About Me
I'm a currently a research assistant at Cognitive Science Department in Middle East Technical University. I am looking for PhD opportunities with a passion for blending cognitive science, computer vision, and art. My academic background includes software engineering, mathematics, and cognitive science.
Research Interests
My research interests lie at the intersection of computer vision, cognitive science, and generative modeling, with a particular focus on how machines can perceive, generate, and reason about the world in ways inspired by human cognition. I am especially interested to the integration of artistic and narrative elements—such as paintings, visual storytelling, and emotion—into computational systems. I want to explore how multimodal learning and generative models can be used not only for data synthesis and simulation, but also for understanding affective and aesthetic dimensions of perception. My previous work involved modeling uncertainty through Bayesian approaches, generating synthetic data for underrepresented modalities, and analysing emotional structures in both visual and literary content. Ultimately, I aim to build AI systems that bridge science and creativity—systems capable of interpreting context, emotion, and structure with a human-aligned and cognitively grounded perspective.
Papers
- Çınar, B. (2025). Generating Synthetic EEG Data for Psychiatric Disorders with Variational Autoencoders. IEEE 7th International Congress on Human-Computer Interaction, Optimization and Robotic Applications (ICHORA)
- Çınar, B. (2023). An Agent-Based Model to Explain Emergence of Dominant Word Orders in Today’s Languages. Master's Thesis, Middle East Technical University
- Macakoğlu ŞS, Alakuş Çınar, B., Peker S. (2022). Kiyaslio: a gamified mobile crowdsourcing application for tracking price dispersion in the grocery retail market. International Journal of Web Information Systems
- Eryilmaz M., Kalem G., Kilic H., Tirkes G., Topalli D., Turhan C., Alakus B., Yazici A. (2022). Online Learning Perceptions amid COVID-19 Pandemic: The Engineering Undergraduates' Perspective. International Journal of Engineering Education
- Alakuş B., Aydın Ö., Çetin M.S., Çınar E.R., Güçlü E.T., Leblebicioğlu S., Sarı A.İ., Yazgan A., Yıldız E., Turhan Ç., Koyuncu M., Karakaya Z. (2018).Twitter Verileri ile Türkçe Dilinde Duygu Analizi (English: Turkish Sentiment Analysis Based on Twitter Data). International Eurasian Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology
- Alakuş B., Aydın Ö., Çetin M.S., Çınar E.R., Güçlü E.T., Leblebicioğlu S., Sarı A.İ., Yazgan A., Yıldız E., Turhan Ç., Koyuncu M., Karakaya Z. (2018).Twitter Verileri ile Duygu Analizi için Sistem Mimarisi Önerisi (English: Proposed System Architecture for Sentiment Analysis on Twitter Data). International Eurasian Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology
Posters
- Preference Learning Using Active Learning and Gaussian Processes – METU Informatics Institute Open Research Day (2024)
- Agent-Based Model to Explain the Emergence of Dominant Word Orders – International Symposium on Brain and Cognitive Science (2023)
Certificates
- Principles of Statistical and Computational Tools for Reproducible Science – HarvardX
- 100 Days of Code: The Complete Python Pro Bootcamp for 2023 - Udemy
- Vision Game Development with Python – Udemy
- Generative AI, from GANs to CLIP, with Python and Pytorch - Udemy
- How to Use ChatGPT and Generative AI Tools Effectively - Udemy
- The Complete App Design Course - UX, UI and Design Thinking - Udemy
CV & Transcripts
CV & transcripts will be added soon!
Contact
Email: cinarb[at]metu.edu.tr