Burcin Mutlu-Pakdil
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago
Research Focus
Research Interests
About Burcin
Dr. Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil is an NSF and KICP Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Chicago. She is a lead member of several ambitious imaging surveys, and uses observations of small and faint (dwarf) galaxies to study the smallest dark matter halos, and how they get populated with stars. Her work has been recognized by several prestigious awards. She has been honored as a 2018 Ted Fellow and 2020 TED Senior Fellow, featured in National Geographic as a “woman of impact”, and named an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador. More than 2 million viewers have watched her TED talk.
Mutlu-Pakdil’s findings have been featured by CNN, Science Daily, Astronomy Magazine, Independent, and MPR News, among many others. Damon Brown wrote in his regular Inc. Magazine online column: “Many organizations are dedicated to filling the STEM pipeline with more girls and women. Others are supporting the cause by being an example. TED Fellow Burçin is representing by being one of the most notable astrophysicists today.”
Honors
2020 - TED Senior Fellow
2019 - AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador
2018 - TED Fellow
2018 - Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of World
2017 - APS Woman Physicist of July 2017
2017 - Linda Larson Woman of the Year
2017 - Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) of Turkey
KICP Fellow
NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow
Education
Postdoc
University of Chicago, 08/2020
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 08/2017 - 08/2020
Ph.D.
Astrophysics, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, 07/2017
Master's
Physics, Texas Tech University, 06/2012
Bachelor's
Physics, Bilkent University, 06/2009
