Altuğ, who was born in Karamanlı district of Burdur in 1978, completed her high school education in 1996 in Antalya Anatolian High School, Antalya, Turkey. She received her B.Sc. degree in physics in 2000 in Bilkent University, having been awarded a full scholarship there. In 2007, she was awarded a PhD in applied physics from Stanford University, under the supervision of Prof. Jelena Vučković. During her education at Stanford University, she worked on laser systems and optical instruments.
Career
Altug completed a Postdoctoral Fellowshipat the Center for Engineering in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. From 2007 until 2013, she was first an assistant and later an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University. In 2010, she was awarded the Faculty Early Career Development award by the National Science Foundation. “With this grant, I will able to invent and explore novel on-chip optical biosensors that can significantly impact medicine and the health sciences,” said Altug. “The grant will also enable me to integrate a solid education plan with my research to train scientists and engineers of all ages. I am looking forward to significantly enhancing nanotechnology education and outreach.” Altug disseminated her findings to the public through Boston’s Museum of Science, local educational programs such as Boston Upward Bound Math and Science, and Boston University’s Summer Challenge program on engineering. At the College of Engineering, she added experimental modules to courses relating to nanotechnology. She was also named one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10,” a group of researchers under 40 who made transformational contributions to their fields during 2010. In 2011, IEEE Photonics Society named Altug as winner of the Young Investigator Award, which recognizes individuals who make outstanding technical contributions to the field of photonics prior to their 35th birthday. She was honored for her groundbreaking achievements in confining and manipulating light at the nanoscale to dramatically improve biosensing capabilities. “Professor Altug’s novel nanophotonic and nanofluidic inventions could be very important for clinical applications, biomedical research and national defense,” said Selim Ünlü, associate dean for Research and Graduate Programs in Boston University, “With her creativity and fearlessness in tackling challenging new directions, she promises to be a leader in nanophotonics and nanobiotechnology.” Altug was recognized with OSA’s Adolph Lomb Medal in 2012 “for breakthrough contributions on integrated optical nano-biosensor and nanospectroscopy technologies based on nanoplasmonics, nanofluidics, and novel nanofabrication.” She was also named by President Obama among 94 researchers as a recipient of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. As well as attending the White House ceremony, awardees receive a research grant lasting up to five years. She was awarded for leading the development of a biosensor that uses tiny crystals to manipulate light to detect a virus, a protein, or a cancer cell in a drop of blood. In 2013, Altug joined Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, where she became full professor in 2020. In 2019, she was awarded the ERC Proof of Concept Grant by the European research council for her project: “Portable InfraredBiochemical Sensor Enabled by Pixelated Dielectric Metasurfaces.”
