Erkan Öterkus Named Fellow of ASME

Erkan Öterkus, SUNY Empire Innovation Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Stony Brook University, was recently elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Öterkuş's research mainly focuses on the structural analysis of a wide range of civil, marine and aerospace structures. These include offshore wind turbines, tidal turbines, wave energy converters, floating solar systems, ship structures and composite structures.

Öterkuş co-authored the first book on peridynamics, Peridynamic Theory and Its Applications, which has made a significant contribution to the scientific and engineering community by helping researchers to learn the basic concepts of the method and how it can be implemented in a computer environment.

Using peridynamics, a new computational technique, researchers can accurately predict how cracks begin and spread in materials and structures when they are subjected to mechanical or environmental loading conditions, for example.

Another area which Öterkuş has made an impact is in structural health monitoring and digital twin development using the inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM). His team developed a new inverse shell element, known as iQS4, that is being currently used worldwide.

"This method has the potential to reduce the number of sensors used for curved structures which are used in aerospace and maritime industries," said Öterkuş. The iFEM method was originally developed to help the aerospace industry, and he has demonstrated that it can also be applied to various marine structures such as ships and offshore wind turbines.

Andrew Singer, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, said, "Being named an ASME Fellow is a well-deserved recognition for Professor Öterkuş, who is a truly exceptional scholar and educator. His pioneering contributions to peridynamics, structural health monitoring, and digital twin development have had a lasting impact across civil, marine, and aerospace engineering - and his work continues to shape how engineers around the world understand and predict structural behavior. We are proud to have him as part of the CEAS community."

Prior to joining Stony Brook University, Öterkus was affiliated with the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in the United Kingdom. He served in various roles, including director of the Ocean Energy Research Unit, professor of the Department of Naval and Marine Engineering and director of the PeriDynamics Research Center. He completed his postdoctoral research at NASA Langley Research Center in 2011.

Öterkuş earned his PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Arizona. In Turkey, he earned his MS in mechanical engineering from Izmir Institute of Technology and his BS in mechanical engineering from Dokuz Eylul University.

In addition to his book, he has published more than 240 journal papers and is currently the editor-in-chief of Sustainable Marine Structures, published by the Nan Yang Academy of Sciences. He also serves as associate editor for Theoretical and Mechanics Letters, published by Elsevier; Journal of Peridynamics and Nonlocal Modeling, published by Springer Nature Link; and the ASME Journal of Materials and Technology. In 2024, he received the ASME Editor of the Year award. He is currently an ASME Ambassador and a fellow and council member of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland.

Rigoberto Burgueño, chair of the Department of Civil Engineering said, "We are delighted that Professor Öterkuş is being recognized for his outstanding scholarly contributions in the field of computational mechanics and his invaluable service to the profession. He is a role model for our department as we strive to advance research and education in civil engineering through the integration of multidisciplinary expertise and perspectives. We are fortunate to have him as a colleague."

The ASME Committee of Past Presidents confers the Fellow grade of membership on worthy candidates to recognize their outstanding engineering achievements. Nominated by ASME Members and Fellows, an ASME member has to have 10 or more years of active practice and at least 10 years of active corporate membership in ASME.

- Debra Scala Giokas