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Alkim Avsar

Assistant Professor
Alkim Avsar
111 Durham Hall
1145 Perry Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(MC 0118)
alkimavsar@vt.edu
GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Short bio:

Alkim’s research explores how to improve efficiency in collaborative and cooperative systems by focusing on the role of social factors in engineering decision-making. Her work integrates systems engineering, behavioral science, game theory, and human factors to study how outcomes in complex systems are shaped not only by technical design but also by the interplay of human decisions and interactions. She conducts interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research using behavioral experiments, agent-based modeling, and survey design, combined with insights from psychology, economics, management and engineering design.

At Virginia Tech, her work aims to advance both theory and practice in managing micro- and macro-level complex systems by developing tools that address risk, coordination, and communication through a human-centered approach.

Research Areas:

Main Area: Collaborative & Cooperative Systems

  • Systems Engineering
  • Game Theory & Decision-Making
  • Social Factors & Human Factors in Engineering
  • Communication in Team-Based Design
  • Collaborative & Cooperative Systems
  • Engineering Design
  • Behavioral Experiments & Agent-Based Modeling
  • Risk & Efficiency in Complex Systems

  • Ph.D., Systems Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology
  • M.E. (Thesis), Engineering Management, Stevens Institute of Technology
  • B.S., Mechatronics Engineering, Sabancı University, Turkey

  • Assistant Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech, 2025 - present
  •  Postdoctoral Research Scholar, School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Arizona State University, 2023 – 2025

  • Avşar, Alkım Z., and Paul T. Grogan. "Identification of design strategies and their effects on performance outcomes in pair parameter design tasks." Journal of Mechanical Design 146.5 (2024): 051401.
  • Avşar, Alkım Z., and Paul T. Grogan. "Effects of differential risk attitudes in collaborative systems design." Systems Engineering 26.6 (2023): 770-782.
  • Avşar, Alkim Z., Jordan L. Stern, and Paul T. Grogan. "Measuring Risk Attitudes for Strategic Decision-Making in a Collaborative Engineering Design Process." International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Vol. 86267. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2022.
  • Avsar, Alkim Z., Stephanie S. Chiesi, and Paul T. Grogan. "Effects of Data Exchange Methods on Perceived Risk and Trust in Digital Engineering." Transdisciplinarity and the Future of Engineering. IOS Press, 2022. 249-258.
  • Avşar, Alkım Z., and Paul T. Grogan. "Effects of locus of control personality trait on team performance in cooperative engineering design tasks." International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference. Vol. 83976. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2020.
  • Avşar, Alkım Z., Ambrosio Valencia-Romero, and Paul T. Grogan. "The effects of locus of control and big five personality traits on collaborative engineering design tasks with negotiation." International design engineering technical conferences and computers and information in engineering conference. Vol. 59278. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2019.