Continuing Support for the Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT The BICE's program of studies and activities assists government to provide appropriate leadership in the building and construction industries and in the broader area of infrastructure services. It offers a mechanism for bringing together the expertise of the nation's professional, academic, and government communities to address major issues of national significance. The focus areas of the BICE's program are: o Socio-technical interfaces and infrastructure systems analysis o Impact of the built environment on human health and productivity o Facility and infrastructure performance and its measurement o Security of facilities, infrastructure, and public spaces o Improving multi-hazard resilience of the built environment o Integration of information technology and infrastructure systems o Sustainable communities and infrastructures o Construction and utilization of underground space o Effects of extreme events on the built environment o Construction methods and operations. The BICE does not conduct studies per se; however, the board does have oversight responsibility for BICE committees and panels that do conduct studies for government sponsors. The BICE provides an independent, multidisciplinary forum for experts from a wide range of scientific, engineering, and social science specialties to address problems and issues of infrastructure and the built environment. The BICE provides a unique structure to explore emerging issues in response to specific requests from government agencies or to act on its own initiative. In pursuit of its goals, BICE conducts on-going strategic planning exercises and convenes a variety of workshops, symposia, and information dissemination activities. Broader Impact The BICE is vitally interested in the role that well planned, -constructed, and -operated infrastructure must play in sustaining the economic and environmental health of our nation and the cities and communities that comprise it. In the interest of continually advancing our understanding of the built environment, and its social implications, the BICE fosters discussion among policy-makers and practitioners through the sponsorship of workshops, colloquia, and other interactive public forums.