Biography
James Kaklamanos
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Merrimack College
Education
2012, Ph.D., Tufts University, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Concentration: Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. Dissertation: Quantifying Uncertainty in Earthquake Site Response Models Using the KiK-net Database; advised by Prof. Laurie Baise.
2010, M.S., Tufts University, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Concentration: Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. Master's thesis: Model Validations, Comparisons, and Issues of the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) Relations for Predicting Earthquake Ground Motions; advised by Prof. Laurie Baise.
2008, BSCE (summa cum laude), Tufts University. Major: Civil Engineering. Minor: Economics.
Professional Positions
2024-present: Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Merrimack College.
2018-2024: Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Merrimack College.
2012-2018: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Merrimack College.
2008-2012: Graduate Research Assistant / Graduate Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University.
Selected Honors and Awards
Recognized as an Outstanding Reviewer, ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 2023.
Elected to the Board of Directors of the United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER), 2023.
Named as one of New Hampshire’s 40 Under Forty by the New Hampshire Union Leader, 2022.
United States Universities Council for Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER) Early Career Educator Award, 2022.
Recognized as a New Face in Geoengineering by the ASCE Geo-Institute, 2020.
Thomas C. Evans Best Paper Award, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Southeastern Section, 2020.
BSCES College Educator Award, Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE, 2019.
Distinguished Service Award, Tufts University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2019.
Inaugural Zampell Family Faculty Fellowship, Merrimack College, 2018-2019.
ASCE Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, 2017.
Selected as one of the Top Ten New Faces of Civil Engineering by ASCE, 2017.
Award of Excellence, Professors’ Driven Pile Institute (PDPI), Pile Driving Contractors Association (PDCA), 2015.
ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Fellow, 2013.
Teaching Fellow, Graduate Institute for Teaching, Tufts University, 2011-2012.
The Award for Outstanding Graduate Contributor to Engineering Education, Tufts University, 2010.
Leo Casagrande Memorial Scholarship, Geo-Institute of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE, 2009.
Tau Beta Pi Fellow, 2008-2009.
Earle F. Littleton Fellow, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, 2008.
William P. Morse Award, Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE, 2008.
Tau Beta Pi Scholar, 2007–2008.
Cataldo Fellow, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, 2007–2008.
Research Interests
Evaluation and improvement of site response models
Ground-motion models (GMMs)
Probabilistic seismic hazard analyses (PSHAs)
Geotechnical engineering education
Teaching
Geotechnical Engineering
Foundation Engineering
Earth Slopes and Retaining Structures
Mechanics of Materials
Seismological and Geotechnical Aspects of Earthquakes
Probability and Statistics in Engineering
Institutional Service
Selected activities at Merrimack College:
Chief faculty advisor, Massachusetts Kappa Chapter of Tau Beta Pi (formerly the Merrimack College Engineering Honor Society), 2017-present
Faculty Senate, 2012-present
Chair of the Budget, Salary, and Benefits Committee, 2017-2019
Faculty advisor, American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter, 2012-2018
Chair of the Academic Calendar Committee, 2015-2017
Faculty leader and developer of the Advising, Tutoring, and Mentoring (ATM) Initiative, Innovation through Engineering and Computer Science (iTEC) program, School of Science and Engineering, 2013-2016
Professional Memberships, Activities, and Certifications
Membership in professional and honorary societies:
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Geo-Institute/ASCE (G-I)
Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE (BSCES)
Seismological Society of America (SSA)
Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America (ES-SSA)
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI)
Earthquake Engineering Research Institute - New England Chapter
American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
Civil Engineering Division
Northeast Section
United States Universities Council on Geotechnical Education and Research (USUCGER)
International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE)
Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society
Order of the Engineer
Committee and editorial service:
USUCGER Secretary and member of Board of Directors
ASCE G-I Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics Committee
SSA Membership Committee
Guest Editor, Special Section on Advances in Site Response Estimation, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, publication in August 2021
Certifications:
Engineer-In-Training, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2008
Consulting experience:
Kaklamanos Consulting, LLC
Member of the Ground Motion Characterization Technical Integration team for the Senior Seismic Hazard Analysis Committee (SSHAC) Level 3 probabilistic seismic hazard analysis at Idaho National Laboratory
Perform scientific services related to the assessment of natural hazards on various infrastructure projects
Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
Curriculum Vitae
A detailed current CV is available in PDF format: James Kaklamanos - Curriculum Vitae.