Deniz has been fascinated by frozen and pristine environments ever since she could remember and thus, the poles become the most relevant regions for her to concentrate her efforts. During the Bachelor’s degree in Marine Engineering, and after the internship as an engine cadet, Deniz had focused on polar code requirements for ships for the Bachelor thesis, where she first became aware of the vulnerability of the Arctic to climate variability. Eventually, her aim as a global citizen was to be part of the solution to the climate crisis. Despite the positive impacts of Marine Engineering, such as improving engine efficiency, she did not feel that taking part in the shipping industry was not coherent with her personal views on environmental protection, which led her to switch the career path for her Master’s program. Studying in Geological Engineering brought a middle ground between Deniz’s interest in engineering and the environment. Deniz both studied at Istanbul Technical University and also has accomplished the lectures in Geosciences during her mobility at the University of Potsdam. In detail, Deniz took her MSc in permafrost research, focusing on the investigation of abrupt permafrost thaw features, especially thermokarst lakes in lowland settings, and better understanding its relationship with the permafrost-carbon feedback cycle.

As a professional, Deniz is working as a researcher in the Education and Outreach department at the Polar Research Institute (PRI) at The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK) and helped conduct project writing on the H2020 Green Deal, which applies citizen science approaches to illustrate the effects of climate change on polar regions and communicate those impacts to a general audience to foster sustainable-living, is improving middle and high school-level curriculum and presentations to explain the relationship polar ecosystems associated with climate change, as well as is preparing the activities both on raising the awareness on polar-climate topics, and on encouraging to diminish individual footprints in an environmentally- friendly manner.

In harmony with her profession, Deniz has been involved in various non-governmental organizations associated with protecting the marine environment/wildlife and fostering environmental sustainability, and leading several activities to increase individual engagement, contributing to other organizations such as Rotary International. Deniz is part of the Rotary family since 2009 and has taken part in many projects in different capacities (e.g. workshops on water and hygiene, improving the guidebook on green events, collaborating with peace projects, and volunteering in increasing education on health issues, etc.), and is currently active in the board of Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group to spread the peaceful and environmental action not only for Rotary members but also for every individual in the planet Earth.