Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, 2023
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Bilkent University, Turkey, 2015
Additional Education & Training
  • Institute of Police Technology and Management (IPTM) Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) Technician Training, March 2025
  • Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Vehicle Crash Reconstruction: Principles and Technology Training, Detroit MI, September 2024
  • HVE Forum, Engineering Dynamics Company LLC, Berkeley, CA, March 2024
  • PhotoModeler For Collision Investigation, Eos Systems Inc. June 2023
  • Simpack Fundamentals and Railroad Applications, Ankara, Turkey, April, 2016
  • Geometrical Dimensioning and Tolerancing, Ankara, Turkey, January, 2016
  • Siemens NX - Fundamental CAD, Assembly, Drafting and Advanced CAD, Ankara, Turkey, 2015
  • Introduction to Ansys Workbench, Ankara, Turkey, June, 2015
Professional Honors
  • Young Professional Award at the Inter-Noise Conference 2021
  • American Gear Manufacturer Association Scholarship, 2018 & 2019
Professional Affiliations
  • Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Member
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Member
Languages
  • Turkish

Dr. Sarikaya's areas of expertise include vehicle and machine dynamics, vibration, acoustics and control of vehicle systems and rotating machinery. Dr. Sarikaya provides scientific and engineering consulting services in the areas of mechanical engineering and accident reconstruction. Dr. Sarikaya is experienced with the investigation and accident reconstruction analysis of motor vehicle accidents involving passenger automobiles, motorcycles, heavy trucks, off-road recreational vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. His experience in photogrammetry analysis using PhotoModeler and Agisoft Metashape, terrestrial Faro 3D laser scanning, Computer-Aided Design (CAD) with Rhinoceros 3D, Solidworks and Siemens NX, vehicle handling and collision simulation with HVE, pre- and post-crash vehicle inspections including automobile Event Data Recorder data imaging, and site inspections enhance his consulting capabilities in the reconstruction of on-road and off-road motor vehicle accidents. As part of his educational and professional background, he has conducted analytical, computational and experimental analysis of conventional and electric vehicles with automotive companies. He is also proficient in Finite Element Analysis (FEA), digital signal processing, vehicle dynamics and Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH).Prior to joining Exponent, he was a research assistant at the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Structural Dynamics and Acoustics System Lab. During his studies, he worked on projects related to noise and vibration mitigation in transmissions for conventional and electric vehicles. He built dynamic models and conducted analytical, computational and experimental analyses to explore the impact of imperfections on the performance of various noise and vibration absorption mechanisms. His Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Massachusetts Lowell is titled, "The Impact of Manufacturing Imperfections on the Dynamic Response Characteristics of Centrifugal Pendulum Vibration Absorber (CPVA)". Dr. Sarikaya's dissertation work proposed new tuning strategies and diagnostic tools in the presence of imperfections for CPVAs using analytical and computational techniques.

Before his Ph.D. studies, he worked as a mechanical design engineer for two years at ASELSAN Inc, Ankara, Turkey. In that capacity, he was involved in all phases of the product development lifecycle, including design, documentation, prototyping, testing and quality control for electric bus and hybrid truck projects.