Gursat Altun

Gursat Altun is a Professor at the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Istanbul Technical University (ITU), affiliated with the Mining Faculty. His academic journey includes roles as Dean of ITU (2020), Head of Department (2017-2019), and member of the Faculty Board of Directors. He holds a PhD from Louisiana State University (1994-1999) and has been a faculty member since 1989.

Education: BS (1984, ITU), MSc (1991, ITU), PhD (1999, LSU). Postdoctoral studies at LSU (1999). Extensive administrative experience including Vice Dean (2016-2020) and Vice President of Department roles.

Research focuses on drilling engineering, geothermal energy, and drilling fluid rheology. Key areas include sepiolite-based drilling fluids, borehole hydraulics, machine learning applications in drilling optimization, and geothermal reservoir management. Supervised 14+ PhD/MSc students.

Publications emphasize rheological behavior of drilling fluids, pressure surge modeling, and geothermal resource analysis. Topical trends include sepiolite mud applications, nonlinear viscoelasticity, and machine learning-driven optimization.

Awarded the 1993 Scholarship for Doctoral Studies Abroad. Active in professional societies (TMMOB Chamber of Petroleum Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers). Led 6+ research projects including sepiolite mud thermal properties and cement slurry design.

Teaches advanced well log analysis and well control at ITU. Lab affiliations include the Petroleum Engineering Research Lab with focus on drilling fluids and formation evaluation.