Rate My Professor Nikolaos Nikitas

Nikolaos Nikitas is a Professor in Structural Dynamics and Engineering in the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Leeds. He earned an MEng specialising in Structures and Earthquake Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2004, a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2008 with a thesis titled 'Dislocation-Based Continuum Models of Crystal Plasticity on the Micron Scale', and a second PhD from the University of Bristol in 2011 titled 'Wind-Induced Dynamic Instabilities of Flexible Bridges'. His early research involved EU FP6 RTN 'Size-Depen' on nano/micro-plasticity size-effects and an EPSRC-funded project (EP/D073944/1) on self-excited vibrations of wind-prone bridges, followed by a JSPS Fellowship at the University of Kyoto (ID No. PE 10565). Before joining Leeds, he was a Lecturer in Structures at the University of Bristol from August 2011 to July 2012. At Leeds, he advanced from Lecturer (2012-2017) to Professor.

Nikitas's research specialisations include aeroelasticity, wind engineering, self-excited phenomena, nonlinear and stochastic dynamics, experimental dynamics and sensors, earthquake engineering, and multiscale interaction phenomena such as fluid-structure, human-structure, and soil-structure interactions. His work encompasses full-scale monitoring and inverse analysis of landmark bridges including Clifton Suspension Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge, and Oresund Bridge; wind tunnel testing at the National Research Council in Canada; shaking table tests at Bristol Laboratory; and physical modelling for offshore wind turbines. As the leading Structural Wind and Seismic Dynamics expert at Leeds, he contributed to the EPSRC Strategic Equipment Grant (EP/L022648/1) for a dynamic testing facility and oversees full-scale infrastructure monitoring equipment acquired through UKCRIC (EP/P017169/1) for the National Centre for Infrastructure Materials. He has received the Leeds University Union Partnership Awards 2017 Inspirational Teaching Award, recognition for a highly-cited article in Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, and serves on editorial boards including Advances in Bridge Engineering and Advances in Mechanical Engineering, as well as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Built Environment's Wind Engineering and Science section. Nikitas is a full member of the EPSRC Peer Review College since 2017 and has held positions such as Programme Leader for the MSc in Structural Engineering and Deputy Director of the Neville Centre of Excellence in Cement and Concrete Engineering (2017-2020).