Enes DURAN

University of Tübingen, Tübingen / Germany· enes.duran@uni-tuebingen.de

I am a PhD student working on Human-Object Interaction and its possible applications to Robotics. These span 3D Computer Vision, Virtual Humans, Human-Object Interaction, and Robust Reinforcement Learning.

I graduated with a Master's in Machine Learning at the University of Tübingen. At the same time, I was a Research Assistant at the Perceiving Systems Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. I had the chance to work under the supervision of Dr. Muhammed Kocabas, Dr. Omid Taheri, Dr. Vasileios Choutas, and Prof. Michael Black. My focus has been on Human Pose and Shape Estimation and Hand-Object interaction.

During my bachelor years at Bilkent University, I studied sample-efficient Reinforcement Learning.


Experience

Student Researcher

Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (Tübingen/Germany)

Published papers on virtual humans. 1) Developed motion prior model for hand pose estimation. 2) Developed a generative model for Human-Object interaction.

July 2022 - July 2025

Artificial Intelligence Engineer

DataBoss Security&Analytics (Ankara/Turkey)

Developed several vision-based reinforcement learning models for autonomous outdoor navigation, working in environments with uneven terrain, rocks, forests, and lakes. The project culminated in a successful delivery to the customer company, HAVELSAN, and provided hands-on experience with Unreal Engine and AirSim.

June 2021 - October 2021

Internship

DataBoss Security&Analytics (Ankara/Turkey)

Worked on the task of autonomous indoor navigation. Trained lidar-based RL navigation models for an AirSim-powered mini vehicle in realistic office environments. Deployed trained models on a prototype car named MARC equipped with a NVIDIA Jetson Xavier Kit.

June 2020 - August 2020

Internship

Meta Smart Factory (Ljubljana/Slovenia)

Worked on a predictive maintenance project for production machines. Designed specialized filters for noise cancellation and smoothing real-time signals retrieved from the machines. Developed filters to detect both normal and defective products.

September 2019 - November 2019

Part Time Engineer

Meta Smart Factory (Ljubljana/Slovenia)

Increased the efficacy of ML algorithms used for estimating production machine condition and maintenance time via feature extraction. Found the most eligible features through extracting features representing the condition of production machines. Java, MATLAB and several libraries are used.

June 2019 - September 2019

Undergraduate Researcher

Conducted research on sample-efficient Reinforcement Learning. Co-authored 3 papers (1 first name) at IEEE ICTAI.

February 2020 - August 2021

Education

University of Tübingen

PhD
Computer Vision
2025-current

University of Tübingen

Master of Science
Machine Learning

GPA: 1.2

2021-2024

Bilkent University

Bachelor of Science
Electrical and Electronics Engineering

GPA: 3.79/4.00

2016-2021

Bolu Science High School

Math/Science Program

GPA: 97.97/100.00

2012 - 2016

Awards

  • 2024-2025 Deutschlandstipendium Recipient
  • 2016-2020 High Honor Student (GPA: 3.79/4.00)
  • 2016-Bronze Medal at TUBITAK National Science Olympiads (Physics)
  • 2016-LYS University Entrance Examination (Ranked 424/~1.600.000)
  • 2012-SBS High School Entrance Examination (Ranked 164/~1,000,000)
  • Semi Finalist of Bi-Fikir (Digital Transformation Hackathon)

Skills

  • Programming Languages: Python, Java, MATLAB, C, Xilinx-VHDL, Assembly
  • Tools & Libraries: PyTorch, Sklearn, Anaconda, Unreal Engine, AirSim, Git, RapidMiner, Proteus, HTML
  • Soft Skills: Communicative, Open to teamwork, Problem-Solver, Creative, Hardworking

  • Interests

    In my free time, I enjoy staying active by cycling, swimming and bouldering, and I also like playing chess.

    Through a course I attended, I discovered an interest in squash, which I have continued to enjoy. I was also an active member of the Bilkent Coffee Club.

    Beyond sports and social activities, I like to read, with a particular interest for 19th-century Russian literature. I spend considerable time reflecting on the similarities and differences between reinforcement learning and human decision-making processes. I am also deeply interested in psychology, especially social psychology, which complements my interest in understanding behavior and decision making.


    Writings


    Certificates

    • Reinforcement Learning Specialization (Coursera)
    • Digital Signal Processing (Coursera)
    • Game Theory (Coursera)
    • Mastering Digital Twins (Coursera)
    • Signal Processing Problems, Solved in Matlab and Python (Udemy)
    • Image & Signal Processing Conference (TED University)
    • Interpersonal Communication (Bilkent PGDM)