Onur Denizhan ’15G came to the U.S. eight years ago from Malatya, Turkey. He spent his first year in Flint, Michigan studying English at the University of Michigan, then got his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Lehigh. After that, he went to Columbia University in New York City where he began his PhD, then transferred to Lehigh in 2017.
Onur researches origami-based mechanism design. He combines origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, with mechanisms and robots with the goal of making them collapsible and deployable.
Onur spoke with producer Christine Fennessy about his journey as an international student. When he came to the U.S. eight years ago, it was the first time he’d ever left Turkey, and when the pandemic hit, he thought he might have to go back. But, he says, just like the university has always done for him, Lehigh stepped in to help.