Editor’s Note

The first Taiwan International Symposium on Forensic Engineering convened in Taipei, January 19–20, 2007. The well-attended event was held under the auspices of the Public Construction Commission and was sponsored by the Taiwan Construction Research Institute, the Taipei Professional Civil Engineers Association, the Department of Civil Engineering of the National Taiwan University and the Department of Construction Engineering of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

I was fortunate to be included as one of the international guests invited by the symposium coordinators. This was my first opportunity to visit Taiwan, a beautiful island inhabited by extraordinarily hospitable people. The remarkable technological achievements accomplished recently, illustrate advanced expertise in civil, architectural, environmental, geotechnical and transportation engineering. Among the more impressive are: the Taipei 101 tower, the tallest building in the world since its completion in 2004; the high-speed rail project, which upon completion this year will provide rapid transportation along the length of the island; and the twin-tube Hsuehshan highway tunnel, completed in 2006. The Hsuehshan tunnel, at $12.9\mathrm{km}$ , is the fourth longest tunnel in the world. Each of the two tubes provides two traffic lanes. The tunnel was built in complicated geological conditions involving highly fractured rock. Construction crews encountered numerous problems with groundwater and overcame several tragic accidents, including 42 collapses during construction of the pilot tunnel and 48 collapses in the main tunnels. The story of this challenging 15-year construction project is the subject of a full-length movie produced for the Discovery Channel.

I was impressed with the technical expertise represented at the symposium and the enthusiasm among our forensic engineering colleagues in Taiwan. We have much to learn from our international associates. There will be opportunities for coordination of our efforts to improve the quality of constructed projects, as we disseminate the lessons derived from forensic investigations to practicing design and construction professionals throughout the world. I am pleased to report that Dr. Wei F. Lee, Senior Research Fellow at the Taiwan Construction Research Institute, has agreed to become an Editorial Review Board member for this Journal. We look forward to further collaborative activities with our Taiwanese colleagues.

The Journal’s Publications Committee is seeking manuscripts that focus on load testing and monitoring the performance of structures. At least one Special Topic issue is planned, entitled “Assessment and Evaluation of Existing Structures by Means of In Situ Load Testing and Structural Monitoring.” J. Gustavo Tumialan (Simpson Gumpertz and Heger, Inc.) will serve as Guest Editor for the issue. He and I will coordinate the solicitation and review of manuscripts.

We seek papers that specifically describe case studies involving the collection and interpretation of data collected through instrumentation and physical load testing. I would be pleased to discuss a potential submission on this or any other relevant topic at any time. Please feel free to contact me by mail: Kenneth L. Carper, School of Architecture and Construction Management, College of Engineering and Architecture, P.O. Box 642220, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2220; by telephone at (509) 335-1229; by fax at (509) 335-6132; or by e-mail at [email protected].