Editor’s Note

It was my privilege to be part of a five-member delegation of the ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering invited to present the First China-U.S. Workshops on Safety and Forensic Practice of Civil Works, March 12–24, 2010. The workshops were held at Shandong University in Jinan, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, and Hohai University in Nanjing. The ASCE delegation was jointly funded by ASCE and Chinese organizations. ASCE sponsorship involved the Technical Activities Committee (TAC), the Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE), and the International Activities Committee (IAC). Chinese sponsors included the three host universities, the Zhejiang Highway Association, and the Technical Committee of Engineering Safety and Defense and the Technical Committee of Environmental Geo-

 technology, both of the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CSRME).

Workshop presenters were Kenneth Carper (delegation leader, Washington State University), Kimball Beasley (Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.), Norbert Delatte (Cleveland State University), Leonard Morse-Fortier (Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger Inc.), and Dar-Hao Chen (workshop coordinator, Texas Department of Transportation). Topics included an introduction to forensic engineering; lessons from bridge and dam failures; foundation, façade, and curtain wall investigations; forensic transportation engineering; pavement performance; wind damage investigations; and infrastructure condition assessment. Numerous case histories were presented.

Following the well-attended and interactive workshops, formal meetings were held at each university with faculty, engineering practitioners, and industry representatives. Current research activities were reviewed, including tours of facilities. Opportunities for future collaborative projects, such as potential exchanges and joint sponsorship of international conferences, were discussed. Our Chinese hosts expressed interest in forming a professional committee patterned after the TCFE in order to facilitate future collaborations.

The rapid pace of construction in China is unprecedented. The scale of investment in urban development, building construction, long-span bridges, highways, subways, high-speed railways, power production and distribution facilities, and other civil works is evident everywhere. Furthermore, vast investments are being made in education, with the creation of new universities and new campuses with expanded technical research capabilities. Engineering research laboratories that would be envied by any U.S. academic or private research institution are under construction.

The ASCE delegation expresses appreciation for the opportunity to view firsthand the impressive achievements of our colleagues in China and to share with them the knowledge of the U.S. forensic engineering community. We trust that there will be future opportunities for mutually beneficial educational and professional interactions.