Dimitrios Bolkas

Dimitrios Bolkas
Program Coordinator, Surveying Engineering
Associate Professor, Surveying Engineering
Center for Technology, 124
Penn State Wilkes-Barre
44 University Drive
Dallas, PA 18612

 Dr. Dimitrios Bolkas is currently an Associate Professor of Surveying Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, Wilkes-Barre campus. He has a diverse geodetic experience that includes terrestrial, mobile, and airborne laser scanning, digital elevation models, unmanned aerial systems, GNSS networks, and geoid and gravity-field modeling.

Dr. Bolkas is a director on the executive board of the Surveying and Geomatics Educator’s Society (SaGES). He is also a member of the education committee of the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS), and he has conducted several continuing education workshops at PSLS conferences. At Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Dr. Bolkas teaches the following courses in the surveying engineering program:

  • SUR 111 (Plane Surveying)
  • SUR 162 (Methods in Large-Scale Mapping)
  • SUR 241 (Surveying Measurement Analysis)
  • SUR 362 (Introduction to Geospatial Information Engineering)
  • SUR 490 (Seminars in Surveying)

Dr. Bolkas’ main research interest is on building methods to increase, understand, and assess quality/uncertainty in 3D geospatial datasets. In addition, his research develops new methods and techniques to enhance functionality of 3D geospatial data and models. Recent research endeavors focus on creating virtual environments from point-cloud data and using virtual reality to enhance engineering education. His work has appeared in several peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented in various international scientific meetings.

Dr. Bolkas received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Surveying Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and his Ph.D. in Geological Sciences and Engineering from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. Part of his Ph.D. work was completed at the Geosciences Department of the University of Texas at Dallas.