Erol Yilmaz is an Associate Professor in the Civil Engineering Department (Geotechnical Division) at the School of Engineering at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University (RTEU: Rize, Turkey). He received his B.Sc. degree (with honors, first class) from Istanbul University in 2000 and his M.Sc. degree from Karadeniz Technical University (KTU: Trabzon, Turkey) in 2003. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Environmental Sciences from Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT: Rouyn-Noranda, Canada) in 2010 and completed his Post-doctoral Research at the same university in 2011. He has over 20 years of rich experience in industry, academia, and research focusing on analytical, innovative and operational issues on geotechnics, mine fills and waste cementitious materials, covering several countries in North America, Asia and Europe. Before joining the university, he worked as an Engineer for Cayeli Bakir Isletmeleri A.S. of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. He has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific publications, including books, reports, and journal/conference articles. He has been repeatedly invited as a Keynote Speaker and acts as a Consultant and a Reviewer for several scientific committees, peer-reviewed journals, funding agencies, and several international projects.