Rifat Bulut

Dr. Rifat Bulut is a Professor in the Department of Construction Science within the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2001, and holds M.S. and B.S. degrees from Texas Tech University and Middle East Technical University, respectively. His academic and professional career spans over two decades, including faculty roles at Oklahoma State University and research appointment with Texas Transportation Institute and industry experience with Fugro South, Inc.

Dr. Bulut’s research focuses on the interaction between built environments and natural systems, especially in the context of expansive soils, climate impacts, and infrastructure performance. His areas of expertise include soil-structure interaction, unsaturated soil mechanics, geotechnical hazards monitoring, and application of machine learning and remote sensing (SAR) in civil infrastructure systems. He has supervised numerous Ph.D. and M.S. students and served as principal investigator on research projects funded by federal and state agencies, and industry with total funding exceeding $4.4 million.

Dr. Bulut has contributed extensively to the scientific community through over 100 peer-reviewed journal publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, and editorship of ASCE Geotechnical Special Publications. He is recognized for his contributions to the understanding and mitigation of soil-related geotechnical challenges, particularly in expansive soils and pavement foundation systems. His leadership in integrating advanced sensing technologies, data analytics, and numerical modeling has significantly influenced geotechnical engineering practice and education.