Dr. Aybars Gürpınar was born in Turkey. He completed his university studies in the USA in the 1960s. Upon his return to Turkey, he taught at the Middle East Technical University where he was the Chairman of the department of Engineering Sciences. He started his consulting career in 1979 in Belgium, then joined the Nuclear Safety Department of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1986. He retired in 2007 as the Director of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety. Since 2014 he is a member of the International Nuclear Safety Group (INSAG) an advisory body to the Director General of IAEA. He has numerous technical publications including four books.