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<\/p>\nWe’re back with #WNBiPonWednesdays! For this post, we interviewed Idil, a second year physics undergraduate who won the 2025 Imperial FoNS-MAD innovation competition, securing \u00a37,000 in funding and founding D-View. Thank you for speaking with us Idil!<\/p>\n
Can you talk about your experience participating in FoNS-MAD competition, and founding D-View?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n It was a very unique experience – I would definitely recommend it! The competition team was <\/span>very supportive<\/span> from the moment that we’ve applied and there are lots of opportunities, like getting a <\/span>lab space, funding, and an advisor<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n What we’re trying to have at the end is a <\/span>micro seismic event detector<\/span> that’s based on AI, so that it can be deployed in earthquake search and rescue. The motivation is from the <\/span>2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake<\/span>. We’re both Turkish students, so it’s a very personal idea that’s close to our hearts, and receiving such support as two Turkish students in our first year at the university meant a lot for us. And after winning, thanks to the publicity we got from different social platforms, we were contacted by <\/span>venture capitals and different investors<\/span> about our product!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How can you see D-View evolving beyond the competition?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to being contacted about funding from investors, we’re also considering <\/span>different accelerator programs<\/span> to take D-View to next stage. We’re actually also in contact with <\/span>Turkish official governments<\/span> to get this product on the market as soon as possible, so it can be used in an earthquake that’s definitely going to happen in a few years in Istanbul.<\/span><\/p>\n D-View actually stands for <\/span>Drone View<\/span> – so at the end, we want to have the system integrated on a drone so it can operate <\/span>autonomously<\/span>, without a technician. And we want to have a product that can be used in <\/span>different scenarios<\/span>, other than earthquake searches and rescues later on as well.<\/span><\/p>\n What have you done to develop your interest in physics, outside of the course?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Towards the end of last summer, I participated in a <\/span>stellar evolution research group<\/span> to look into supermassive stars and their existence. I got in contact with a <\/span>PhD student from the University of Chicago<\/span> who\u2019s now working at Harvard, and he was looking for people to join in. We used a very old programming language and <\/span>computer simulations<\/span> to see how different generation stars behave through long periods of time.<\/span><\/p>\n I also like to read about physics in my free time as well! Specifically, about how physics is <\/span>connected to different disciplines<\/span> like art or philosophy.<\/span><\/p>\n What do you do in your free time, apart from physics?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Currently, I\u2019m not in any societies since D-View was taking up a lot of my time. But my way of dealing with academic stress is <\/span>music<\/span>. I like to play instruments – I play the piano whenever I have free time. I\u2019ll usually book a music room in the <\/span>Blyth Center for Music<\/span> at Imperial, and just go there learn a few new pieces. I actually started taking classes on <\/span>violin<\/span> as well, so I’m learning violin right now. I think it’s really helpful in terms of <\/span>emotional discharge<\/span>!<\/span><\/p>\n What advice would you give to your younger self?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I think I would tell her to <\/span>pursue her passions <\/span>regardless of what other people are saying. When I was applying for physics, I had a lot of people coming up and telling me that I wouldn\u2019t be able to thrive in physics because I’m a woman. Being able to <\/span>put myself forward with the competition in my first year<\/span> really proved to myself that I can achieve and grow in an academic environment, as long as I <\/span>stay confident and stay determined.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re back with #WNBiPonWednesdays! For this post, we interviewed Idil, a second year physics undergraduate who won the 2025 Imperial FoNS-MAD innovation competition, securing \u00a37,000 in funding and founding D-View. Thank you for speaking with us Idil! Can you talk about your experience participating in FoNS-MAD competition, and founding D-View? It was a very unique […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1958,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"yoast_head":"\n