Travel Grant for 1st US Italy Seismic Design of Bridges Workshop

这项提案是为了向国家科学基金会申请资金，以支持美国研究人员参加2007年4月19-21日在意大利帕维亚举行的第一届美国意大利地震桥设计研讨会。这次研讨会是一个很好的机会，让来自意大利和美国的桥梁设计、分析和改造方面的世界专家汇聚一堂。在桥梁抗震设计和改造方面，美国和意大利都走在了国际发展的前列。近几十年来发生的地震事件表明，公路桥的潜在脆弱性及其作为交通网络关键组成部分的重要性。这些生命线对于自然灾害后的应急工作和恢复至关重要。除了这些间接影响外，对桥梁的破坏还可能导致巨额的维修或更换费用。这个研讨会对于就桥梁抗震设计、改造和分析领域的最新进展交流意见是至关重要的。研讨会将有20多名意大利人和14名美国人参加。Reginald DesRoches教授和Phil Yen博士将担任美国团队的联席主席，Calvi教授和Pinto教授将担任意大利团队的联合主席。拟议中的研讨会的学术价值在于，这个论坛将把领先的研究人员和实践工程师聚集在一起，讨论抗震桥梁设计领域的最新进展，进一步促进该领域的知识。研讨会的更广泛影响是，它将不同的研究人员群体聚集在一起，经验丰富的实践工程师和研究人员与处于职业生涯早期阶段的研究人员健康地结合在一起。此外，聚集的群体在性别和种族上也是多样化的。在一个历史上男性占主导地位且不是特别多样化的领域，这一点尤为重要。

This proposal is to request funds from the National Science Foundation to support US researchers to attend the 1st US Italy Seismic Bridge Design Workshop, in Pavia, Italy, in April 19-21st, 2007. The symposium is a great opportunity to bring together world experts in bridge design, analysis, and retrofit from Italy and the United States. Both the US and Italy are at the forefront in international developments in seismic design and retrofit of bridges. Earthquake events in recent decades have illustrated the potential vulnerability of highway bridges and their importance as critical components of the transportation network. These lifelines are essential for emergency response efforts and recovery following a natural disaster. In addition to these indirect effects, the damage to bridges can result in significant repair or replacement costs. This workshop is critical in providing a forum for exchanging ideas on the latest advances in the area of seismic design, retrofit, and analysis of bridges. The workshop will have participation from over 20 Italians, and 14 Americans. Professor Reginald DesRoches and Dr. Phil Yen will serve as co-Chairmen of the US team, and Profs Calvi and Pinto serve as co-Chairmen of the Italian Team. The intellectual merit of the proposed workshop is that this forum will bring together leading researchers and practicing engineers to discuss the most recent advances in the area of seismic bridge design, further advancing the knowledge in this field. The broader impacts of the workshop are that it brings together a diverse group of researchers with a healthy mix of experienced practicing engineers and researchers with those that are at the early stages of their career. In addition, the group that is assembled is diverse in gender and race. This is particularly important in a field that has a history of being male-dominant and not particularly diverse.