Research Work

The concept of sustainability is taking a more prominent role in civil engineering across the academia. Sustainability has environmental, economic and social dimensions that need to be assessed for projects to be technically and socially feasible. Prof. Avci has initially concentrated his research work on groundwater resources assessment and modelling but has changed his interest towards sustainability based research topics in civil engineering. In particular he is interested in environmental and social impact assessment in civil engineering projects, review of regulatory framework in impact assessments, surface water quality modelling in watersheds, climate change impacts on extreme events and sustainable finance aspects framework on investments as they relate to environmental and social dimensions

Prof. Avcı is currently conducting research on the following topics:

  • Climate change impact on surface water drainage designs of drainage infrastructure
  • Climate change impact on emergency action plan flooding on existing hydroelectrical power plants
  • Gap between Turkish Environmental Impact Assessment Studies and International Finance Institutions Policies

Research Interests

  • Environmental and Social Impact Assessments-Infrastructure
  • Soil and Groundwater Pollution and Remediation
  • Water Resources Modelling
  • Environmental Health and Safety Audits-Assessments

Research Staff

Cem Tiranlar

Cem Tiranlar

Research Assisstant

Ph.D Candidate
Area:  Hydraulics Engineering
Phone Number:  (+90) (212) 359 7277
Email: cemtiranlar@hotmail.com
Location: Engineering Building M3010

Recent Research and Training Projects

  • Social Risk Management Training Course Development 2019

    Develop a training course for the Environmental and Social Policy Requirements for the International Financial Institutions

    Prof. Avci has organized a training course during 21 – 24 October 2019 at BÜMED entitled Social Risk  Management And Social Performance Requirements of  the  European Bank For Reconstruction And Development (EBRD). The theme of the training has been the Understanding and Managing Social Risk in Projects and Acquiring Knowledge and Developing Practical Skills in the Implementation of EBRD’s Social Requirements. The training course is sponsored by EBRD and specialist in land acquisition, labour conditions, health and safety and impact management will be part of the training team

  • Surface Water Quality Modelling using SWAT Model-TUBITAK Project 2020

    Modelling Impact Assessment of Remedial Actions on Water Quality in Nitrate Sensitive Watershedshe project.

    Prof. Dr. Cem Avcı is working as Project Leader for Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) MAM Environment and Cleaner Production Institute sponsored Project  entitled “Modelling  Impact Assessment of Remedial Actions on Water Quality in Nitrate Sensitive Watersheds: Burdur, Kuzey Ege, Meriç-Ergene, Doğu Akdeniz, Batı Akdeniz, Antalya, Marmara, Konya Kapalı and Akarçay”.  Project is conducted on behalf of T.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to assess Good Agriculture Implementation By-Law

  • Project Drainage By Design Optimizing Stormwater Infrastructure in Istanbul-(MIT Science and Technology Initiatives Fund

    Climate Change İmpact Assessment Framework for Istanbul Stormwater

    “Drainage by Design: Optimizing Stormwater Infrastructure in Istanbul” project is among new studies that have been supported as part of MISTI (MIT Science and Technology Initiatives) – Boğaziçi International Research, Education, and Support Program that aims to carry out joint projects between academics and students from both Boğaziçi University and Massachusetts Technology Institute (MIT) and funded by Limak Foundation. Prof. Dr. Cem Avcı from Boğaziçi University Civil Engineering Department conducts the project together with researcher Dr. Mehmet Emre Çamlıbel and remarks that they will investigate the effects of climate change on Istanbul’s stormwater infrastructure and make suggestions in terms of optimization of the infrastructures in the city.

  • M.Sc. Graduate Studies Thesis Work

    Hydrological Watershed Modelling of Arkun Dam Located in Coruh River Northewast Turkey by Using GR4J-CEMANEIGE- Sefa Aktaş 2020

    In this study, the hydrological modelling of Arkun dam basin was conducted using GR4J runoff-precipitation model and CemaNeige snow accounting routine. Arkun dam located in Çoruh River was chosen as an outlet and its basin determined by using Geographical Information Systems. Model parameters of GR4J and CemaNeige were determined for Arkun dam basin in order to be used in streamflow calculations. B The necessity of a snow accounting routine, in this case CemaNeige, was clearly shown. 

    Comparison Analysis Between Meshless Radial Basis Function Collocation Method and Finite Element Method-Ismet Karakan 2020

    An extensive comparison analysis between FEM and RBFCM is provided considering both two dimensional Poisson’s equation and Stokes equation
    with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. For accuracy, relative error analysis and root mean square error analysis is supplied, keeping the costs proximate to each other. In the matter of stability, condition numbers of matrices for both cases are provided quantitatively. For speed, code run times are compared. And for ease of implementation, a qualitative conclusion is drawn.

    Green Building and Energy Efficiency Application Decisions in Sustainable Project Management- Mete Saraçoğlu

    The aim of the study has been to assess the various stages for taking the decision to implement green building practices during the construction of a project with the existing regulatory framework in Turkey. The assessment was used to derive a decision-making tool showing the degree of green building practices achievable with limited risk at each stage of construction. Case studies were identified as  three health campus hospitals recently built under the Public-Private Partnership scheme for which the decision to target a LEED certification was given at early construction stage. The data therefore allowed further analysis of the degrees of freedom and constraints faced by the projects compared to each LEED criteria. Furthermore, the first year operational results on energy and water consumption were analyzed with the purpose of elaborating on benefits obtained from implementation of such green building practices

    Estimating Transport Energy Demand in Turkey via Genetic Algorithm, GHG Emissions for Electrical Cars Scenario and Its Climate Change Impact-Cem Tiranlar 2015

    The electricity demand forecasting of the transport sector in Turkey has been carried out by taking into consideration official estimates, energy infrastructure needs, sector-specific growth and development expectancies. A survey for end user perceptions towards electric vehicles has been conducted, and two alternative ways are employed: (i) top-down approach using genetic algorithms and (ii) bottom-up approach using the Boğaziçi University Energy Modeling System (BUEMS), a technologically detailed linear activity analysis framework. BUEMS is calibrated under various scenarios to evaluate the impact of additional electricity demand on the power generation mix and CO2 emissions.