Bio

B.S. San Diego State University, Civil EngineeringM.S. University of Virginia, Applied MechanicsPh.D. University of Virginia, Applied Mechanics

Dr. Salzar has over 25 years of experience in the field of engineering mechanics, with the last 13 years focusing on injury biomechanics.  After a two year post-doctoral NRC appointment with the NASA-Glenn Research Center researching advanced aerospace composite materials, Dr. Salzar won appointment as an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at the City University of New York.  His present appointment as Principal Scientist at the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia has focused on the cause and prevention of both automotive and high-loading rate military injuries.  Recent topics of research include review of the JTAPIC injury database for relevant military injuries, under-body blast biomechanics including PMHS testing and development of response and injury corridors for WIAMan Underbody Blast Manikin development, and detailed thoracic compliance modeling.  Dr. Salzar currently has over 50 refereed journal articles and over 100 conference publications in the fields of biomechanics and applied mechanics. Dr. Salzar won the University of Virginia MAE Research Scientist of the Year award in 2016.

Research Interests

  • Thoracic characterization
  • Pelvic characterization
  • High-rate vertical loadings to mounted warfighters
  • Physiological sensor development

Selected Publications

  • Post Mortem Human Surrogate Injury response of the pelvis and lower extremities to simulated underbody blast. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, December 2014. Robert S. Salzar
  • Thoracic Response to Shoulder-Belt Loading: Comparison of Table-Top and frontal Sled Tests with PMHS. Traffic Injury Prevention, 14:2, 159-167. Robert S. Salzar
  • Fracture Tolerance of the Patellofemoral Joint in Frontal Knee Impacts of 75 and 35 Year Old Males. International Journal of Crashworthiness, 16:4: 397-409. Robert S. Salzar
  • Load path distribution within the pelvic structure under lateral loading. International Journal of Crashworthiness, 14(1): 99-110. Robert S. Salzar
  • Viscoelastic response of the thorax under dynamic belt loading. Traffic Injury Prevention, 10(3): 290-296. Robert S. Salzar