Adam Kaplan

Dr. Adam Kaplan is an Associate Professor at Kennesaw State University's Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, where he also serves as ABET coordinator. With a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado Denver, he specializes in geotechnical earthquake engineering and sustainable construction practices.

• Education: Ph.D., M.S. in Civil Engineering (University of Colorado Denver); B.S. in Civil Engineering (METU, Turkey)

His research focuses on seismic stability analysis of composite dams, drilled shaft inspection techniques, fly ash utilization for soil stabilization, and full-depth reclamation pavement systems. He has collaborated with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) on multiple projects.

The Rubble-House Research Project demonstrates his commitment to humanitarian engineering, developing sustainable housing solutions for post-earthquake Haiti through field testing and student engagement. His work combines computational modeling (finite element analysis) with practical infrastructure applications.

Dr. Kaplan teaches courses ranging from foundational geotechnical engineering (CE3701) to advanced computational methods (CE6533) and foundation design. He has also contributed to seismic analysis of MSE walls, bridge abutments, and vehicle impact mitigation for roadside barriers.

Research initiatives include optimizing fly ash percentages in subgrade construction (32-50% range), advancing nondestructive testing for drilled shafts using sonar/LIDAR, and evaluating cement-stabilized full depth reclamation (FDR) performance through laboratory and field tests like Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).