Erol Yilmaz was born in Rize, Türkiye. He received the B.Sc. degree (Hons.) in mining engineering from Istanbul University, in 2000, the M.Sc. degree in mining engineering from Karadeniz Technical University (KTU), Trabzon, Türkiye, in 2003, and the Ph.D. degree in environmental sciences from the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada. From July 2000 to July 2004, he was an Expert in the Mining Engineering Department of KTU. In August 2004, he moved to Canada to work in an international project at UQAT's URSTM Laboratory. He was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at UQAT, focusing on physical/geochemical behavior of surface paste disposal. He had been working with FQML's Cayeli Underground Copper-Zinc Mine (Madenli, Rize, Türkiye) as a Paste Backfill and Batch Plant Supervisor. Erol Yilmaz is a professor at the Civil Engineering Department (Geotechnical Division) in the School of Engineering at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University in Rize, Türkiye. He has more than 20 years of rich experience in industry, academia, and research by focusing on geotechnics/waste management. He has authored or co-authored over 150 scientific publications, including books, reports, and journal/conference articles. His research is well recognized by the academic society, drawing more than 4448 citations with H-index of 44 (ISI Web of Science). Researcher was included in the "World's Most Influential Scientists" list created as a result of a study conducted by a team of US and Dutch scientists under the coordination of Stanford University. Moreover, according to 2022 performance data, the researcher has succeeded in entering the list of the World's TOP 2% of Scientists for the 'third consecutive time'. He is serving as Lead Guest Editor of Advances in Materials Science and Engineering (Q2) and Advances in Civil Engineering (Q3), an Associate Editor of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers-Geotechnical Engineering (Q2), Frontiers in Materials (Q2) and Frontiers in Built Environment (Q2), and an Editorial Board Member of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering (Q1), Journal of Mining and Environment (Q4), International Journal of Minerals Metallurgy and Materials (Q1), and International Journal of Mining Reclamation and Environment (Q2).He is also very active in the transfer of knowledge and in training highly qualified personnel. He has been 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.