Bala Ashtakala

Biography

Dr. Bala Ashtakala obtained his B.E. degree from University of Madras, M.E. degree from University of Roorkee, India and Ph.D. degree from University of Waterloo, Ontario. He teaches Transportation Engineering courses and conducts research in Transportation Engineering. He is a Professional Engineer in Alberta and a Fellow of American Society of Civil Engineers. He has been with Concordia University since 1982. He served as an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at G.N. Engineering College of Punjab University, India. Dr. Ashtakala received his Ph.D. degree in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo, Ontario in 1969. He was a post- doctorate fellow at the University of Alberta from 1968-1969. He served as Planning Studies engineer and Head of the transportation modelling section from 1969 to 1982 in the Department of Highways, Government of Alberta. He was involved in several major transportation projects, and pioneered the application of computer programs for transportation planning. Dr. Ashtakala was appointed Associate Professor at Concordia University in 1982 as a specialist in Transportation Engineering. He has published a number of research papers in reputed international journals and presented papers in conferences worldwide. He has chaired several conference sessions in Canada and India. He has given a number of invited lectures in Canada, Japan and India. He has supervised several Master's and Ph.D. students.

Research Interest

Dr. Bala's research focuses on Transportation systems modeling, Transportation of commodities and hazardous materials and Pavement design for highways.