Gizem Acar (gacar)

Gizem Acar

Assistant Professor

Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Carnegie Laboratory 212
(201) 216-5096
Website

Education

  • PhD (2017) Michigan State University (Mechanical Engineering)
  • MS (2012) Bogazici University (Mechanical Engineering)
  • BS (2010) Bogazici University (Mechanical Engineering)

Research

Gizem Acar's research focuses on nonlinear dynamics and vibrations with applications to fluid-structure interactions, metamaterials and metastructures. She has active projects on nonlinear metastructures with programmable features, and wave propagation in structures under vortex-induced vibrations. Her research interests also include using machine learning algorithms to forecast nonlinear system behavior, such as wind turbine power output and granular surface response during robotic locomotion.

General Information

Gizem D. Acar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology. She earned her B.S. and M.S. degrees from Bogazici University in 2010 and 2012, respectively. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2017, and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Maryland until 2020. Her research interests include dynamics and vibrations with a focus on wind turbines, systems with noise, wave propagation in solids and metamaterials, and granular media.

Experience

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 2020-present

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, 2017-2020

Research Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Michigan State University, 2012-2017

Teaching Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Bogazici University, 2011-2012

Institutional Service

  • Dynamics, Vibrations and Acoustics RCT Committee Chair
  • Vibrations CCT committee Chair
  • Mechanical Engineering Graduate Committee Member
  • ME Faculty Search Committee Member
  • Design and Manufacturing RCT Member
  • ME Senior Design Member
  • ME Faculty Search Committee Member
  • Strategic Planning Committee Member

Professional Service

  • ASME Symposium Organizer at the ASME IDETC 2023, 2024, and 2025
  • National Science Foundation Panel Member
  • Nonlinear Dynamics, Journal of Vibration and Control, ASME Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics, and JASA-EL Manuscript Reviewer
  • ASME Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound Member
  • National Offshore Wind Research & Development Consortium (NOWRDC) Proposal Scorer

Appointments

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, 2020-present

Honors and Awards

Early Career Mentor Award (2025), Stevens Institute of Technology, Office of Undergraduate Research and the Student Government Association

Excellent teaching evaluation Recognition for Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Spring 2024

Grants, Contracts and Funds

Co-PI on the U.S. Army Contract: "Resiliency of Energy Resources and Supply Chain for the Industrial Base".

Selected Publications

Conference Proceeding

  1. Domenikos, R.; Hajimirza, S.; Acar, G. (2023). Artifical-Intelligence-Based Modeling for Energy Output Predictions of Renewables. ASME IMECE 2023. ASME.
  2. Acar, G.; Zaatreh, A.; Prachet, A. K. (2022). Dynamics of Metastructure Beams Under Rotation. ASME IMECE 2022.
  3. Acar, G.; Alofi, A.; Breunung, T.; Balachandran, B.. Utilizing noise to manipulate energy localization in a circular oscillator array. ENOC 2020 + 2. Lyon, France.
  4. Sapmaz, A.; Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2019). Approximate general responses of tuned and mistuned 4-degree-of-freedom systems with parametric stiffness. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series (pp. 315-324).
  5. Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2019). Floquet-type analysis of transient vibrations of a horizontal axis wind turbine. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series (pp. 329-333).
  6. Sapmaz, A.; Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2019). Numerical study of superharmonic resonances in a mistuned horizontal-axis wind-turbine blade-rotor set. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference (vol. 8).
  7. Acar, G.; Balachandran, B. (2018). Bifurcations of periodic orbits of a one-dimensional pre-compressed granular array. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference (vol. 6).
  8. Afzali, F.; Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2018). Response characteristics of systems with two-harmonic parametric excitation. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference (vol. 6).
  9. Afzali, F.; Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2017). Analysis of the periodic damping coefficient equation based on floquet theory. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference (vol. 8).
  10. Sapmaz, A.; Acar, G.; Feeny, B. (2017). In-plane blade-hub dynamics of horizontal-axis wind turbine with mistuned blades. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference (vol. 8).
  11. Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2016). Approximate general responses of multi-degree-of-freedom systems with parametric stiffness. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series (vol. 6, pp. 211-219).
  12. Acar, G.; Acar, M. A.; Feeny, B. F. (2016). In-plane blade-hub dynamics in horizontal-Axis wind-Turbines. Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference (vol. 8).

Journal Article

  1. Acar, G.; Cilenti, L.; Yorke, J. A.; Balachandran, B. (2023). Expected escape times from attractor basins due to low intensity noise. Nonlinear Dynamics (10 ed., vol. 111, pp. 8935-8946). Springer.
  2. Alofi, A.; Acar, G.; Balachandran, B. (2022). Noise influenced response movement in coupled oscillator arrays with multi-stability. Journal of Sound and Vibration (vol. 531, pp. 116951). Academic Press.
  3. Balachandran, B.; Breunung, T.; Acar, G.; Alofi, A.; Yorke, J. A. (2022). Dynamics of circular oscillator arrays subjected to noise. No. Nonlinear Dynamics (1 ed., vol. 108, pp. 1-14). Springer Netherlands.
  4. Afzali, F.; Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2021). A Floquet-Based Analysis of Parametric Excitation through the Damping Coefficient. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Transactions of the ASME (4 ed., vol. 143).
  5. Acar, G.; Ravula, P.; Balachandran, B. (2021). Dynamic interactions of a driven pendulum with photoelastic granular media. Physics Letters, Section A: General, Atomic and Solid State Physics (vol. 396).
  6. Ravula, P.; Acar, G.; Balachandran, B. (2021). Discrete element method-based studies on dynamic interactions of a lugged wheel with granular media. Journal of Terramechanics (vol. 94, pp. 49-62).
  7. Acar, G.; Acar, M. A.; Feeny, B. F. (2020). Parametric resonances of a three-blade-rotor system with reference to wind turbines. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Transactions of the ASME (2 ed., vol. 142).
  8. Acar, G.; Balachandran, B. (2020). Dynamics of one-dimensional granular arrays with pre-compression. Nonlinear Dynamics (1 ed., vol. 99, pp. 707-720).
  9. Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2019). Approximate Floquet Analysis of Parametrically Excited Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Systems with Application to Wind Turbines. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Transactions of the ASME (1 ed., vol. 141).
  10. Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2018). Bend-bend-twist vibrations of a wind turbine blade. Wind Energy (1 ed., vol. 21, pp. 15-28).
  11. Acar, G.; Feeny, B. F. (2016). Floquet-Based Analysis of General Responses of the Mathieu Equation. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, Transactions of the ASME (4 ed., vol. 138).

Courses

E 120 - Engineering Graphics
ENGR 211 - Statics and Introduction ​to Engineering Mechanics
ME 358 - Machine Dynamics and Mechanisms
ME 631 - Mechanical Vibrations
ME 633 - Nonlinear Dynamics and Oscillations