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Latest revision as of 05:29, 11 February 2026
Caltech professor, Turkish physicist and origins-of-life researcher
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Sukru Furkan Ozturk (born 1996) is a Turkish physicist and origins-of-life researcher. He is an Assistant Professor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).[3] His research focuses on the physical mechanisms underlying the emergence of life, with an emphasis on the origin of homochirality and the role of spin-dependent processes in biogeochemistry.[4]
Ozturk was born in Trabzon, Turkey. He completed his undergraduate education in Physics at Bilkent University, graduating as valedictorian.[5] He later earned a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University in 2024, where he conducted research on the origins of life under the supervision of Dimitar Sasselov.[6]
Career and research
[edit]
After completing his Ph.D., Ozturk held postdoctoral research positions for one year at Harvard University and King’s College, Cambridge, where he continued research on the origins of biomolecular homochirality and spin-dependent chemical processes in prebiotic environments.[7] He later joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology as an assistant professor of geochemistry and geobiology, and a William H. Hurt scholar.[8][9]
Ozturk’s research lies at the intersection of physics, physical chemistry, and geosciences, with a focus on understanding how magnetic mineral surfaces and spin-selective processes may have driven asymmetric chemical processes on the early Earth. His work explores how such mechanisms could have contributed to the emergence of biomolecular homochirality.[10][11] Notably, he demonstrated a prebiotic mechanism to achieve homochirality at the level of ribose aminooxazoline, a central RNA precursor, on magnetite mineral surfaces utilizing the chirality-induced spin selectivity effect—an advance widely regarded as a significant step toward understanding the origin of life’s molecular handedness.[12][13] His broader research aims to connect microscopic physical mechanisms with complex behavior and organization.[14]
Selected publications
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- Ozturk, S. F.; Sasselov, D. D.; Sutherland, J. D. (2023). “Origin of biological homochirality by crystallization of an RNA precursor on a magnetic surface”. Science Advances. 9 (23). doi:10.1126/sciadv.adg8274.
- Ozturk, S. F.; Sasselov, D. D. (2022). “On the origins of life’s homochirality: Inducing enantiomeric excess with spin-polarized electrons”. PNAS. 119 (28). doi:10.1073/pnas.2204751119.
- Ozturk, S. F.; Sasselov, D. D.; Sutherland, J. D. (2023). “The central dogma of biological homochirality: How does chiral information propagate in a prebiotic network?”. The Journal of Chemical Physics. 159 (10). doi:10.1063/5.0157512.
Category:Turkish physicists
Category:Caltech faculty
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Bilkent University alumni
- ^ “Harvard Physics Student Awards: Gertrude and Maurice Goldhaber Prize Winners”. Harvard University Department of Physics. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
- ^ “Forbes Türkiye 30 Altı 30 ödülleri sahiplerini buldu (Forbes Turkey 30 Under 30 Awards Found Their Owners)”. Forbes Türkiye. November 18, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
- ^ “S. Furkan Ozturk – Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences”. www.gps.caltech.edu. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ “Ozturk Lab”. Ozturk Lab. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ “Breakthrough Discovery by our graduate Furkan Öztürk”. Bilkent University Department of Physics. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
- ^ “Introducing Furkan Ozturk”. Caltech Center for Comparative Planetary Evolution. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ Hadhazy, Adam (December 3, 2024). “Unraveling the Mystery of Right- and Left- “Handedness” in Biomolecules”. Harvard University Origins of Life Initiative. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
- ^ “Introducing Furkan Ozturk”. Caltech Center for Comparative Planetary Evolution. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ “S. Furkan Ozturk – Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences”. www.gps.caltech.edu. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ Saplakoglu, Yasemin (Sep 6, 2023). “Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry”. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ “Chemistry Shorts Releases New Film on Chirality”. Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. March 7, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
- ^ “Science”. AAAS. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
- ^ Özdemir, H. (June 23, 2023). “Turkish physicist makes groundbreaking discovery on ‘origin of life’“. TRT World. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
- ^ “Ozturk Lab”. Ozturk Lab. Retrieved Feb 8, 2026.
