Salih Kocak

Dr. Salih Kocak is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of West Florida, part of the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering. His academic and professional expertise lies at the intersection of civil engineering, construction materials, and sustainable infrastructure.

Dr. Kocak earned his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University (METU), followed by M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Michigan State University (MSU), where he was honored with graduate fellowships and teaching awards.

His research focuses on sustainable construction materials, particularly the modification of asphalt using recycled tire rubber, polymers, and high reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) content. He explores additive manufacturing in construction, extraterrestrial building methods, and the use of spatiotemporal data analysis for infrastructure assessment. His work integrates material characterization, rheological testing, and numerical modeling to improve pavement performance and durability.

His recent publications highlight a strong trend in sustainable pavement technologies, including rubber-modified asphalt, high RAP mixtures, cold and recycled patching materials, and polymer-stabilized rammed earth. These studies employ advanced testing protocols like MSCR, LAS, and AASHTOWare to evaluate fatigue, rutting, and noise performance. Interdisciplinary work includes spatiotemporal clustering of bridge deficiencies and cybersecurity data analysis.

• Mc Cowan Endowed Graduate Fellowship
• Dean’s Office Graduate Fellowship
• Chi-Epsilon Honor Society Excellence in Diversity Award
• MSU College of Engineering Best Teaching Assistant Award

Dr. Kocak has advised students on research projects and publications in materials science and infrastructure analysis. His work has been supported through university and government-funded research initiatives, particularly in transportation materials and sustainable construction. He teaches courses in statics, strength of materials, geotechnical design, pavement engineering, and construction materials.

His research group utilizes advanced software tools including AASHTOWare, SAP2000, GeoSlope, MATLAB, AutoCAD, Revit, and Primavera P6 for modeling, simulation, and project management in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial construction contexts.