The Student Academic Research (STAR) Program has been successfully implemented under the name EEE STAR in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at METU. The structure of CE STAR has largely been adapted from that program. CE STAR was initiated in 2019 by Dr. Alp Caner, with support from Dr. Ahmet Türer, the department chair at the time, to encourage undergraduate research.

The name of the program was later changed to the Dr. Elif Oğuz CE STAR Undergraduate Research Program in 2026 in memory of our faculty member Dr. Elif Oğuz to keep alive the deep respect and love we hold for her. Dr. Elif Oğuz, whom we lost on October 4, 2025, due to a tragic illness, served in our university’s Department of Civil Engineering as an Assistant Professor between 2018–2021 and as an Associate Professor between 2021–2025. Since 2020, as the Deputy Director of the METU Center for Wind Energy (RÜZGEM), she took on a leading role in the development of wind energy technologies through domestic and innovative solutions and played an active part in the center’s national and international collaborations.

The multidisciplinary studies she conducted on offshore wind turbines, floating solar, and hydrokinetic energy systems provided valuable contributions to the field of energy engineering. With her expertise in numerical modeling, performance analysis, and system optimization, she played a significant role in enhancing the research capacity of the METU Department of Civil Engineering through both her scientific publications and the projects she participated in.

Our esteemed Professor Elif is remembered not only for her academic knowledge but also as an educator who inspired her students. By combining her passion for knowledge with a desire to share, she served as a guide in the professional development of many students.