Specialization

Structural Engineering (Structural Health Monitoring)

Email

dattar.aulakh@thapar.edu

Contact: 9464129781

Alt Email: dattaraulakh@gmail.com

Biography:

Dr. Dattar Singh Aulakh is serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology. Dr. Dattar obtained his Ph.D. degree in Structural Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in March 2024. He obtained his master's in structural engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 2018. After his Ph.D., he worked as a Research Associate at IIT Roorkee, with a focus on multimodal data fusion for integrated monitoring of structures and on seismic-resilient systems using sustainable materials. Dr. Aulakh joined the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2025. He is currently working on structural reliability-based monitoring of structures under multi-hazard scenarios. He is also exploring innovative smartphone-based solutions for crowdsourced monitoring of bridges.

Dr. Aulakh’s research interests cover vibration-based SHM, development of sensing solutions, statistical data fusion, numerical model updating, long-term performance and durability of advanced materials, seismic-resilient sustainable structural systems, and fiber-reinforced cementitious composites.

Research Interests:

• Structural Health Monitoring
• Non-destructive evaluation of structures
• Vibration based monitoring
• Fiber reinforced cementitious composites
• Sensing solutions for SHM
• Structural Reliability

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Structural Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi-March 2024.
• M.Tech in Structural Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee-2018.
• B.Tech in Civil Engineering at Punjab Technical University, 2015.

Experience:

• Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala (July 2025– present)
• Research Associate, Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (April 2024 – June 2025)

Award/Honors:

• Seal of Excellence in Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024
• CSIR- International Travel award for attending 10th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring, Italy.
• Research Excellence Travel Award (RETA) to attend an international conference by IIT Delhi.
• First prize in Transtech Blitz at Young Researchers Conclave 2023 at CSIR-CRRI.
• Registration Waiver Award from SPIE Smart Structures + Non-destructive Evaluation, 2021, Los Angeles, USA
• Merit Cum Means Scholarship by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India.

Reviewer for Scientific Journals:

• Engineering structures
• Measurement
• Mechanical systems and signal processing
• Smart materials and structures
• Journal of Structural Design and Construction Practice

Funded Research Projects:

• Smartphone-Enabled Networked Platform for Structural Evaluation of Aging Bridges (SENSE) Role: Co-PI, TIET–UQ Center of Excellence in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (CoDSaI)
• Seed-funded project for developing a smartphone-based structural health monitoring platform for smartphone-based sensing for crowd-sourced monitoring.

Journal Publications:

• Sagar, C., Aulakh, D. S., & Sharma, U. K. (2026). Hierarchical ensemble machine learning for corrosion monitoring in reinforced concrete subjected to carbonation and cast-in-chlorides. Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation, 1–36.
• Aulakh, D. S., Rawat, D., & Bhalla, S. (2025). A novel integrated framework for damage detection in steel structures using magnetic piezoelectric sensors and hybrid damage index. Scientific Reports, 15, 36083.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2024). Piezo Sensor Based Operational Strain Modal Analysis of Structures: Transition From Lab To Field Application. Measurement, 239, 115398.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Negi, P. (2023). Flexural Performance of Hybrid Fiber-Reinforced Ultrahigh-Performance Concrete with Locally Available Materials. Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, 28(4).
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2023). Piezo Sensor Based Strain Modal Flexibility for Multiple Damage Detection using Output Only Structural Identification. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 180, 110272.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2022). Performance Evaluation of Piezo Sensors with Respect to Accelerometers for 3D Modal Analysis of Structures. Smart Materials and Structures, 31, 095043.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2021). 3D Torsional Experimental Strain Modal Analysis for Structural Health Monitoring using Piezoelectric Sensors. Measurement, 180, 109476.

Conference Publications:

• Sagar, C., Aulakh, D. S., & Sharma, U. K. (2025). Machine learning-based framework for corrosion monitoring of reinforced concrete structures considering carbonation and cast-in-chlorides. International Conference on Condition Assessment and Retrofitting of Structures (CARRS).
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2023). Operational Strain Modal Analysis of a Pedestrian Footover Bridge Using Piezo Sensors. UNIfied Conference of DAMAS, IncoME and TEPEN Conferences 2023, England.
• Gupta, A., Rawat, D., Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2023). Reusable Miniature Piezo-magnetic Sensor for Rapid Application of Electro-mechanical Impedance Technique on Steel Structures. EURODYN 2023, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2647, 252026, Netherlands.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2022). Piezo Sensors Based Operational Strain Modal Analysis for SHM. 10th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2022), Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 253, Springer, Italy.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2022). Non-bonded Piezo Sensor Configuration for Strain Modal Analysis Based SHM. SPIE Smart Structures + Non-Destructive Evaluation 2022, USA.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2022). Piezoelectric Sensor-based 3D Modal Analysis Under Shaker Derived Random Excitations. SPIE Smart Structures + Non-Destructive Evaluation 2022, USA.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2021). Piezo Sensor-based Strain Modal Analysis for SHM. International Conference on Futuristic Technologies, IIT Delhi, India.
• Aulakh, D. S., & Bhalla, S. (2020). Alternate Strain Based-modal Analysis Using Piezosensors. SPIE Smart Structures + Non-Destructive Evaluation 2020, USA.