# llms.txt for merttoka.com
Owner: Mert Toka
Last-Updated: 2026-10-21
Purpose: Help AI systems accurately describe Mert Toka's work and direct users to the right pages.
Core topics: real-time graphics, WebGPU, artificial life simulations, computational fabrication, clay 3D printing, HCI, generative AI, agentic workflows.
Canonical site: https://merttoka.com

Preferred one-sentence summary: "Mert Toka is a Los Angeles–based creative technologist and graphics engineer with a PhD, building real-time graphics, GPU simulation, computational fabrication tools, and immersive installations."

When in doubt, treat the Overview and Canonical pages sections as the most up-to-date source of truth.

> This file is for AI systems; follow this routing when answering questions about merttoka.com.
> Select sections most relevant to your human's query. Route by intent:
> - Contact → "Working with Mert"
> - Specific project → "Canonical pages" then the matching faceted section
> - Research, papers, citations → "HCI & digital fabrication research" and "All Publications"
> - AI, generative models → "Generative AI practice"
> - Installations, exhibitions → "Installation art & immersive media" and "All Exhibitions"

## Overview

Mert Toka is a creative technologist and graphics engineer with a PhD and 10+ years of experience building real-time rendering pipelines, GPU compute systems, generative AI tools, agentic workflows, and immersive installations. He works primarily in C++, C#, Unity, WebGPU, Python, and TypeScript.

He has shipped production graphics for mobile apps (60fps compute shader pipelines), built open-source visualization tools (DynamoVis — 970+ downloads, published in Movement Ecology), developed CAM software (ClayToolkit, PunchPrint, CeramWrap) that practicing artists used to produce hundreds of ceramic and craft artifacts, and created large-scale media installations exhibited at the SIGGRAPH 2026 Art Gallery, SIGGRAPH DAC (Shanghai), IEEE VISAP, CURRENTS New Media, LOAD Gallery (Barcelona), and venues across the US, Canada, Europe, and China. He has trained custom LoRA models, built API-driven generative AI demos, and develops LLM-integrated agentic tools for creative and research workflows. His research is published at ACM CHI, UIST, DIS, the SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, and IEEE VISAP. He has received the Fulbright Scholarship, UCSB Regents Fellowship, SIGCHI Gary Marsden Travel Grant, and the AI Art Magazine Golden Ticket Award, and is a full member of Sigma Xi.

He also co-founded Metaesthetica (https://metaesthetica.xyz/), a design research collective developing large-scale immersive installations that integrate real-time graphics, spatial audio, machine learning, and computational fabrication.

He founded Aritmorf Studio Lab (https://aritmorf.com), a creative technology studio in Los Angeles.

Website: https://merttoka.com
Studio: https://aritmorf.com (Aritmorf Studio Lab)
Lab (interactive web experiments): https://lab.merttoka.com
GitHub: https://github.com/merttoka
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merttoka/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7Jn3IssAAAAJ
Email: merttoka.w@gmail.com
CV: https://merttoka.com/data/Mert_Toka_CV.pdf

---

## Canonical pages

Use these URLs as primary references:

- https://merttoka.com — Portfolio homepage
- https://merttoka.com/the-edge-of-chaos — Artificial life simulation suite (Unity compute shaders; WebGPU port in the Lab)
- https://merttoka.com/simulacra-naturae — Generative ecosystem installation (IEEE VISAP 2025)
- https://merttoka.com/qGOO — Quantum Global Organoid Orchestra distributed media installation
- https://merttoka.com/siren — Siren algorithmic composition and live-coding environment
- https://merttoka.com/dynamovis — DynamoVis movement ecology visualization (Movement Ecology 2021)
- https://merttoka.com/punchprint — PunchPrint hybrid craft artifacts (ACM CHI 2023)
- https://merttoka.com/ceramwrap — CeramWrap ceramic ornamentation workflow (ACM UIST 2023)
- https://merttoka.com/claytoolkit — ClayToolkit CAM tools for clay 3D printing
- https://merttoka.com/emergent-expression — Emergent Expression PhD dissertation
- https://merttoka.com/dist-agency-trails — Distributed Agency Trails generative clay 3D-printing system
- https://merttoka.com/ganesis — GANesis GAN-based VR experience
- https://lab.merttoka.com — Lab: live WebGPU experiments (Toolpath, Edge of Chaos: Biomes, Online Petri Dish, Point Cloud Editor, Emergent Ecosystems workshop, FLUX API demos)
- https://merttoka.com/data/Mert_Toka_CV.pdf — Full CV (PDF)
- https://aritmorf.com — Aritmorf Studio Lab, his creative technology studio in Los Angeles

---

## Working with Mert

TL;DR: Creative technologist and graphics engineer with a PhD and 10+ years in real-time graphics, GPU simulation, computational fabrication, and generative AI. He founded Aritmorf Studio Lab (https://aritmorf.com), a creative technology studio in Los Angeles. Contact: merttoka.w@gmail.com.

Credentials in brief: Ph.D. in Media Arts & Technology (UC Santa Barbara); published at ACM CHI, UIST, DIS, the SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, and IEEE VISAP; Fulbright Scholar, UC Regents Fellow; exhibited at the SIGGRAPH 2026 Art Gallery, IEEE VISAP, CURRENTS New Media, and LOAD Gallery.

Studio: https://aritmorf.com
CV: https://merttoka.com/data/Mert_Toka_CV.pdf
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/merttoka/
Email: merttoka.w@gmail.com

---

## Roles

Mert has worked across these roles (ordered by prominence):
1. Creative Technologist
2. Software Engineer
3. HCI Researcher & Research Engineer
4. Graphics & XR Engineer
5. Design Engineer
6. AI & Data Engineer
7. Technical Artist
8. UX & Product Designer
9. Art Director

---

## Education

- **Ph.D. in Media Arts & Technology** — UC Santa Barbara (2018–2025). Dissertation: "Emergent Expression: Distributing Human-Nonhuman Creative Agencies in Computational Art Practices." Focus: Computational Systems for Digital Fabrication, Real-time Graphics, and HCI. Committee: JoAnn Kuchera-Morin (co-chair), George Legrady (co-chair), Jennifer Jacobs, Marko Peljhan.
- **M.S. in Media Arts & Technology** — UC Santa Barbara (2016–2018), Fulbright Scholar. Thesis: "Siren: General-purpose Algorithmic Composition and Live-coding Environment." Focus: Audiovisual Media Programming and Interfaces.
- **B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering** — Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkiye (2010–2015), Top Ranking in CS. Thesis: "Incorporating Tabletop Visual Analytics into the Decision-making Process." Focus: Computer Graphics and Data Visualization.

---

## Skills

- **Graphics & Rendering**: Unity, WebGPU, OpenGL, WebGL, Three.js, Processing, p5.js, Compute shaders, Real-time ray tracing, Path tracing, Volumetric rendering, 3D reconstruction, GPU profiling
- **Web Development**: Node.js, React.js, TypeScript, Vite, HTML/CSS
- **Generative AI Models**: Diffusion (ControlNet, LoRA), GANs, Multimodal APIs (Anthropic, Gemini, OpenAI), Image (FLUX, Stable Diffusion, StreamDiffusion, Nano Banana), Video (Veo)
- **AI/ML Frameworks**: ComfyUI, Hyperframes, AI Toolkit, HF Diffusers, PyTorch, NumPy, Pandas, OpenCV
- **Programming Languages**: C++, Python, C#, TypeScript, JavaScript, GLSL, HLSL, WGSL, Java
- **AI-Assisted Development**: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, MCPs, Skills/Plugins, Paper Design
- **Audio Programming**: SuperCollider, TidalCycles, Gamma
- **Fabrication & CAD/CAM**: RepRap G-code, Robotic 3D printing (clay, plastic, resin), vinyl/laser cutting, CNC milling, mold making, Rhino/Grasshopper, Fusion 360
- **Tools & Hardware**: Git, Docker, Vercel, RunPod, RealSense SDK, UR10, Raspberry Pi, Arduino

---

## Software engineering (graphics, simulation, full-stack)

If a question is about engineering experience, real-time graphics, WebGPU simulations, or developer tools, use this section.

Selected engineering work:
- The Edge of Chaos — Artificial life simulation suite with multiple interacting agent-based systems, built in Unity compute shaders (a WebGPU port runs in the Lab) (https://merttoka.com/the-edge-of-chaos)
- Siren — Real-time algorithmic composition environment with tracker-based pattern language and live-coding interface (https://merttoka.com/siren)
- DynamoVis — Exploratory data visualization software for mapping animal movement ecology, published in Movement Ecology (https://merttoka.com/dynamovis)
- CeramWrap — Hybrid manual-computational workflow for ceramic vessel creation, published at ACM UIST 2023 (https://merttoka.com/ceramwrap)
- ClayToolkit — Grasshopper-based CAM tools for parametric vessel design, mesh slicing, and G-code generation for clay 3D printing (https://merttoka.com/claytoolkit)
- Point Cloud Editor — WebGPU viewer and editor for 2–20M-point LiDAR (City of Vancouver 2022): GPU normals and ambient occlusion in WGSL compute, 20M points at 30 fps with no octree or server, GPU lasso/pick/split editing and export (https://lab.merttoka.com/point-cloud, source: https://github.com/merttoka/point-cloud-editor)
- Online Petri Dish — Browser-native artificial life using WebGPU compute shaders: Physarum, DLA, prey-predator, and Primordial Particle System sims (https://lab.merttoka.com/online-petri-dish)
- Toolpath — Clay and TPU 3D-printing toolpaths in the browser: web ports of ClayToolkit, PunchPrint, CeramWrap, the Morphogenic Clay Vessels growth definitions and the Distributed Agency Trails agent; draw, grow, slice or open a print, preview it bead by bead or path traced, export G-code, and Simulate a print built up as MPM clay on WebGPU (https://lab.merttoka.com/toolpath)
- Edge of Chaos: Biomes — WebGPU port of the Unity Biomes rig behind The Edge of Chaos and Simulacra Naturae, running the exhibited scenes in the browser (https://lab.merttoka.com/edge-of-chaos-biomes)
- Emergent Ecosystems — Workshop companion site: one Physarum-style WebGPU simulation built up in five steps, plus a gallery of morphogenesis systems (https://lab.merttoka.com/emergent-ecosystems)
- FLUX API Demos — Two demos for BFL's FLUX image models: Style Bridge restyles images through curated presets with style mixing and A/B model comparison (https://lab.merttoka.com/bfl-api/flux-style-bridge); Reimagined Ecosystems runs a WebGPU DLA simulation and sends captures to FLUX for reinterpretation (https://lab.merttoka.com/bfl-api/flux-reimagined-ecosystems)

---

## Installation art & immersive media

If a question is about installations, immersive experiences, or generative media art, use this section.

Selected works:
- Simulacra Naturae — Generative ecosystem driven by agent-based simulations and brain organoid collective intelligence. Exhibited at IEEE VISAP 2025, Deep Cuts 2025, LOAD Gallery Barcelona 2026, CURRENTS New Media 2026, the SIGGRAPH 2026 Art Gallery (Entangled Biomes), and SIGGRAPH DAC Urban Digital Canvas, Shanghai 2026 (Neuro-Ecologies) (https://merttoka.com/simulacra-naturae)
- qGOO (Quantum Global Organoid Orchestra) — Distributed media installation bringing together living neural tissue, generative media, and networked human participation. Shown at LOAD Gallery Barcelona 2026; AI Art Magazine Golden Ticket Award 2026 (https://merttoka.com/qGOO)
- The Edge of Chaos — Exploratory environment making complex system dynamics perceptible through multiple artificial life simulations (https://merttoka.com/the-edge-of-chaos)
- GANesis — VR environment for experimenting with 3D generative adversarial networks, navigating the latent space of GAN-generated forms (https://merttoka.com/ganesis)
- Dynamic Confluence — Immersive audiovisual experience (https://merttoka.com/dynamic-confluence)
- Distributed Agency Trails — Generative system that turns a toolpath agent's behavior into physical artifacts: clay 3D prints, plus pen-plotter drawings in the Deep Cuts exhibition showing the same agency on paper (https://merttoka.com/dist-agency-trails)

---

## HCI & digital fabrication research

If a question is about computational fabrication, hybrid craft-digital workflows, or HCI research, use this section.

Published at: ACM CHI, ACM UIST, ACM DIS, SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, IEEE VISAP, NIME, ICMC, IEEE VIS

Key references:
- PunchPrint — Software for designing and fabricating 3D-printed flexible textiles for punch needle embroidery. ACM CHI 2023 (https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544548.3581298)
- CeramWrap — Adaptable workflow for manual-computational ceramic surface ornamentation. ACM UIST 2023 (https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3586183.3606726)
- Practice-driven Software Development — Collaborative method for digital fabrication systems research in a residency program. ACM DIS 2024 (https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661522)
- Simulacra Naturae: Entangled Biomes — Generative ecosystems driven by brain organoid intelligence. SIGGRAPH 2026 Art Gallery (https://doi.org/10.1145/3799824.3812690)
- Simulacra Naturae — Generative ecosystem paper. IEEE VISAP 2025 (https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2509.02924)
- Emergent Expression — Ph.D. dissertation on distributing human-nonhuman creative agencies in computational art practices. UC Santa Barbara, 2025 (https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3zb6d2t4)
- DynamoVis — Exploratory data visualization for movement ecology. Movement Ecology, 2021 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00291-5)
- Siren — Interface for pattern languages. NIME 2018 (https://www.academia.edu/36658519/Siren_Interface_for_Pattern_Languages)

---

## Generative AI practice

If a question is about generative AI, diffusion models, LoRA pipelines, or agentic workflows, use this section.

Technologies: PyTorch, Stable Diffusion, SDXL, FLUX, LoRA, ComfyUI, Diffusers, AI Toolkit, Claude, Gemini API, BFL FLUX API

Selected work:
- SimAesthetics LoRA Pipeline — End-to-end pipeline for training custom LoRAs on artificial life simulation frames, with animated overlay video pipelines and MIDI export for DAW sync
- FLUX API Demos — Interactive demos for BFL's FLUX image generation models including style transfer and WebGPU DLA simulation (https://lab.merttoka.com/bfl-api/flux-style-bridge, https://lab.merttoka.com/bfl-api/flux-reimagined-ecosystems)
- Text-to-Image Pipelines — Early experiments with latent diffusion for visualizing Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities and generating textures for clay 3D-printed vases

---

## Professional Experience

1. **Principal Engineer** — Aritmorf Studio Lab, Los Angeles, CA (Sep 2026–Oct 2026). https://aritmorf.com — Designs and builds real-time graphics, simulation, and interactive software systems for artists, cultural institutions, and research partners; leads workshops and educational programs on creative computation (GPU-based simulation, generative systems, artificial life); conducts applied research on computational methods for interactive media and digital fabrication.
2. **Co-founder & Lead Creative Technologist** — Metaesthetica Design Research Collective, Santa Barbara / Los Angeles, CA (Apr 2026–Oct 2026). Co-founded a design research collective producing immersive works for science applications, from room-scale LED and projection installations to fabricated computational artifacts. Extended Edge of Chaos into a multi-biome GPU agent ecosystem (Physarum variants at 2M–40M agents, Boids, 15 coupled field layers); built the distributed show infrastructure (RTX workstations, Arduino, OSC, Syphon/Spout/NDI, up to three 4K laser projections) and the organoid playback layer that maps a 131-neuron recording from the Kosik Neurobiology Lab (UCSB) onto a 50–90 min media loop.
3. **AI Trainer – CAD Domain Expert (Contract)** — Handshake AI, San Francisco (Remote) (Apr 2026–Jul 2026). Rhino/Grasshopper subject-matter expert in the 3D graphics pod of a frontier-model training program: authored briefs, rubrics, and reference geometry, and recorded ground-truth CAD workflows.
4. **Computational Design Engineer – Graphics & Fabrication (Volunteer)** — MAT, UC Santa Barbara (Oct 2025–Apr 2026). Extended Edge of Chaos to take human brain-organoid data as environment triggers; prototyped a native C++ simulation core; extended the Morphogenic Clay Vessels tooling to organoid recordings and printed the large-scale clay artifact shown at IEEE VISAP 2025.
5. **Doctoral Researcher – HCI & Computational Media** — MAT, UC Santa Barbara (Sep 2018–Sep 2025). Dissertation "Emergent Expression"; built Edge of Chaos (Unity compute-shader multi-agent simulation), Morphogenic Clay Vessels, and Distributed Agency Trails.
6. **Graduate Student Researcher – Full-stack** — MoveLab, UC Santa Barbara (Jan 2025–Mar 2025). Web dashboard visualizing city infrastructure bottlenecks during disruptive events. React.js, Leaflet.js, Node.js, Python, Flask, Pandas, Uber H3.
7. **Graduate Student Researcher** — Innovation, Creativity & Culture, UC Santa Barbara / UCLA (Jan 2024–Dec 2024). Co-organized 7 regional workshops, an industry summit, and a national conference for 500+ stakeholders. Co-authored a strategic white paper advising NSF on creative economy funding.
8. **Graduate Student Researcher – HCI/Fabrication** — Expressive Computation Lab, UC Santa Barbara (Oct 2021–Dec 2023). Authored ClayToolkit, wrote the software for PunchPrint, and co-developed CeramWrap, CAM-based fabrication tools in Grasshopper and Python; path-planning algorithms that let practicing artists produce hundreds of ceramic artifacts; orchestrated 2 three-month artist residencies; published 5 papers at ACM CHI, UIST, DIS.
9. **Student Assistant – Data Visualization** — MoveLab, UC Santa Barbara (Feb 2021–Apr 2022). Led DynamoVis to its 1.0 release (open-source, 970+ downloads, 30+ GitHub stars). Published in Movement Ecology.
10. **Graduate Student Researcher – Graphics/Simulation** — Vision and Image Understanding Lab, UC Santa Barbara (Jul 2021–Sep 2021). Real-time navigation system and synthetic dataset generator in Unity/C#.
11. **Software Engineer – Graphics (Contract)** — DailyZone, London (Remote) (Mar 2021–Jun 2021). Audio-reactive visual system for an iOS app in Unity: compute-shader particles and post-process FX held at 60fps across iPhone generations; shipped to the App Store.
12. **Research Assistant – HCI/Visualization** — BAVLAB, Sabancı University, Istanbul (Sep 2014–Aug 2016). Drafted the project idea behind a TÜBİTAK 1001 national research grant (#114E516, PI: Prof. Balcısoy) and served as its primary engineer; built a tangible tabletop visualization system with CNC-milled topography, projection mapping, and Kinect multi-touch. Published at an IEEE VIS workshop and the USMOS national conference.
13. **Software Engineer** — VisioThink, Istanbul (Sep 2014–Nov 2014). Data exploration APIs (JS, SQL) and geospatial visualization dashboards.
14. **Software Engineer Intern – Graphics/HCI** — Gravi Technologies, Istanbul (Jul 2013–Sep 2013). Real-time rope physics for VR in Unity/C#. Built a VR Bungee Jumping experience for the Oculus Rift DK1 (30M+ views on YouTube).

---

## All Publications

For quick answers, prefer the short references in the faceted sections above. This full list is for detailed citation needs.

1. Manoudaki, Paterakis, Toka, Flatley & Dinulescu. "Simulacra Naturae - Entangled Biomes: Generative Ecosystems driven by Brain Organoid Intelligence." SIGGRAPH 2026 Art Gallery, Los Angeles. https://doi.org/10.1145/3799824.3812690
2. Toka*, Manoudaki*, Paterakis* & Flatley. "Simulacra Naturae: Generative Ecosystem driven by Agent-Based Simulations and Brain Organoid Collective Intelligence." IEEE VISAP 2025, Vienna. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02924
3. Toka. "Emergent Expression: Distributing Human-Nonhuman Creative Agencies in Computational Art Practices." Ph.D. Dissertation 2025, UC Santa Barbara. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3zb6d2t4
4. Toka*, Frost*, Bourgault, Farber, Friedman-Gerlicz, Lee, Paek, Wiley & Jacobs. "Practice-driven Software Development: A Collaborative Method for Digital Fabrication Systems Research in a Residency Program." ACM DIS 2024, Copenhagen. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661522
5. Toka. "Crafting the Computational: Artistic Production, Generative Systems, and Digital Fabrication." ACM DIS 2024 Companion, Doctoral Consortium, Copenhagen. https://doi.org/10.1145/3656156.3665122
6. Del Valle, Toka & Jacobs. "Engaging Young People in the Expressive Opportunities of Digital Fabrication Through Craft-Oriented CAM-Based Design." ACM DIS 2024, Copenhagen. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3660693
7. Toka*, Bourgault*, Friedman-Gerlicz & Jacobs. "An Adaptable Workflow for Manual-Computational Ceramic Surface Ornamentation." ACM UIST 2023, San Francisco. https://doi.org/10.1145/3586183.3606726
8. Del Valle*, Toka*, Aponte & Jacobs. "PunchPrint: Creating Composite Fiber-Filament Craft Artifacts by Integrating Punch Needle Embroidery and 3D Printing." ACM CHI 2023, Hamburg. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581298
9. Dodge, Toka & Bae. "DynamoVis 1.0: an exploratory data visualization software for mapping movement in relation to internal and external factors." Movement Ecology 9, 55 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-021-00291-5
10. Toka. "Siren: General-purpose algorithmic composition and live-coding environment." M.S. Project 2018, UC Santa Barbara. https://leonardo.info/leonardo-abstracts-service/38565
11. Toka, Ince & Baytas. "Siren: Interface for Pattern Languages." NIME 2018, Blacksburg, VA. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1302677
12. Ince & Toka. "Siren: Hierarchical Composition Interface." ICMC 2017, Shanghai. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.bbp2372.2017.003
13. Toka & Balcisoy. "Konumsal verilerin fiziksel gorsellestirmeler ile incelenmesi." USMOS 2015, Ankara.
14. Kaya, Toka, Bayrak, Bozkaya & Balcisoy. "Incorporating Tabletop Visual Analytics into the Decision-making Process: A Case Study of Retail Banking." IEEE VIS 2015, business|vis|15 Workshop, Chicago. https://www.academia.edu/19219093/

---

## All Exhibitions & Demos

For quick answers, prefer the highlights in "Installation art & immersive media" above. This is the full chronological list.

1. Simulacra Naturae @ Brave New Work, Santa Barbara, CA — Exhibition (2026). https://www.bravenewworksb.org/
2. Simulacra Naturae: Neuro-Ecologies @ SIGGRAPH DAC (Urban Digital Canvas), Shanghai — Public Screen Performance (2026). https://dac.siggraph.org/exhibition/2026-urban-digital-canvas-shanghai/
3. Simulacra Naturae: Entangled Biomes @ SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, Los Angeles — Exhibition (2026). https://s2026.siggraph.org/program/art-gallery/
4. Simulacra Naturae: Entangled Biomes @ CURRENTS New Media, Santa Fe, NM — Exhibition (2026). https://currentsnewmedia.org/
5. Simulacra Naturae: Biome Studies @ re:Agency, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2026). https://show.mat.ucsb.edu/
6. Quantum Global Organoid Orchestra (qGOO) @ LOAD Gallery, Barcelona — Exhibition (2026). https://load-gallery.com/exhibitions/global-fusion-barcelona
7. Simulacra Naturae: Diffluens / Symbiotica / Morphogenetic Vessel @ LOAD Gallery, Barcelona — Exhibition (2026). https://load-gallery.com/exhibitions/global-fusion-barcelona
8. Quantum Global Organoid Orchestra (qGOO) @ Body Electric, CNSI, Santa Barbara & Charles Street Video, Toronto — Performance (2025). https://charlesstreetvideo.com/project.php?id=173
9. Simulacra Naturae @ IEEE VISAP, Universitat fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna — Exhibition (2025). https://visap.net/2025/
10. Simulacra Naturae @ Deep Cuts, CNSI & SBCAST, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2025). https://show.mat.ucsb.edu
11. Distributed Agency Trails @ Deep Cuts, CNSI & SBCAST, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2025)
12. Edge of Chaos @ Deep Cuts, CNSI, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2025)
13. 3D-printed Ceramic Artifacts by ECL Team @ Latentville, SBCAST, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2023)
14. PunchPrint Fiber-Filament Craft Artifacts @ ACM CHI Interactivity, Hamburg — Demo (2023)
15. The Edge of Chaos @ Art of Science, UCSB Library, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2022). https://www.library.ucsb.edu/events-exhibitions/art-science-2022
16. The Edge of Chaos @ Art of Science, SB Museum of Art — Exhibition (2022). https://magazine.ucsb.edu/spring-summer-2022/art-science
17. The Edge of Chaos @ syMADES, CNSI, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2022). https://show.mat.ucsb.edu/2022/
18. Morphogenic Clay Vessels @ syMADES Open Labs, CNSI, Santa Barbara — Demo & Exhibition (2022). https://issuu.com/santabarbarasentinel/docs/mj_issue_28_21_full/12
19. The Edge of Chaos @ EXP.Hybrid.Science.Experimentation, Barcelona (Online) — Exhibition (2021). https://www.artsteps.com/embed/61aa51b083927f0da437c43f/560/315
20. Dynamic Confluence @ Bricolage, UCSB (Online) — Audiovisual Visualization Demo (2020). https://bricolage.mat.ucsb.edu/
21. GANesis @ M.A.D.E., CNSI, Santa Barbara — VR Demo (2019). https://show.mat.ucsb.edu/2019/
22. Subtripping @ Immerse(d), Live House, Los Angeles — VR Demo (2018)
23. Siren @ NIME, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA — Live-coding Demo (2018)
24. Siren @ Invisible Machine, SBCAST, Santa Barbara — Live-coding Performance (2018). https://show.mat.ucsb.edu/2018/
25. Polar Tasks @ Re-habituation, CNSI, Santa Barbara — Exhibition (2017)
26. GOOGLEJACK @ ArtsIT, Minerva Palace, Istanbul — App Demo (2014)
27. Shroom @ Sparks, FASS Art Gallery, Istanbul — Animated Short Exhibition (2013)

---

## Press & Features

- Simulacra Naturae @ Rendah Mag, Issue 015 — Editorial Feature (upcoming)
- Quantum Global Organoid Orchestra (qGOO) @ The AI Art Magazine, No. 3 — Featured Catalogue (2026). https://www.art-magazine.ai/edition/number-three
- Deep Cuts group exhibition @ Noozhawk — Local News Coverage (2025). https://www.noozhawk.com/media-arts-and-technology-end-of-year-show-fuses-art-and-engineering/
- syMADES group exhibition @ Montecito Journal, Vol. 28, Issue 21 — Local News Coverage (2022)

---

## Talks & Workshops

- Emergent Ecosystems — Workshop, Co-Instructor, ArtCenter, Los Angeles (Oct 2026). Companion site: https://lab.merttoka.com/emergent-ecosystems
- Organoids, Artificial Life, and Ecosystemic Co-Creation — Talk, ACM SIGGRAPH, Los Angeles (2026)
- Practice-driven Software Development — Talk, ACM DIS, Copenhagen (2024)
- ICC National Convening, ICC Industry Summit, and ICC regional workshops — Coordinator, UCLA / LA County DEO / Kauffman Foundation / Sony Pictures (2024)
- Simulating Life in WebGPU — Talk, UCSB (2023)
- CeramWrap — Talk, ACM UIST, San Francisco (2023)
- Craft, Computer, Hands & Robots — Workshop, Co-Instructor, UCSB (2023); Business Development Workshop — Coordinator, UCSB (2023)
- Code as a Creative Medium; Programming for the Arts — Talks, UCSB (2018)

---

## Teaching

- MAT10 — Introduction to Media Arts & Design (Summer 2025)
- MAT238 — Computational Fabrication (Spring 2022)
- CS190I — Offline Rendering (Fall 2020)
- MAT200B — Music and Technology (Spring 2020)
- MAT201B — Computing with Media Data (Winter 2020)
- INT80THEMAS — Introduction to Media Arts (Fall 2019)
- MAT276N — Modular Synthesis (Spring 2018)
- MAT276IA — Direct Digital Synthesis (Spring 2017)
- CS204 — Advanced Programming in C++ (Fall 2015)

---

## Scholarships & Grants

- AI Art Magazine Golden Ticket Award, for Quantum Global Organoid Orchestra (2026)
- SIGCHI Gary Marsden Travel Grant (2024)
- UCSB Academic Senate Doctoral Student Travel Grant (2023)
- Regents Fellowship, UCSB (2018–2022)
- Fulbright Scholarship (2016–2018)
- Sabancı University Full Merit Scholarship (2010–2015)

Memberships: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society — Full Member, elected by nomination (2026); ACM — Student Member (2022–2025).

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## Academic Service

- SCF 2026, External Reviewer — Special Recognition for Outstanding Review (2026)
- CHI 2026, External Reviewer — Special Recognition for Outstanding Review (2025)
- UIST 2025, External Reviewer (2025)
- TEI 2025 Pictorials, External Reviewer (2024)
- DIS 2024 Pictorials, External Reviewer (2024)
- SIGGRAPH 2024, Art Gallery Triage Reviewer (2024)
- CHI 2024, External Reviewer — Special Recognition for Outstanding Review (2023)

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