2026 In-Person Recipients
For each conference, a small number of Emerging Scholar Awards are given to outstanding graduate students and emerging scholars who have an active research interest in the conference themes. Emerging Scholars perform a critical role in the conference by chairing the parallel sessions, providing technical assistance in the sessions, and presenting their own research papers. The 2026 Emerging Scholar Award Recipients are as follows:
Aysegul Ozlem Bayraktar Sari
Cardiff University, United Kingdom
Aysegul Ozlem Bayraktar Sari is a PhD candidate at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. Her research broadly explores architectural design through computational and data-driven methods. She focuses on how emerging technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), graph-based design methods, and machine learning can support spatial analysis, design exploration, and performance evaluation in architectural processes. Aysegul has several years of professional experience as an architect and has published research on spatial analysis and architectural design. She also contributes to civic engagement projects linking architecture, sustainability, and education through interactive activities with primary school children in Cardiff.
Tuğçe Alp
Middle East Technical University/ Phd. Student at Department of City and Regional Planning, Türkiye
Tuğçe Alp is a PhD candidate in Urban Planning at Middle East Technical University. Her doctoral research examines how water is framed, valued, and positioned within contemporary urban planning paradigms, focusing on the philosophical and ethical assumptions that shape human–water relationships in urban environments. She holds a BA in City and Regional Planning from METU and an MSc in International Architecture and Urban Design from Meiji University in Tokyo, where her work addressed landscape urbanism as a framework for water-resilient cities. Since 2018, she has been involved in design and research projects at the National Botanical Garden of Türkiye, with experience in site planning, planting design, and spatial interpretation through integrated landscape and urban design perspectives.
