The 10th National Academic Conference on Fundamentals and Reliability of Structural Design is being held at Radisson Blu Hotel Chongqing Shapingba from November 9 to 11, 2018. This Conference has been held biyearly for nearly 30 years and is now one with the greatest influence in the engineering structure reliability analysis and design area of China. This years’ conference is co-sponsored by the Specialized Committee on Fundamentals of Structural Design of China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization, Bridge and Structural Engineering Branch of China Civil Engineering Society and China Academy of Building Research and organized by the School of Civil Engineering, Chongqing University.
The Conference opened at 8:30am on November 10. Professor Chen Chaohui from the School of Civil Engineering, CQU, chairman of the Organizing Committee, presided at the opening ceremony and introduced the honored guests to the audience. Xiao Congzhen, the representative of sponsors, chief engineer of China Academy of Building Research and a national master of reconnaissance structure design, went briefly over the development history of the Conference. Professor Yang Qingshan, dean of the School of Civil Engineering, delivered a welcome speech to the experts and scholars present at the meeting on behalf of the organizer.
More than 150 experts, scholars and postgraduates from 56 colleges, universities and scientific research institutions across China have attended this Conference. In addition, 10 experts well-known at home and abroad attended the Conference as invited speakers, including Professor Alfredo H-S ANG from University of California Irvine, an NAE member, Professor Pol D.Spanos from Rice University, an NAE member, Professor Fang Guoguang from the National University of Singapore, a fellow of Singapore Academy of Engineering, Professor Zhao Yangang from Kanagawa University, Professor Liu Xila from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Professor Li Jie from Tongji University, Design Master Xiao Congzhen from China Academy of Building Research, Professor Niu Ditao from Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Professor Chen Jianbing from Tongji University and Professor Jiang Xingliang from Chongqing University. In particular, Professor Ang, Professor Apanos and Professor Li Jie have won the Freudenthal award issued by ASCE, the highest honor in the structural safety and reliability area.
Another 11 young and middle-aged experts and scholars also attended the Conference and delivered invited speeches. There are 8 sessions including the “special session on compulsory standard for structural design”, with 49 speeches delivered. Those speeches cover topics such as compulsory standard system for structural design, fundamental theory and method for reliability and their application, the application of new engineering materials and technologies in regulation and engineering, full-service-life reliability design theory and method based on performance and reliability theory for geotechnical and underground engineering and its application. This Conference serves as a platform for young and middle-aged experts and scholars to communicate and share ideas.
Professor Lyu Dagang from Harbin Institute of Technology chaired the free discussion of the Conference. Honored guests including Academician Fang Guoguang, Professor Liu Xila, Professor Li Jie and Master Xiao Congzhen share their opinions and ideas on the development trend, issues and research thoughts of civil engineering reliability theory and its application. The attending representatives had heated discussion about issues of common concerns such as the application of big data in civil engineering and related challenges, the urgent demand for combination of basic theory with engineering practice and the education development of reliability theory and practice. The honored guests also expressed their sincere hope for the young and middle-aged experts and scholars to become academic backbone forces.
This academic conference is a gathering of numerous experts and scholars in the structural reliability design and analysis area from home and abroad, and serves as a platform for the attendants to discuss issues such as basic principle for structural design in engineering and reliability design methods. It is a grand event of academic exchange and plays a very important role in enhancement of friendship and cooperation between scientific and technological workers in this area and promotion of development of civil engineering construction. The closing ceremony of the Conference began at 12:30a.m. of November 11, 2018. At the closing ceremony, Professor Chen Chaohui, chairman of the Organizing Committee, and Master Xiao Congzhen, director of the Academic Committee of the Conference, respectively delivered a summary speech about this Conference. Professor Huang Bin from Wuhan University of Technology sincerely invited the attendants present to the next years’ conference on behalf of the organizer. The closing ceremony ended with all volunteers singing the song The Legend.
