Short Bio

I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Chair of Decision Sciences and Systems at the Technical University of Munich. My research sits at the intersection of robust optimization and mechanism design, with a focus on decision-making under uncertainty for allocation, inspection, and pricing. I develop tractable, implementable models, e.g., allocation, payment and inspection policies, that remain reliable under limited data. My recent paper, Distributionally Robust Optimal Allocation with Costly Verification, is accepted at Operations Research. I earned a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Bilkent University (2022) and was a visiting researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. I also support teaching in Operations Research (6 ECTS) and supervise bachelor’s and master’s theses.

Research interests: Robust optimization; mechanism design.

Publications

Journal Articles

• H. I. Bayrak, Ç. Koçyiğit, D. Kuhn, & M. Ç. Pınar, “Distributionally robust optimal allocation with costly verification.” Operations Research (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2022.0662
• H. I. Bayrak & N. A. Dalkıran, "Nonexclusive competition for a freelancer under adverse selection," Journal of Mathematical Economics (2022), pp. 102773. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2022.102773
• H. I. Bayrak & Kamyar Kargar, M. Ç. Pınar, "Bilateral Trade with Risk Averse Intermediary using Linear Network Optimization," Networks 74.4 (2019), pp. 325-332. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/net.21910
• Kamyar Kargar, H. I. Bayrak, & M. Ç. Pınar, "Robust Bilateral Trade with Discrete Types," EURO Journal on Computational Optimization 6.4 (2018), pp. 367-393. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13675-018-0106-x
• Ç. Koçyiğit, H. I. Bayrak, & M. Ç. Pınar, "Robust Auction Design Under Multiple Priors by Linear and Integer Programming," Annals of Operations Research 260.1-2 (2018), pp. 233-253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-017-2416-4
• H. I. Bayrak, K. Güler, & M. Ç. Pınar, "Optimal Allocation with Costly Inspection and Discrete Types under Ambiguity," Optimization Methods and Software 32.4 (2017), pp. 699-718. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10556788.2016.1277996
• H. I. Bayrak & M. Ç. Pınar, "Generalized Second Price Auction is Optimal for Discrete Types," Economics Letters 141 (2016), pp. 35-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2016.01.019

Working Papers

• H. I. Bayrak & M. Bichler, “Distributionally Robust Mechanism Design with Deferred Inspection." R&R from Operations Research. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04767

Teaching

• Operations Research (6 ECTS), TUM - Teaching Assistant. Tutorials, assignment design/grading, office hours. (2023-2025)
• Supervision of BSc/MSc theses on optimization and decision analytics. (2023-2025)