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Professor of History and Director of Middle Eastern Studies University of Central Florida. Hakan Özoğlu’s previous research focuses on Kurdish Nationalism in the Ottoman Empire. His book was titled Kurdish Notables and the Ottoman State. The Turkish edition of the book came out in 2004. Özoğlu’s main aim in this project was to understand the process of identity formation and emergence of nationalism. His research interests include the power struggle in modern Turkish Republic after WWI and US involvement of the Middle East through Turkey after the Great War. His latest book deals with the tension between the secularists and the Islamists and with the Kemalist project to tame the political opposition in an attempt to westernize the remnant of the last “Islamic Empire.” His book From Caliphate to Secular State is released by Praeger Press in 2011. He is currently the Director of Middle Eastern Studies Minor. Currently he is working on a book manuscript on “Admiral Mark Lambert Bristol’s Tenure in Turkey.” His interviews and essays have appeared in many international media outlets including, New York Times, Orlando Sentinel, Chicago Tribune, WTTW PBS Chicago. Outlets including, New York Times. His publications appeared in four languages.