Boğaziçi University students Hasan Tabak (Mechanical Engineering and Physics), Egemen Özdilek (Electrical and Electronics Engineering), and Arda Ünver (Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Physics) achieved notable success at the University Physics Competition, a prestigious event in the international physics community. Held between November 7 and 9, 2025, and with results announced on January 19, 2026, the competition required students to solve an open-ended physics problem through 48 hours of uninterrupted research and modeling.

A Challenging 48-Hour Research Marathon

Unlike a traditional exam format, the competition required participants to analyze and report on a problem in depth over a 48-hour period. The Boğaziçi University team selected “Problem B: Artillery.” The problem focused on how an artillery officer, working with the technological limitations of roughly two centuries ago and without access to calculators or computers, could most quickly and accurately estimate firing angle and velocity.

Our students determined that analytical methods were historically insufficient for such predictions and that experimental data tables provided the most effective solution. However, since access to the necessary experimental data was not available, the team developed realistic physical simulations using computational methods. Within the scope of the project, critical physical variables such as wind speed and direction, altitude differences, and air resistance were incorporated into the model. The extensive datasets generated through this model were converted into practical tables and correction coefficients that could be used quickly in the field.

Global Achievement: Top 25–30 Percent

The Bronze Medal is awarded to teams whose projects rank within the top 25–30 percent of approximately 1,000 teams worldwide. Although the team members had previously achieved remarkable results in physics olympiads during their high school years, this marked their first collaboration in a research-focused international competition. They describe this achievement as an important beginning.

Planning to compete again next year with greater experience, our students aim to carry Boğaziçi University’s name to even higher ranks.