Yusuf Gurkaynak received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering with highest distinction as well as B.Sc. degree in electronics and communication engineering, and M.Sc. degree on control and automation engineering from Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Istanbul, Turkey, in 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. He was a teaching assistant in the Electrical Engineering Department at the Istanbul Technical University from 2005 to 2007. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). His research interests include control strategies for power electronic converters, motor drives, and hybrid electric vehicles. He is a student member of IEEE Vehicular Technology Society and IEEE Power Electronics Society. He was awarded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey with a research fellowship from 2005 to 2006 and is awarded with Illinois Institute of Technology Research Scholarship from 2007 to 2008.