Ihsan Engin Bal is the Professor of the Research Group on Earthquake Resistant Structures. A civil engineer with MSc and PhD degrees in Earthquake Engineering, Ihsan worked in industry in Greece, Turkey, and the USA responsible for numerous projects on design and strengthening of structures against seismic actions. He also worked as a researcher in Italy, Greece and Turkey and participated in FP7 and nationally funded projects. Before coming to the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, Ihsan has directed R&D projects in Turkey at Istanbul Technical University, focused on topics such as the production and testing of seismic isolation systems, assessment and consolidation of historical masonry buildings and seismic monitoring of structures. He also served as consultant for historical buildings for the Turkish Prime Ministry Vakiflar, and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Scientific Committee for Protection of Historical Heritage. He coordinated seismic monitoring activities and consulted design in benchmark projects such as the Eurasia Road Tunnel and the Marmaray Project in Istanbul.