About
Andrew Smyth is a researcher whose work sits at the intersection of structural dynamics, sensing, and data-driven inference for civil infrastructure and cities.
Since joining Columbia in 1998 he has worked on system identification and structural health monitoring of full-scale structures, on the Bayesian and Kalman-filter methods that turn noisy sensor data into reliable estimates of a structure's state and parameters, and on the vibration monitoring of sensitive sites, including construction adjacent to the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection, and the Penn Museum. Over the last decade this work has broadened into smart-city analytics: large-scale vehicle telematics for road safety, probabilistic travel-time modeling for New York City's emergency medical services, and computer vision for streetscape sensing.
He is Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, and the Principal Investigator and Director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3), a multi-institution center established in 2022. He previously chaired the Smart Cities Center of Columbia's Data Science Institute (2013–2024). He served as President of the International Association of Structural Control and Monitoring (2022–2026) and was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Intelligent Infrastructure and Resilience.
Research
Structural Health Monitoring
Sensing, damage detection, and finite-element model updating for full-scale civil structures, from bridges to museum galleries under construction.
System Identification & Nonlinear Filtering
Kalman-type and particle filters for real-time joint input–state–parameter estimation, observability and identifiability of nonlinear systems, and Bayesian model assessment.
Smart Cities & Streetscapes
Fleet telematics and driver-behavior indices, map-matching of sparse GPS trajectories, EMS travel-time prediction, and computer vision for small-object detection in street scenes.
Structural Dynamics & Random Vibration
Nonstationary random vibration of linear and nonlinear systems, damping estimation, and spectra-compatible ground-motion generation.
Rocking of Objects on a Moving Base
Analytical and experimental study of rocking bodies, including monocular computer-vision measurement of three-dimensional rocking motion, with applications to the protection of art and artifacts.
Adaptive Identification & Control
Robust adaptive identification and control of nonlinear structural systems, and smart materials and structures.
Positions & Leadership
Academic appointments
- 2026 – presentChair, Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University
- 2022 – presentPI & Director, NSF Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3)
- 2021 – 2026Vice-Chair, Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
- 2021 – presentRobert A.W. and Christine Carleton Professor, Columbia University
- 2013 – 2024Chair, Smart Cities Center, Data Science Institute, Columbia University
- 2013 – 2018Director of Research, Robert A.W. Carleton Laboratory
- 2019 – 2020Visiting Professor, Trinity College Dublin
- 2014Visiting Scholar, KU Leuven
- 2010 – 2020Professor, Columbia University
- 2007Visiting Researcher, Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris
- 2003 – 2010Associate Professor, Columbia University
- 1998 – 2003Assistant Professor, Columbia University
Professional leadership & editorial
- President, International Association of Structural Control and Monitoring (IASCM), 2022–2026
- President, US Panel for Structural Control and Monitoring, 2016–present
- Co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Intelligent Infrastructure and Resilience (Elsevier), 2022–present
- Associate Editor, Frontiers in Built Environment – Structural Sensing, 2015–present
- Associate Editor, ASCE Lecture Notes on Mechanics, 2010–present
- Vice-President (2013–14) and elected Governor (2011–14), ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute
- Associate Editor, ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics (2006–16) and Structural Control and Health Monitoring (2006–12)
Selected current projects
- NSF Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes, PI & Director (2022–2027)
- NSF SCC-LSR: Probabilistic Digital Twinning and Dynamics Optimization to Enhance EMS Operations, Co-PI (2025–2031)
- Construction-vibration monitoring programs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Selected Publications
A selection of recent journal articles. The full list is in the CV and on Google Scholar.
- Spectrum- and physics-informed neural networks (SaPINNs) for input–state–parameter estimation in dynamic systems subjected to natural hazards-induced excitation. Kosikova, A., Psaros, A., and Smyth, A.W. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 254, 114387, 2026.
- Impact assessment of construction methods and support structures on vibration levels of ancient reliefs. Kosikova, A., de Lapérouse, J.-F., Seymour, M., Smyth, A., and Brügger, A. npj Heritage Science, 13(1), 272, 2025.
- Dynamic penalty-based dispatching decision-making for improved emergency response in urban environments: a heuristic approach. Mohammadi, S., Olivier, A., and Smyth, A. Frontiers in Future Transportation, 6, 1540502, 2025.
- SOD-YOLOv8: Enhancing YOLOv8 for small object detection in aerial imagery and traffic scenes. Khalili, B., and Smyth, A.W. Sensors, 24(19), 6209, 2024.
- Bayesian neural networks with physics-aware regularization for probabilistic travel time modeling. Olivier, A., Mohammadi, S., Smyth, A.W., and Adams, M. Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, 2023.
- Probabilistic prediction of trip travel time and its variability using hierarchical Bayesian learning. Mohammadi, S., Olivier, A., and Smyth, A.W. ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A, 9(2), 2023.
- Driver behavior indices from large-scale fleet telematics data as surrogate safety measures. Alrassy, P., Smyth, A.W., and Jang, J. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 179, 2023.
- Data analytics for improved closest hospital suggestion for EMS operations in New York City. Olivier, A., Adams, M., Mohammadi, S., Smyth, A.W., Thomson, K., Kepler, T., and Dadlani, M. Sustainable Cities and Society, 86, 2022.
- A new residual-based Kalman filter for real-time input–parameter–state estimation using limited output information. Impraimakis, M., and Smyth, A.W. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 178, 2022.
- An unscented Kalman filter method for real-time input–parameter–state estimation. Impraimakis, M., and Smyth, A.W. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 162, 108026, 2022.
- Input–parameter–state estimation of limited-information wind-excited systems using a sequential Kalman filter. Impraimakis, M., and Smyth, A.W. Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 29(4), e2919, 2022.
- Sensitivity-based singular value decomposition parametrization and optimal regularization in finite element model updating. Bartilson, D.T., Jang, J., and Smyth, A.W. Structural Control and Health Monitoring, 27(6), 2020.
- Review of nonlinear filtering for SHM with an exploration of novel higher-order Kalman filtering algorithms for uncertainty quantification. Olivier, A., and Smyth, A.W. ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics, 143(11), 2017.
- Vibration mitigation and monitoring: A case study of construction in a museum. Smyth, A.W., Brewick, P., Greenbaum, R., Chatzis, M., Serotta, A., and Stunkel, I. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, 55(1), 32–55, 2016.
- Joint input-state estimation in structural dynamics. Maes, K., Smyth, A.W., De Roeck, G., and Lombaert, G. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 70, 445–466, 2016.
Books & chapters: Interpretable Machine Learning for Function Approximation in Structural Health Monitoring (Springer, 2021, with J.-S. Pei et al.); “Nonlinear System Identification: Particle-Based Methods,” Encyclopedia of Earthquake Engineering (Springer, 2014, with E.N. Chatzi); co-editor of the proceedings of the 4th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring (2007), the 4th International Workshop on Structural Control (2004), and EM2002.
Honors & Awards
- Distinguished Alumni Award, USC Department of Civil Engineering, 2023
- Robert A.W. and Christine S. Carleton Professorship, Columbia University, 2021
- Great Teacher Award, Society of Columbia Graduates, 2018
- Fellow, ASCE Engineering Mechanics Institute, 2013
- Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize, ASCE, 2008
- NSF CAREER Award, 2002
- Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, USC Civil Engineering, 1996
- Brown Scholar of London, outstanding entrant to Brown from the British Isles
Students & Postdocs
Ph.D. graduates
- Jinsong Pei (2001) – Univ. of Oklahoma
- Seyed Ali Hashemi Nezhad Ashrafi (2006) – Thornton Tomasetti
- Meiliang Wu (2006) – Credit Suisse
- Yuhong He (2006) – Citi
- JinWook Joung (2008) – Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co.
- Eleni Chatzi (2010) – ETH Zurich
- Virginia Mosquera (2010) – Thornton Tomasetti
- Emmanouil (Manolis) Chatzis (2012) – Univ. of Oxford
- Patrick Brewick (2014) – Univ. of Notre Dame
- Raphael Greenbaum (2014) – NASA
- Thaleia Kontoroupi (2016) – ABN ANRO Bank N.V.
- Jinwoo Jang (2016) – Florida Atlantic Univ.
- Audrey Olivier (2017) – Univ. of Southern California
- Daniel Bartilson (2019) – PanOptimization
- Patrick Alrassy (2020) – Meta
- Marios Impraimakis (2022) – Univ. of Bath
- Sevin Mohammadi (2025) – Motorola Solutions
Current group
- Minghao Chen, Ph.D. student
- Boshra Khalili, Ph.D. student
- Mehmet Turkcan, Associate Research Scientist
- Antonina Kosikova, Postdoctoral Researcher
Former postdocs
- Audrey Olivier – USC
- Jinwoo Jang – Florida Atlantic Univ.
- Raphael Greenbaum – NASA
- Emmanouil Chatzis – Univ. of Oxford
- Rebekah Green – Western Washington Univ.
- Guillermo Franco – Parametric Factory
Contact
Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
[email protected]
Tel. (212) 854-3369