Dr. Basak Bektas, Associate Professor

Dr. Başak Bektaş is an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Previously, she was a program director at the Iowa State University (ISU) Institute for Transportation (InTrans). Her interdisciplinary background includes a master’s degree in industrial engineering with a focus on systems management. Dr. Bektaş’s main area of expertise is infrastructure asset management. Her past research includes projects on bridge management and preservation, performance measurement, asset performance modeling, risk and reliability analysis, engineering economic analysis, life cycle planning, Building Information Modeling, and transportation safety. Dr. Bektas has served as the PI on projects that addressed asset management and preservation with the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. DOT, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Highway Research Board, Minnesota Department of Transportation, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation. She chairs the Transportation Research Board AHD35 Bridge Management Committee and IRF Asset Management Committee. She is a founding member of the AHD37 Bridge Preservation Committee, a member of the AASHTOWare Bridge Management Software Technical Review Team, and the Federal Highway Administration Bridge Preservation Expert Task Group. Dr. Bektas is experienced in applying statistical methods and data mining to a variety of transportation problems.

Degrees

• Middle East Technical University, Turkey, Civil Eng., B.S., 2002
• Middle East Technical University, Turkey, Industrial Eng., M.Sc., 2006
• Iowa State University, USA, Civil Eng., Ph.D., 2011
• Iowa State University, USA, Civil Eng., Postdoctoral Research, 2011-2012

Professional Affiliations

• Transportation Research Board (TRB)
  • Chair, TRB Committee AHD35 – Bridge Management (since 2017, member since 2009)
  • Member, TRB Committee AHD37 – Bridge Preservation (since 2014)
• FHWA, Member, Bridge Preservation Expert Task Group (since 2017)
• National Bridge Management Systems Working Group, Member (since 2017)

Research Areas

Transportation engineering, infrastructure asset management, infrastructure risk and resilience, bridge management and preservation, information systems, transportation safety, data analytics, systems management, operations research and optimization methods, transportation economics, life cycle cost analysis, life cycle planning, building information modeling for infrastructure

Recent Research

• Bektas, B.A. (PI) Develop Element Level Bridge Performance Measures and Targets, Minnesota DOT, $215,703 (2022-).
• Bektas, B.A. (PI), Quantifying Benefits of Bridge Maintenance, Minnesota DOT, $151,794 (2021-).
• Bektas, B.A. (PI), Bektas, F. Benefits of Preventive Maintenance, Minnesota DOT, $166,709 (2021-).
• NCHRP 20-68D1 Scan 20-01, Successful Approaches to Utilizing Bridge Management Systems for Strategic Decision-Making in Asset Management Plans
• NCHRP Synthesis 20-05/Topic 52-02, Bridge Element Data and Use

Awards

• Gerald and Audrey Olson Professorship Research Award (2009). Awarded annually to one outstanding graduate student at Iowa State University
• IRF Executive Leader Fellow, International Road Federation. A 10-day educational program designed for selected graduate students with leadership abilities and promising futures in the transportation field

Recent Publications

1. Bektaş, B. A., C. B. Allen, M. Johnson, et al. (2022), NCHRP 20-68 “ U.S Domestic Scan Program Scan 20-01, Successful Approaches to Utilizing Bridge Management Systems for Strategic Decision Making in Asset Management Plans” Transportation Research Board National Research Council, Washington, D.C,. Link
2. Bektaş, B. A., J Blanchong, K Freeseman, A Albughdadi (2022), Use of ultrasonic acoustic technology for temporary deterrence of bats from bridges, Transportation research record 2676 (2), 418-428. Link
3. Bektaş, B. A., and A. J. M. Albughdadi. "Bridge decommissioning and its impact on bridge management." Bridge Maintenance, Safety, Management, Life-Cycle Sustainability, and Innovations. CRC Press, 2021. 1947-1952. Link
4. Bektaş, B. A., et al. Protocols for Concrete Bridge Deck Protections and Treatments. No. WisDOT 0092-18-03. Wisconsin. Dept. of Transportation. Library and Research Unit, 2020. Link
5. Bektaş, B. A., & Albughdadi, A. J. M. (2019). Drivers of Bridge Decommissioning in the United States. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118822810
6. Bektaş, B. A., Hans, Z., Phares, B., Nketah, E., Carey, J., Solberg, M. K., & McPeek, K. (2018). Most Likely Bridges as Roosting Habitat for Bats: Study for Iowa. Transportation Research Record. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118758649
7. Bektaş, B.A. (2017). Use of Recursive Partitioning to Predict National Bridge Inventory Condition Ratings from National Bridge Elements Condition Data. Transportation Research Record, 2612(1), 29–38.https://doi.org/10.3141/2612-04
8. Bektaş, B. A., Gkritza, K., Smadi, O. (2016) Pavement marking retro-reflectivity and crash frequency: An investigation of segmentation, data imputation, and line type effects, ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000863
9. Smadi O., Hawkins, N., Bektaş, B. A., Carlson, P., Pike, A., Davies, C. (2014), Recommended Laboratory Test for Predicting the Initial Retroreflectivity of Pavement Markings from Glass Bead Quality, Transportation Research Record, Issue 2440, Pages 94-102.
10. Bektas, F., Bektaş, B. A., (2014) Analyzing mix parameters in ASR concrete using response surface methodology, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 66, 15 September 2014, Pages 299-305
11. Michael Johnson, Bektaş, B. A. (2013), Bridge Preservation Action Classifications, Transportation Research Record, Issue 2360, Pages 21-26.
12. Bektaş, B. A., Carriquiry, A., Smadi, O. (2012) Using Classification Trees for Predicting National Bridge Inventory Condition Ratings, ASCE Journal of Infrastructure Systems, Volume 19, Issue 4, Pages 425-433.