44 University Drive
Dallas, PA 18612
Biography
Dr. Dimitrios Bolkas is currently an Associate Professor of Surveying Engineering and program coordinator 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). Dr. Bolkas has also served with numerous other professional organizations, including the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS); the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE); and the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors (PSLS), where he is a member of the education committee and where he has conducted several continuing education workshops at PSLS conferences.
Dr. Bolkas is also on the editorial board of the ASCE journal Surveying Engineering, and serves as a reviewer for several academic journals. He has also been a program evaluator for ABET.
In 2024 Bolkas was presented with the Younger Geospatial Professional award. This award recognizes someone in the field for their achievements in the 3D technology space and is jointly given by Geo Week and LiDAR News. Bolkas was nominated for his work in engaging students with virtual reality.
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)
Research Interests
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.
Education
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.