Academic Appointment

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, Sept. 2011 – Present.
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aug. 2006 – Aug. 2011.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (2011), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • M.S. in Civil Engineering (2007), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
  • B.S. Summa Cum Laude in Civil Engineering (2006), Bogazici University (Istanbul, Turkey).

 Scholarly Activities

  • NSF Summer Institute Short Course on Materiomics—Merging Biology and Engineering in Multiscale Structures and Materials, Boston, MA, May 30-June 1, 2012.
  • NSF Regional Grants Conference, Austin, TX, October 16-18, 2011.
  • CAREER Development Workshop, University of Houston, Houston, TX, January 9, 2011.
  • Co-editor (guest), Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Vol. 12, Special Issue 2, January 2008.
  • Field Investigation, 2010 Maule (Chile) Earthquake (Mw 8.8), Mid-Ameria Earthquake (MAE) Center.
  • Field Investigation, 2007 Niigata Chuetsu-Oki (Japan) Earthquake (Mw 6.8), Tri-Center Field Mission – Mid-America Earthquake (MAE) Center, Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), and Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center.
  • Tri-Center Field Mission to Japan, Mid-America (MAE) Earthquake Center, Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), and Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center, July 21-28, 2007.
  • LabVIEW Associate Developer Training, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, June 20-23, 2011.
  • TNO DIANA Course on Analysis of Concrete and Masonry Structures with DIANA 9, Munich, Germany, September 13-16, 2005.
  • Member, ZEUS NL Development and Support Team (http://code.google.com/p/zeus-nl/).
  • Journal Reviewer: Journal of Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Earthquakes and Structures.

Scholarships and Awards

  • NSF Fellowship to attend NSF Summer Institute Short Course on Materiomics—Merging Biology and Engineering in Multiscale Structures and Materials, Boston, MA, May 30 – June 1, 2012.
  • Best presentation, Elnashai, Kuchma, Spencer (EKS) 7th Annual Retreat, Allerton Park, IL, February 5-6, 2011.
  • Third place presentation, Elnashai, Kuchma, Spencer (EKS) 6thAnnual Retreat, Allerton Park, IL, February 6-7, 2010.
  • Best presentation, Elnashai, Kuchma, Spencer (EKS) 5thAnnual Retreat, Allerton Park, IL, February 7-8, 2009.
  • Travel grant to attend 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Beijing, China, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Oct. 2008.
  • Scholarship, exchange student to European School for Advanced Studies in Reduction of Seismic Risk (ROSE), Pavia, Italy, July 2008.
  • Fellowship to attend field mission to Japan, Mid-America Earthquake (MAE) Center, July 2007.
  • Graduated 1st, Civil Engineering, Bogazici University, June 2006.
  • Scholarship to attend TNO DIANA Course on Analysis of Concrete and Masonry Structures with DIANA 9, European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (ROSE School), Pavia, Italy, Sept. 2005.
  • Scholarship to participate in research project: Assessment of Masonry Arch Bridges under Static and Dynamic Loading Conditions, European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering, Pavia, Italy, June 2005.

Membership in Professional Organizations

  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • American Concrete Institute (ACI)
  • Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)
  • American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)