Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ozgur Tonkal | Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence | Best Researcher Award

Samsun University | Turkey

Dr. Ozgur Tonkal is a distinguished academician and researcher at Samsun University, specializing in cybersecurity, Software-Defined Networks (SDN), and AI-driven threat detection. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from Gazi University in 2022, where his doctoral research introduced an autonomous intrusion detection and mitigation model for SDN, providing adaptive and traffic-aware defense against volumetric attacks. Building on this foundation, he developed a multimodal spam email detection framework that integrates Distil BERT embeddings with structural features, achieving 99.62% accuracy and exposing concept drift vulnerabilities across eras of spam. Dr. Ozgur Tonkal has contributed significantly to both academic research and practical applications through international journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters that advance explainable and continually learning cybersecurity systems. His completed research includes DDoS detection using machine learning and neighborhood component analysis, while ongoing projects focus on adaptive spam detection, IoT traffic analysis, and explainable deep learning models for robust network security. Beyond academia, he serves as ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Lead Auditor, coordinator of a university Cyber Incident Response Team, and technical advisor for the Ministry of Education International Robotics Competition, demonstrating his ability to translate research into real-world solutions. Notable publications include studies on multimodal spam detection, AI-based dementia diagnosis, and DDoS attack detection in SDN. Dr. Ozgur Tonkal exemplifies excellence in research, innovation, and the practical implementation of cybersecurity solutions.

Profile: Google Scholar | ORCID | ResearchGate | LinkedIn | Staff Page

Featured Publications

• Tonkal, Ö., Polat, H., Başaran, E., Cömert, Z., & Kocaoglu, R. (2021). Machine learning approach equipped with neighbourhood component analysis for DDoS attack detection in software-defined networking. Electronics, 10(1227), 1–18. Cited by 128.

• Tonkal, Ö., & Polat, H. (2021). Traffic classification and comparative analysis with machine learning algorithms in software-defined networks. Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım ve Teknoloji, 9(1), 1–12. Cited by 15.

• Sertkaya, M. E., Ergen, B., Türkoğlu, M., & Tonkal, Ö. (2024). Accurate diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer’s with deep network approach based on multi‐channel feature extraction and selection. International Journal of Imaging Systems and Technology, 34(3), e23079. Cited by 4.

• Ouhsousou, S., & Tonkal, Ö. (2024). Analysis of global language dynamics: A cross-cultural examination of the most spoken languages and perceived learning ease. 8th International Artificial Intelligence and Data Processing Symposium, 1–6. Cited by 1.

• Selimdaroğlu, Y., Yusuf, & Tonkal, Ö. (2025). Acil durum çağrı merkezi uygulamalarında kullanıcı memnuniyeti ve performans analizi: 112 örneği. International Journal of Advances in Engineering and Pure Sciences, 37(2), 45–60.