Luca Caracoglia

Dr. Luca Caracoglia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University. He specializes in wind engineering, wind energy systems, fluid-structure interaction, and structural dynamics under extreme climate conditions. His research focuses on mitigating wind-induced damage to infrastructure and optimizing renewable energy technologies through advanced modeling and experimentation.

Education:

• Ph.D., Structural Engineering, University of Trieste, Italy (2001)
• 5-year Diploma in Civil Engineering, University of Trieste, Italy (1997)

Research Interests: Dr. Caracoglia's work addresses critical challenges in wind engineering, including bridge aerodynamics, wind turbine blade stability, and tornado/downburst impact assessment. He leads the Wind Engineering Research Group (WERG), which combines numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments to evaluate structural resilience. Recent projects involve NSF-funded initiatives on turbulence effects on large flexible structures and tornado-resistant infrastructure design.

Key Contributions: Dr. Caracoglia has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, focusing on stochastic flutter analysis, energy harvesting from wind-induced vibrations, and performance-based wind engineering frameworks. His 2020 ASCE Fellowship and 2009 NSF CAREER Award highlight his impactful contributions. He has secured $2.7M+ in grants, including a $14M NSF collaborative grant for tornado-resistant infrastructure testing.

Awards & Recognition:

• Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (2020)
• NSF CAREER Award (2009)
• Consistently ranked among top 2% most-cited scientists in Stanford University’s global assessments (2021-2024)

Labs & Collaborations: Director of the Wind Engineering Research Group (WERG) at Northeastern, collaborating with institutions like the University of Massachusetts Amherst and international partners. Active in organizing international wind engineering seminars and serving on IAWE committees.