Bashar Ashkar is a Ph.D. candidate in Structural Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, under the supervision of Dr. Assaf Shmerling. He earned his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 2024 and his M.Sc. in Structural Engineering in 2026, both from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Bashar has two years of professional experience as a structural engineer. His previous research focused on developing seismic fragility curves for pre-code reinforced-concrete buildings and investigating strategies for the seismic retrofitting of existing structures His doctoral research focuses on developing advanced optimal-control and optimization frameworks for structures subjected to earthquakes and other extreme dynamic loads. By integrating nonlinear structural dynamics, earthquake engineering, computational optimization, and active structural-control strategies, his work aims to create safer, smarter, and more resilient structural systems capable of adapting to severe seismic demands while minimizing damage and improving overall performance
Courses
Dynamics of Structures- undergraduate Structural Design -undergraduate