Professor Önkal received a Ph.D. in Management Science from the University of Minnesota and joined Bilkent University in 1988. She was an academic visitor at Oxford University Department of Economics and an associate member of the Nuffield College during 2006-2007. She was Chair of Supply Chain Management and Director of OASIS (Operations and Supply Chain Systems) Research Centre at Brunel Business School during 2010-2011. Professor Önkal is Honorary Research Fellow at UCL and holds a visiting professorial position at the University of Bath School of Management.
Professor Önkal’s research focuses on judgmental forecasting, judgment and decision making, forecasting/decision support systems, risk perception and risk communication with a strong emphasis on multi-disciplinary interactions. Her work has appeared in book chapters and journals such as Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Decision Sciences Journal, Risk Analysis, European Journal of Operational Research, Judgment and Decision Making, Decision Support Systems, International Journal of Forecasting, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, Omega: The International Journal of Management Science, Journal of Forecasting, Frontiers in Finance and Economics, Foresight: The International Journal of Applied Forecasting, Risk Management: An International Journal, International Federation of Technical Analysts Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Teaching Business Ethics, and International Forum on Information and Documentation. She is a reviewer for grant councils such as the Economic & Social Research Council, The British Academy, European Science Foundation, Hong Kong Research Grants Council, and TÜBİTAK in addition to many psychology, economics, political science and business journals.
Professor Önkal is Co-Editor of the International Journal of Forecasting. She is also an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Decision Sciences and the International Journal of Applied Management Science. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Forecasters between 2006-2014, and was the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences at Bilkent University between May 2011-December 2014.