Curriculum Vitae

1. Personal Details

• Surname: Varol
• Name: Aygün
• Email: aygun.varol@tuni.fi
• ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4029-7676
• Personal website: aygunvarol.github.io
• GitHub: aygunvarol
• LinkedIn: aygunvarol
• Google Scholar: Aygün Varol
• Date of CV: 08.10.2026

2. Profile

AI/IoT Research Engineer with 5+ years of experience in developing smart indoor environments through the integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Expertise in Large Language Model (LLM) deployment on edge devices, AI security research, and end-to-end IoT system design.

3. Degrees

• D.Sc. (ongoing), Computing and Electrical Engineering, GPA: 4.71/5.0, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, 2023–Present
• M.Sc. (2022), Electrical and Electronics Engineering, GPA: 3.8/4.0, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Isparta, Türkiye, 2020–2022
• B.Sc. (2017), Electrical and Electronics Engineering, GPA: 3.35/4.0, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Türkiye, 2013–2017

4. Other Education and Expertise

• The European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence (ESSAI & ACAI), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, 2024

5. Language Skills

• Native language: Turkish

• Other languages:

  • English (Proficient – C1, IELTS: 7)
  • Finnish (Elementary)
  • German (Elementary)

6. Current Employment

Doctoral Researcher, Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, August 2023–Present

• My doctoral research focuses on AI-driven smart indoor environments, IoT, and the risks of deploying autonomous AI agents in everyday settings. I work as a doctoral researcher in the EVIL-AI Project (Identification and Mitigation of the Negative Effects of Artificial Intelligence Agents), a multidisciplinary research project funded by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.

7. Previous Work Experience

• Research and Teaching Assistant, Faculty of Technology, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Isparta, Türkiye, January 2020–December 2023
• Electrical Maintenance Engineer Intern, Habaş Industrial and Medical Gases Production Industries Inc., İzmir, Türkiye, July 2016
• Electrical Maintenance Engineer Intern, Çimentaş İzmir Cement Factory, İzmir, Türkiye, June 2015

8. Research Funding and Grants

• Study Abroad Programme Scholarship, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of National Education, 2023–2027

  • Budget: €70,000
  • Role: Doctoral Scholarship Recipient
  • Activity: Competitive programme sponsoring Turkish students for postgraduate studies abroad.

9. Research Output

• Total publications: 13
• Citations: 69
• h-index: 4
• i10-index: 2

Citation metrics from Google Scholar, October 2026.

Publications

1. Varol, A., Shaikh, A., Motlagh, N. H., Leino, M., & Virkki, J. (2026, August). Plot-and-Ask: Multimodal Local LLMs in Smart Environments for Visual IoT Analytics. In Proceedings of the 21st Conference on Computer Science and Intelligence Systems (FedCSIS) (ACSIS, Vol. 47, pp. 609–614). PTI.
2. Varol, A., Shaikh, A., Motlagh, N. H., Leino, M., & Virkki, J. (2026, June). Multi-Agent Large Language Models for Distributed Internet of Things Analytics in Smart Environments. In 2026 11th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech). IEEE.
3. Savolainen, I., Vestelin, J., Ihalainen, T., Varol, A., & Virkki, J. (2026, June). A Structured Prompt-Based Approach to Evaluating Exploitative Misuse in Generative AI. In 2026 11th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech). IEEE.
4. Vuohijoki, T., Huhtasalo, J., Raukola-Lindblom, M., Deloso, R., Sakif, M. M., Kivin, O., Rautio, T., Tavakoli, A., Gonzalez Visiedo, C., Mattila, H., Rahman, S. M., Sipola, P., Ihalainen, T., Varol, A., Virkki, J., & Merilampi, S. (2026, June). User-Centred Concept Creation of Cloth-Based Activators to Support Social Inclusion. In 2026 11th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech). IEEE.
5. Varol, A., Shaikh, A., Jalo, H., Muchenje, G., de Cerqueira, J. S., Kemell, K.-K., Motlagh, N. H., Leino, M., Pirkkalainen, H., Abrahamsson, P., & Virkki, J. (2026). Evil-AI Benchmark: An Evaluation Framework for Adversarial Security Assessment of LLM Agents in Smart Environments. IEEE Access, 14, 133098–133116.
6. Motlagh, N. H., Varol, A., Zaidan, M. A., Fung, P. L., Varjonen, S., Nurmi, P., & Tarkoma, S. (2026). Measuring the Atmosphere: Environmental Sensing for Occupant Flows in Commercial Spaces. IEEE Internet of Things Journal.
7. Varol, A., Motlagh, N. H., Leino, M., Tarkoma, S., & Virkki, J. (2026). Creation of AI-driven smart spaces for enhanced indoor environments—a survey. Internet of Things, 36, 101876.
8. Varol, A., Motlagh, N. H., Leino, M., & Virkki, J. (2025, June). Performance of Large Language Models Across Edge and Cloud Platforms in Smart Spaces. In 2025 10th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies (SpliTech) (pp. 1–6). IEEE.
9. Shaikh, A., Varol, A., & Virkki, J. (2025). From Prompts to Motors: Man-in-the-Middle Attacks on LLM-Enabled Vacuum Robots. IEEE Access, 13, 137505–137513.
10. Varol, A., Yucel, F., Yuce, E., & Cakir, A. (2024). A single-IC realizable, electronically tunable, OTA-based full-wave rectifier with simultaneous positive and negative outputs. AEU – International Journal of Electronics and Communications, 183, 155374.
11. Kayaalp, K., & Varol, A. (2024). LeNet ve ResNet Derin Öğrenme Modelleri ile Asma Yapraklarının Sınıflandırması. Veri Bilimi, 7(1), 16–25.
12. Varol, A., Yucel, F., & Cakir, A. (2023). A new electronically tunable transimpedance-mode OTA-based first-order universal filter and its quadrature oscillator application. Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers, 32(11), 2350184.
13. Varol, A., & Çetin, B. K. (2020). A New Mobile Application For Physical Measurement in A Cellular Network. Journal of Scientific Reports-A, (045), 178–200.

Preprints

1. Varol, A., Kołodziej, K., Sobczak, Ł., Romaszewski, M., Głomb, P., Motlagh, N. H., Leino, M., & Virkki, J. (2026). Enabling Cloud-Level Accuracy in Edge AI through IoT Data Preprocessing. arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.22496.

Google Scholar Profile

10. Research Supervision and Leadership Experience

Graduate Supervision

• Amber Ikram, Master’s Student, Tampere University — Co-Supervisor, 2025–Present

Undergraduate Supervision

• Blaise Mwubahamana, Bachelor’s Student, Tampere University — Supervisor, 2026–Present
• Bachelor’s research projects: 5 projects supervised at Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2020–2023
  • Programme: TÜBİTAK 2209-A Research Grant Program for University Students

11. Teaching Merits

Teaching Assistant

• DPHAT 100 – Gameful Realities Doctoral Seminar, Tampere University, 2025–2026
• EEM-203 – Electronics I, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2020–2024
• EEM-209 – Digital Systems, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2020–2024
• EEM-204 – Electronics II, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2019–2023
• EEM-252 – Digital System Design, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2019–2023
• EEM-301 – Microprocessor System Design, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2021–2023
• EEM-114 – Fundamentals of Electrical and Electronics, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2019–2022
• EEM-202 – Circuit Analysis II, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, 2020–2021

Guest Lecturer

• HTI.470 – Human-Centred and Societal Perspectives to Artificial Intelligence, Tampere University, Tampere (Remote), 2 February 2026

12. Other Key Academic Merits

Reviewing

• Journal, IEEE Access — External Reviewer, June 2026
• Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (NordiCHI 2026) — External Reviewer, June 2026
• Journal, Internet of Things, ISSN: 2542-6605 — External Reviewer, May 2026
• The 35th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN 2026) — External Reviewer, April 2026

Chairing

• SpliTech 2026 – 11th International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Technologies — Academic Chair, Split, Croatia, June 2026
• EnvSys 2026 – 14th International Workshop on Energy Harvesting & Energy-Neutral Sensing Systems — Academic Chair, Saint Malo, France, May 2026
• EnvSys 2025 – 13th International Workshop on Energy Harvesting & Energy-Neutral Sensing Systems — Academic Chair, Irvine, USA, May 2025

Invited Talks

• AI Agents in Smart Spaces, The 1st Winter School on 3D Digitainability, Tampere University, Tampere, December 2024

Presentations

• Plot-and-Ask: Multimodal Local LLMs in Smart Environments for Visual IoT Analytics, FedCSIS 2026, Riga, Latvia, August 2026
• Generative AI Risks and Where to Find Them, Tampere University, Tampere, September 2025
• Performance of Large Language Models Across Edge and Cloud Platforms in Smart Spaces, SpliTech 2025, Split, Croatia, June 2025
• Risks of Employing AI Agents in Smart Environments, Tampere University, Tampere, May 2025

13. Other Merits

Technical Competencies

• Internet of Things: End-to-end IoT prototyping, including devices, data collection, data processing, dashboards, and user interfaces
• Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Large Language Models: Machine learning, deep learning training, LLM fine-tuning, quantization, deployment, and evaluation across edge devices and cloud platforms, using both proprietary and open-source models
• Local and Embedded Systems: Mac Mini, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, edge-device AI and sensor deployments, time-series data analytics, monitoring, and automation
• Sensor Networks: Wireless communication technologies and protocols, Wi-Fi, HTTP, and REST
• Developer Tools: Visual Studio, Android Studio, MATLAB, PSpice, Origin
• Programming Languages: Python, C, C++, Java, LaTeX

📌 Last Updated: 08.10.2026

My CV