HANDLING THE EXCEPTIONS: DEPENDABILITY OF SYSTEMS AND STRUCTURAL ROBUSTNESS

(invited lecture) - In the spirit of the SEMC series of international conferences (now held every 3 years), SEMC 2007 will aim at bringing together from around the world academics, researchers and practitioners in the broad fields of structural mechanics, associated computation and structural engineering, to review recent achievements in the advancement of knowledge and understanding in these areas, share the latest developments, and address the challenges that the present and the future pose. It is hoped that the cross fertilisation between theory and practice that is anticipated will promote a better understanding of structural behaviour, facilitate more realistic material and structural modelling, lead to the development of more appropriate computational schemes, and enhance the confidence of structural-engineering practice.