At the Opening Exercises yesterday, Princeton University honored six students for their achievements during the last academic year. Among the students that took home awards was Oguzhan Atay, who shared the Freshman First Honor Prize with Sophie Wang.

Looking at the photograph of the winners above, it’s clear that Mr. Atay stands out from the rest of his Princeton peers. His pink tie screams ‘hipster,’ yet his beard, long hair and shadow-created eye patch scream ‘pirate.’

Not sure what is more impressive – Atay’s academic achievement or his trendsetting fashion sense.

In either case, Princeton’s news page has the full scoop on the swashbuckling Ivy League sophomore:

Atay lives in Bafra/Samsun, Turkey. He graduated as valedictorian of Koc Ozel Lisesi in Istanbul. Next month, he will receive the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for his freshman year.

 

Atay plans to pursue a concentration in molecular biology along with certificates in quantitative and computational biology, biophysics and applications of computing. He is conducting independent research in the laboratory of Jacques Fresco, the Damon B. Pfeiffer Professor in the Life Sciences.

 

This past summer, Atay was a member of the Istanbul team in the International Genetically Engineered Machines synthetic biology competition, in which participants use standard biological parts to engineer biological systems. He lives in Wilson College.

Whoa – a hipster pirate with an intimate knowledge of genetic engineering? The collective minds of everyone reading this post are blown...

Truly, Atay is a modern day Ivy League Renaissance man.