As a military engineer, he served in Napoleon's campaign against the Russian Empire in 1812, in which he was captured and held prisoner until 1814. Later, he served as a professor of mechanics at the École d'application in his home town of Metz, during which time he published "Introduction à la mécanique industrielle", a work he is famous for, and improved the design of turbines and water wheels. In 1837, a tenured 'Chaire de mécanique physique et expérimentale' was specially created for him at the Sorbonne (the University of Paris). In 1848, he became the commanding general of his "alma mater", the École Polytechnique. He is honoured by having his name listed among notable French engineers and scientists displayed around the first stage of the Eiffel tower.