İlkyaz Sarımehmetoğlu (she/her/hers)

embodied interfaces & soft intelligence
[] visual index
is a transdisciplinary designer, researcher, and dancer exploring how machines think and communicate through material skins. Her research centers on embodied interfaces, computational textiles, and responsive material systems that integrate sensing, haptics, and computation. She is a Master of Science in Design Computation (’27) candidate at MIT.

Her research draws on advanced fabrication methods including CNC machine knitting, robotic fabrication, and soft material systems to develop bi-directional interfaces. Through these systems, she reframes textiles and material assemblies as active participants in human–machine interaction, performance, and making.

ilkyazs[at]mit[dot]edu
cv
how the brain machine works (blog)

[] hover index(interaction logic: medium)

Soft Intelligence: Embodied Mind[00] Sensing Device: Glove for AR Interaction
[01] Tactile Intelligence: Haptic Library / Textile Jukebox
[02] Performative Agency: Human Knitting
[03] Programmable Knitting: CNC Knitting
Situated Machines: Measurement Instruments
[04] Speed of Sound
[11] Spring Force Mechanics
Digital to Physical: Advanced Fabrication[05] Optimization for Digital Fabrication
[07] Machines of Making
Machine:[08] Perception
[09] Capturing
[10] Learning
Leftover Project[12] Retro-fitting
[13] The Alphabet Song
[14] Plotted Leftovers

Awards:

MIT Architecture Department Fellow, 2025 Awarded fellowship by the MIT Department of Architecture
Fulbright Scholarship, Master’s Grantee, 2023 - 2024 US Department of State Scholarship, Fulbright Turkiye

University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture, Master of Science Research Fellow, 2023
Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant, 2024
ArtsEngine Student Research Grant, 2024

ACADIA Student Scholarship, 2023
Winning Competition Entry ‘Ulus 100th Year Bazaar” Project in Architecture, 2022

Teaching:Cultures of Form (Assistant Instructor), 2025
Project Leftovers Workshop (Instructor), 2023

Exhibition:ZAP! 2024, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Duderstadt Gallery + Video Studio (artist)
Architecture is Art 2023, Ankara, CerModern (exhibition assistant)

Publication:Sarimehmetoglu, I., Qiu, J., Thaprawat, P., Zhou, G., Valikodath, N., Draelos, M., & Alves-Oliveira, P. (2025, July). Robot characters for innovative medical eye exams in kids. In Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference. ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3715336.3735445

Sarimehmetoglu, I., & Özcan, Z. (2025). ZAP!: Bio-Inspired Large-Scale Multimedia Installation. In Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2025) (pp. 90–95). International Computer Music Association.

Schiesser, A., Şimşek, D., Sarımehmetoğlu, İ., & Esendemir, G. (2018). Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of methylglyoxal – The major antibacterial component of Manuka honey. Mellifera, 18, 1–6. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/mellifera/issue/41786/504450