Travel Support for the U.S. Participants to Attend the International Workshop on Prevention of Total Collapse of Existing Structures; held at the Istanbul Technical University

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This award will support the travel of 6 invited US researchers to attend and present lectures at the workshop on Measures for the Prevention of Total Collapse of Existing Low-Rise Structures, to be held at the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Turkey, November 17-20, 2007. The workshop has been organized by the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) and the Structural and Earthquake Engineering Laboratory (STEEL) in Istanbul, Turkey. The purpose of this workshop is to have the leading researchers from several counties discuss innovative techniques and share knowledge and experience related to mitigating the potential catastrophic consequences of strong earthquakes in large urban areas. Six researchers from the US were invited to attend this workshop and present lectures on the workshop topic. The workshop offers the possibility that new, innovative ideas would be developed that could, if validated by research, result in improvements in the safety of existing structures during seismic events. The integrity of existing urban structures, especially low and mid-rise reinforced concrete buildings, is a major concern in many older cities in the world. The development of relatively inexpensive expedient methods of seismic retrofit has the potential to significantly reduce loss of life and economic consequences of major earthquakes.