Adrian Brügger

Sen. Adrian Brügger is Director of the Robert A. W. Carleton Strength of Materials Laboratory, a Columbia University center with a trifold mission of teaching, research, and materials testing. The Carleton Laboratory is the preeminent experimental research center of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. The state-of-the-art strength of materials laboratory supports not only the research and teaching of the Department but also performs critical testing for the global engineering community. Dr. Brügger graduated from Columbia University with a B.S. and an M.S. in civil engineering, both with a concentration in structural engineering. He received his Ph.D. in civil engineering, with a focus on mechanics of materials and health monitoring.

Dr. Brügger's research interests are in the quantification of the internal mechanics of multibody systems in failure-critical structures. He uses neutron diffraction as an elastic strain measurement tool to penetrate deeply into bulk materials and layers of a multi-body system without disturbing the internal mechanics of the sample. Dr. Brügger is active in various field projects focusing on major infrastructure health monitoring, damage detection, and damage mitigation; this effort includes vibration instrumentation and condition assessments on various large bridges (Manhattan Bridge, Verrazano Narrows Bridge, etc.) and sensitive structures (The New York Times Building, numerous galleries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Most notably, he has been a critical contributor to various research and industry projects focusing on the deterioration of critical infrastructure including but not limited to: Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge main cable forensic studies, FHWA full scale bridge cable accelerated corrosion experiments, MTA/PANYNJ bridge cable dehumidification project, and the MTA/PANYNJ fire effects on main cables of suspension bridges. On the University Senate, Dr. Brügger serves on the Research Officers and Campus Planning and Physical Development committees.