Prof.Dr. Cavit Atalar graduated first in his class from Ankara University 1973. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of London in 1980. Cavit Atalar joined the Civil Engineering Department of Near East University as faculty in 1994.
During the last 25 years Cavit Atalar has performed more than 300 academic activities, 150 presentations and publications. The Historical Bedestan restoration project and the Armenian Church and Monastery in Nicosia restoration project which he has performed the geotechnical investigations won the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award in 2009 and 2015 respectively. He is the editor or the author and co-author of 19 books, and more than 100 articles, papers, project reports, and technical reports. Six of the papers are at the International or European Conferences on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering proceeding books which are held every four years.
Cavit Atalar, organized more than 30 conferences. He was the chair or a member of the organizing committee, panelist, or session president of several international and national conferences. He was the chair of the organizing committee together with the Presidents of the Turkish Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering of the International Conference on New Developments in Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering which were organized jointly by the Turkish Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering and Near East University under the auspices of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering every four years.
Cavit Atalar was editor-in-chief of the Geosound journal between 2002-2004. Member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering since 2007 and reviewer of four international journals since 2002.
Project coordinator of 3 and member of a team of 3 international projects. Project coordinator of 4 and member of a team of 2 national projects. He served two terms as member of the Union of the Chambers of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects, the President of the Earth Science Engineering Chamber and a member of a commission of the Nicosia Master Plan.