Dr. Feyza Kazanc Ozerinc
Assistant Professor Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
OCSE A442
OCSE A442
Research
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EUY0NCkAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID: 0000-0002-3850-3071
Open positions: Ph.D. and M.S. positions are available in the Sustainable Energy and Materials Laboratory. For more information, please email fkazanco@uccs.edu.
Biography
Feyza Kazanc earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University in 2013. She served on the Mechanical Engineering faculty at Middle East Technical University (METU) from 2014 to 2023. From 2023 to 2025, she was a visiting scientist at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).
Her interdisciplinary research lies at the intersection of sustainable energy systems and carbon removal technologies, with a focus on:
- Biomass utilization and thermochemical conversion
- Biochar production and characterization
- CO₂ mineralization using industrial by-products
- Rare earth element (REE) recovery from waste streams
Dr. Kazanc has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, led several international research collaborations, and secured funding from multiple agencies, including Horizon Europe, the Royal Society (UK), and TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye).
She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including:
- L'Oréal-UNESCO Turkey For Women in Science Fellowship
- Turkish Science Academy Young Scientist Award (BAGEP)
Dr. Kazanc has supervised numerous graduate students and is committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers in sustainable materials and energy systems. Her current efforts at UCCS focus on building a research program that integrates experimental development, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life cycle assessment (LCA) of negative emissions technologies.
Education
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Northeastern University, 2013
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical University, 2009
Experience
Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Colorado Colorado Springs (2025–present)
Visiting Scientist, Illinois State Geological Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2023–2025)
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical University (2021–2024)
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Middle East Technical University (2014–2021)