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Fazil Onuralp ARDIC

Electrical Engineering Major &

Neuroscience Minor @ UCLA

Welcome to my engineering portfolio! My name is Fazil Onuralp and I am a fourth year electrical engineering student with a neuroscience minor. I am passionate about using technology to tackle real-world problems. This portfolio showcases my experiences in research, coursework, and extracurricular activities.

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Below you can find photographs from my experiences divided year by year:

2024

2024

Retinal Circuits Lab @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

2024 - Present

  • Built a code pipeline taking in spike sorted Micro Electrode Array (MEA) recordings to train a bio-inspired CNN 

  • Increased training speed of the CNN 5x using Keras 3 with JAX backend 

  • Explored novel CNN architectures with 3D convolutions, adaptive activation functions and transfer learning  

  • Performed data visualization with activation maximization, layer-wise kernel inspection 

retinal circuits lab group photo.jpg

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Ozcan Research Lab @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

2023 - Present

  • Transformed PyTorch and TensorFlow code training neural network into faster paradigm JAX with algorithm improvements
  • Enhanced Diffractive Deep Neural Network (D2NN) algorithm was 6.1x faster than TensorFlow, 4.6x faster than PyTorch
  • Implemented various Diffractive Deep Neural Network (D2NN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures
  • Presented project poster at HHMI Day 2023, won best oral presentation and best project awards
  • Presented published research at National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2024

ncur_conference_photo.png

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2023

2023

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Neurostatistics Research Group @ MIT

Boston, Mas.

Summer 2023

  • Established a code-flow for training various machine learning models (GB,MLP, Logistic Regression) using Scikit-Learn Library.  
  • Performed time, frequency, and time-frequency signal analysis on EEG Waveforms 
  • Created Convolutional Neural Network Architectures using JAX and PyTorch for classification tasks   
  • Gave a 1.5hr presentation about project to lab group comprising of 70 slides with original figures made using Adobe Illustrator

Lab Teaching Assistant for ECE Department @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

2023 - 2024

  • Invited by the Dr. Briggs to assist students taking ECE 3 Introduction to Electrical Engineering Course
  • Guided students in using oscilloscopes, writing code in C, building circuits, performing analysis using Analog Discovery 2 
  • Suggested sensor fusion designs and possible PID control system implementations using Arduino IDE for final project

Crux @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

2022 - 2023

  • Led a team of 14 people in a design project where a multilayer perceptron (MLP) was used to measure stress level based on EEGs
  • Deployed a kNN Classifier using Scikit-Learn for an emotion recognition task differentiating EEG data
  • Presented research poster in 1st California Neurotech Conference to students from various universities and industry experts

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ENGINEERING PROJECT

crux_2023_photo.JPG
2022

2022

ENGINEERING PROJECT

IEEE @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

2022-2023

  • Placed in top 10 for IDEA Hacks 2022 by building a smart trash can named "Bruinbin" in 36hrs. Utilized magnetic proximity sensors                                                                              Github: https://github.com/ebtesam25/ideahacks2022.git 
  • Designed a "Micromouse" robot to navigate a random maze in shortest time using a STM32 ARM Cortex Microcontroller
Screenshot 2023-09-20 at 4.09.29 PM.png

Communications Lead for ETC @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

2022 - 2023

  • Organized events and interacted with engineering transfer student community of 516 people
  • Designed Celebrate eTransfers commencement website honoring graduating class of ~200 students with Wix 
  • Authored the Engineering Transfer Center's weekly newsletter sent to all engineering transfer students

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Engineering 96: Autonomous Rover @ UCLA

Los Angeles, Cal.

Winter 2022

  • Designed and built an autonomous rover that navigates through a previously unknown obstacle course. 
  • Chassis was custom made and the device was controlled through an Arduino

ENGINEERING PROJECT

2021

2021

ENGINEERING PROJECT

Cost Effective Reverse Vending Machine

Istanbul, Turkey

2018-2021

  • Devised a cheaper than market reverse vending machine with a team of 3 people. Design used computer vision and weight sensing
  • Developed a 3D CAD design in Onshape. Pitched to a jury of angel investors in Ulus Bootcamp Startup Challenge, winning 1st prize
  • Built a physical prototype. Utilized Raspberry Pi 4 to integrate Stepper Motors, Touch Screen, Camera, Led Lamps, Load Cells

Joy of Sharing Science @ Uskudar American Academy

Istanbul, Turkey

2020 - 2021

  • Gathered and managed 30-member team of writers to found a weekly science magazine, www.joyofsharingscience.com 
  • Published 40 issues with biology/physics/chemistry sections online during management. Website received 318 unique visitors

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Physics Extended Essay for IB Senior Thesis

Istanbul, Turkey

2020 - 2021

  • Expanded existing mathematical models from previous papers with rotational dynamics
  • Wrote ~500 lines of Python code to solve a coupled system of nonlinear ODEs using 4th order Runge Kutta method
  • Devised experimental apparatus utilizing pneumatics and DC Motors. Performed experiment and analyzed results using LoggerPro

ENGINEERING PROJECT

CERN Beam Line For Schools (BL4S) Competition

Istanbul, Turkey

2020 - 2021

  • Formed a 10-member team named Gamma Busters for the Beamline for Schools Competition
  • Guided team to prepare 13-page written proposal and video proposal. 
  • Out of 198 proposals from 47 countries, Gamma Busters got shortlisted with 22 other teams. Won a Cosmic-pi detector

ENGINEERING PROJECT

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

EDUCATION

University of California, Los Angeles

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

GPA 4.0/4.0

Deans Honor List

ECE Fast Track to Success

Honor societies TBP and IEEE-HKN 

2021 - Present

Los Angeles, CA

University of California, Los Angeles

Minor in Neuroscience

2021 - Present

Los Angeles, CA

Uskudar American Academy

Bilingual International Baccalaureate

3rd in the Class of 2021

GPA 97.49/100
IB Diploma Program 44/45

2016 - 2021

Istanbul, Turkey

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Programming Languages: Python, MATLAB, C++

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Machine Learning: PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, Scikit-Learn

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Microprocessors: Arduino, Raspberry Pi

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Circuits: Soldering, Oscilloscope, Analog Discovery 2

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Visual Design: Adobe Illustrator, Wix

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Computer-Aided Design: Onshape, CAD

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Languages: Turkish (Native), English (Advanced, IELTS 8), German (Intermediate, TELC B1)

 

HONORS & AWARDS

Merit Scholarship of 30,000$/yr for four years | Defne Muhtar Kent Educational | 2021 - 2025

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1st Place in Media & Entertainment track at Cerebral Beach Hacks | 2025

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ECE Fast Track Program | 2023 - 2025

 

Best Oral Presentation | Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 2023

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Best Project | Howard Hughes Medical Institute | 2023

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Tau Beta Pi (TBP) Honor Society Induction | UCLA | 2022

 

IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN) Honor Society Induction | UCLA | 2022

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1st Prize in Entrepreneurship Competition | Ulus Jewish Schools Foundation | 2021

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Dr. Virginia Canfield Award For Overall Excellence | Uskudar American Academy | 2021

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Departmental Awards in Math, English, and Social Sciences | Uskudar American Academy | 2021

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National Honor Society (NHS) Induction | Uskudar American Academy | 2021

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National English Honor Society (NEHS) Induction | Uskudar American Academy | 2021

PUBLICATIONS

All-optical image denoising using a diffractive visual processor

             Işıl, Ç., Gan, T., Ardic, F. O., Mentesoglu, K., Digani, J., Karaca, H., Chen, H., Li, J., Mengu, D., Jarrahi, M., AkÅŸit, K., Ozcan, A 

 

Light, science & applications, 2024; 13(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01385-6

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Unidirectional imaging with partially coherent light 

              Ma, G., Shen, C., Li, J., Huang L., Isil, Cagatay., Ardic, F. O., Yang, X., Li, Y., Wang, Y., Rahman M. S. S. , Ozcan, A.

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Advanced Photonics Nexus 3.6 (2024): 066008-066008. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.APN.3.6.066008

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PERSONAL

  • 1st place in International Folklore Competition Amsterdam, The Netherlands

  • 2nd place in Les Etoiles de Paris international folklore festival, France

  • Published poem "The Prisoner" in high school magazines "Serce" June Edition and "Karavan" 7th Edition

Contact

CONTACT

Phone

+1   310 597 0023 (U.S)

+90 543 670 9533 (Turkey)

Email

Linkedin

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