electronics design manager. Many of those systems went all the way to TRL-9 — designed, fabricated, tested, and fielded.
As I fully transition to academia, that mix between fundamental research and field-proven systems is my professional identity at this point. I'm bringing both to Sabancı to build a group around intelligent EM environments — proving, I hope, that rigor and real-world delivery were never a trade-off.
Short bio
For talks, session chairs & event organizersMert Kalfa received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and electronics engineering from Bilkent University, Ankara, Türkiye, in 2010, 2013, and 2020, respectively. From 2010 to 2026, he held various positions in the defense industry, working on the design, development, and fielding of phased-array antenna systems and bringing radar, electronic-warfare, and communication products to TRL-9. From 2020 to 2023, he was the Acting Director of the Huawei Ankara R&D Center, while concurrently serving as a Post-Doctoral Visiting Research Associate at Bilkent University. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabancı University, Istanbul, Türkiye. His research interests center on intelligent electromagnetic environments, including computational electromagnetics, sparse and semantic signal processing, and active antenna arrays. Dr. Kalfa was a recipient of the Leopold B. Felsen Excellence in Electromagnetics Award and the IEEE Turkey Ph.D. Dissertation Award.
Curriculum vitae
A summary below; the full PDF has publications, patents, projects etc. See Expertise for my fields and delivered systems.
Education
Ph.D., Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Multiple-precision MLFMA for broadband electromagnetic problems · CGPA 3.96
M.Sc., Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Slotted sectoral waveguide antenna arrays in cylindrically stratified media · CGPA 3.84
B.Sc., Electrical & Electronics Engineering
CGPA 3.91
Professional experience
Electronics Design Manager
Executive and technical leadership for radar, communications, EW, electro-optical, and acoustic systems; system architect on selected programs.
Post-Doctoral Researcher / Principal Research Engineer
Novel sensing and signal-processing architectures for massive machine-type communications; led an industry–university research collaboration.
Acting R&D Director, Engineering Manager
Established a post-5G research department and secured its national R&D license.
Lead Research Engineer
Novel radar/EW system architectures, compressive sensing, phased-array designs and diagnostics; managed a team of six.
Antenna Design Engineer
Ultra-wideband phased-array antennas and EW front-ends; phased-array measurement techniques.
Selected awards
- 2023 — Individual Gold Medal (top individual honor) — semantic signal processing, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
- 2021 — IEEE Ph.D. Dissertation Award - IEEE Turkey Section
- 2018 — SET Panel Excellence Award (SPEA), NATO RTG SET-236
- 2017 — Leopold B. Felsen Excellence in Electrodynamics Award
- 2018 — IEEE AP-S/URSI Honorable Mention + Travel Grant
- 2014 — Best Student Paper, URSI National Assembly