Altan Özkan

Altan Özkan is an Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at Izmir Institute of Technology with a PhD from University of Texas at Austin (2012). His research develops algal biorefinery systems for simultaneous biofuel and high-value bioproduct production.

Using marine diatoms like Cyclotella sp., his team optimizes photobioreactor conditions for lipid and chitin nanofiber synthesis. Recent work evaluates techno-economic viability of co-producing glucosamine and biofuels, emphasizing resource efficiency and circular economy principles.