Ihsan Engin Bal

Ihsan Engin Bal is a Lecturer in Construction Safety & Earthquakes at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, affiliated with the Research Centre for Built Environment – NoorderRuimte. With a background in Civil and Structural Engineering from Karadeniz Technical University (2000), his work bridges seismic risk mitigation, timber-masonry structural systems, and digitalization of construction processes.

• Education: BEng in Civil and Structural Engineering (1996-2000), Karadeniz Technical University.

His research focuses on earthquake engineering, particularly unreinforced masonry (URM) walls, timber structural connections, and low-cost sensor applications for construction safety. Recent projects include Hysteresis (hybrid testing of timber buildings) and Trust in Timber (bio-based construction workforce development). He explores applying digital tools like automated crack detection and vibration monitoring to enhance structural resilience.

Key themes in his 2024-2025 publications include seismic performance of URM walls, noise-resistant crack segmentation via machine learning, and climate-proof infrastructure. He collaborates extensively with researchers like E. Smyrou and O. Arslan.

Professor Bal actively engages in public discourse, notably analyzing Turkey-Syria earthquake vulnerabilities and advocating for improved construction practices. His work spans practical experiments, computational modeling, and policy-oriented insights for disaster prevention.