Biography

James Kaklamanos

Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Merrimack College

Curriculum Vitae

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.