Umut Ozyurt
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow
Email: [email protected]
About:
I am a highly motivated undergraduate researcher at Middle East Technical University (METU), specializing in deep learning and computer vision. My goal is to leverage my research experience from institutions like the University of Cambridge and INSAIT to build a career in pioneering AI research. This summer, I am a research intern at INSAIT, working on Vision-Language Models with Jan-Nico Zaech and Danda Pani Paudel.
Education:
BSc in Computer Engineering, September 2021 – Present Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey
- Successfully completed 3 graduate-level courses (Deep Learning, Advanced Deep Learning, Deep Generative Models) with a perfect 4.0/4.0 score in each.
- Technical Lead of METU Artificial Intelligence Society since 2024
Publications:
- “GRACE: Generating Socially Appropriate Robot Actions Leveraging LLMs and Human Explanations,” ICRA 2025.
Fethiye Irmak Dogan, Umut Özyurt, Gizem Cinar, Hatice Gunes- I conducted uncertainty experiments and defined the baseline. Involved in all project phases: experimental design, implementation, analysis, and manuscript preparation.
- “Meta-LoRA: Meta-Learning LoRA Components for Domain-Aware ID Personalization,” In Submission.
Baris Batuhan Topal, Umut Özyurt, Zafer Dogan Budak, R. Gokberk Cinbis - “Enhanced Thermal Human Detection with Fast Filtering for UAV Images,” IISEC 2023, Oral Presentation.
Umut Özyurt, Begum Cicekdag, Zafer Dogan Budak, Seyda Ertekin
Research Experience:
- METU ImageLab: Focused on fine-tuning Stable Diffusion models for high-quality, personalized image generation. (09/2024 – 06/2025)
- University of Cambridge, AFAR Lab: Contributed to a novel framework for generating socially appropriate robot actions, leading to an ICRA 2025 publication. (07/2024 – 09/2024)
- METU Intelligent Systems Laboratory: Developed an enhanced thermal human detection system for UAVs, resulting in a first-author publication. (07/2023 – 07/2024)
Selected Accomplishments:
- Received a summer research offer from UIUC and an invitation to ICVSS 2025 summer school. Declined to join INSAIT SURF 2025.
- Served as a reviewer for CVPR 2025 CVEU Workshop and AIIPCC 2024.
- Honored with the “Best Presentation” award in Guided Research ceremony of METU and placed in the top 3 among 27 papers.
- Awarded Erasmus+ funding support for research position at the University of Cambridge.
- Recipient of the METU Development Foundation Scholarship.
- Consistently recognized as a High Honor Student at METU for 8 semesters.
Personal Webpage:
