2015 Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) Conference: Computation for Sustainable Urban Systems; Stanford University, Palo Alto, California; June 16-19, 2015

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

Over fifty percent of the world's population now lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase further as more and more names are added to the list of megacities in the world. Projections show that urbanization combined with the overall growth of the world's population could add another 2.5 billion people to urban populations by 2050. This imposes considerable demands on the environment to find resources for its inhabitants. The Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference to be held at Stanford University on June 16-19, 2015 focuses on the role of engineering mechanics to tackle important problems associated with sustainable urban systems. The Conference will be attended by experts in different areas of engineering mechanics from all over the world. The objective of this project is to provide graduate students an opportunity to present their work in front of experts in their field of specialization, as well as promote exchange of scientific knowhow with these experts. Graduate students will be provided financial assistance in the form of travel fellowships to enable them to attend the Conference. Urban systems offer important opportunities for economic development. However, they also impose considerable challenges such as providing for public transportation, housing, electricity, water, sanitation, and other services for their inhabitants. In addressing these challenges, the Conference theme will revolve around sustainability of urban systems. Topics that will be covered in the Conference include molecular and micro-structural modeling and experimentation, mechanics of bio-inspired and biological materials, applied mechanics, computational methods in engineering mechanics, damage and fracture mechanics, performance-based engineering, mechanics of concrete and cementitious materials, geomechanics and geohazards, geo-energy, sensing and structural health monitoring, stochastic dynamics and inverse problems, and mechanics of sustainable structural materials.