About The Department
Being established in 1868, Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) (then, Imperial Observatory) has a tradition of science that encompasses the initiation of the formal meteorological observations in its current site in 1911 and also the start of the systematic seismological measurements in 1926 in the country. After annexation to Bogazici University (BU) which was originally founded in 1863 in Istanbul as Robert College, KOERI has evolved into a multidisciplinary earthquake research organization providing graduate education under the Earthquake Engineering, Geophysics and Geodesy departments and encompassing earthquake observation, research, education and application services within a single, integrated body.
The Department of Earthquake Engineering started its activities in 1989 as a graduate department under Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute of Boğaziçi University. It is the first academic unit in Turkey providing graduate level training leading to M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Earthquake Engineering. The overall mandate of the department is to conduct training, research and implementation, through which we aim to contribute to the mitigation of social, physical and economic losses by assisting earthquake resistant structures, systems, cities and environment to develop; and to support national earthquake risk mitigation and management policies and practices in light of scientific and technological advances.
Earthquake Engineering can be viewed as a multi-phased process that ranges from earthquake source studies to seismic risk mitigation procedures. Earthquake response analysis of sites, structures and systems; and assessment of strong ground motion that emanates from an earthquake constitute the two main ingredients of the discipline. The emphasis of our academic activities are placed on various complementary fields:
- Earthquake hazard and risk analysis
- Characteristics of strong earthquake ground motion
- Site and soil response analysis
- Development of urban earthquake damage scenarios
- Earthquake response of buildings, historical monuments, industrial facilities, bridges and dams
- Soil-structure interaction
- Dynamic testing of small-scale models and prototype structures
- Retrofitting and post earthquake strengthening of structures
- Earthquake insurance applications
- Health Monitoring of Structures and Systems
- Development of earthquake resistant design codes.
The Department of Earthquake Engineering played a leading role in Turkey for the advancement of earthquake risk mitigation by taking part in various national committees and nationally funded projects. We have been involved in numerous international research and application projects. The faculty enjoys close ties with international organisations, universities, research centers and government establishments throughout the world.
