Directory

Burcu Akinci is the head of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her B.S. in civil engineering (1991) from Middle East Technical University and her M.B.A. (1993) from Bilkent University at Ankara, Turkey. After that, she earned her M.S. (1995) and her Ph.D. (2000) in civil and environmental engineering with a specialization in construction engineering and management from Stanford University.

Her research interests include development of approaches to model and reason about information-rich histories of facilities, to streamline construction and facility management processes. She specifically focuses on investigating utilization and integration of building information models with data capture and tracking technologies, such as 3D imaging, and embedded sensors and radio-frequency identification systems to capture semantically-rich as-built histories of construction projects and facility operations.

Akinci has one patent, two patent applications, more than 60 referred journal publications, and 80 refereed conference publications. She co-edited a book on CAD/GIS integration and another book on embedded commissioning. She has graduated more than 16 Ph.D. students and 15 M.S. thesis students, and is currently advising/co-advising four Ph.D. students.

Office
123K Baker/Porter Hall
Phone
412.268.2959
Email
bakinci@cmu.edu
Google Scholar
Burcu Akinci
Websites
Burcu Akinci's website

Making Infrastructure Systems More Resilient, Sustainable and Robust

Smart Infrastructure for Smarter Decisions

Education

2000 Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

1995 MS, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

1993 MBA, Bilkent University

1991 BS, Civil Engineering, Middle East Technical University

Media mentions


CMU College of Engineering

2023 Engineering Faculty Awards announced

The 2023 Engineering Faculty Awards highlight faculty members who have shown outstanding educational, research, and service efforts. Congratulations to all of this year’s awardees!

Carnegie Mellon University

Three Engineering faculty named University Professors

Three College of Engineering faculty members have been elevated to the rank of University Professor, the highest distinction a faculty member can receive at Carnegie Mellon: CEE Head Burcu Akinci, CyLab Director Lorrie Faith Cranor, and CEE’s Greg Lowry.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Two CEE professors elected as 2022 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Two CEE faculty members have been elected 2022 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Burcu Akinci is creating new models and tools to modernize construction and infrastructure management, and Jeanne VanBriesen researches environmental systems such as urban water system sustainability and the built environment water cycle.

CMU Engineering

Akinci, Cagan, and VanBriesen named 2022 AAAS Fellows

Burcu Akinci, Jonathan Cagan, and Jeanne VanBriesen, senior faculty members in the College of Engineering, have been named 2022 AAAS Fellows.

Pittsburgh Business Times

Akinci named in PBT’s 20 People to Know in Energy

CEE Head Burcu Akinci has been named as one of 20 people to know in energy by the Pittsburgh Business Times. Akinci has been a member of the CEE department for 21 years and recently became the head of the department.

CMU Engineering

Safer work zones for all

Causal modeling of the relationship between work zones and car accidents informs practices and policies that improve safety on the road.

CMU Engineering

Decarbonizing the grid with flexible buildings

Researchers in CEE have created a new model that can help decrease energy consumption from buildings and provide for a more efficient grid.

Route Fifty

Qian discusses work zones and road accidents

CEE’s Sean Qian spoke to Route Fifty about his team’s recent study of road accidents in work zones. The study found that crashes are less frequent in shorter work zones and tend to increase during the day.

CMU Engineering

Burcu Akinci named head of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Burcu Akinci has been appointed the new head of the CEE at Carnegie Mellon University effective July 2022.

Pittsburgh Business Times

Akinci quoted on infrastructure

CEE’s Burcu Akinci was quoted by the Pittsburgh Business Times on the importance of bridge maintenance after Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapse.

Franchetti appointed Associate Dean for Research

Congratulations to the newly-appointed Associate Dean for Research for the College of Engineering, ECE’s Franz Franchetti. His history in serving as part of and leading research teams around the college led to his nomination and selection.

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Akinci elected to National Academy of Construction

CEE’s Burcu Akinci has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Construction (NAC).