An International Workshop on the Genome of Stone-based Civil Infrastructure Materials, Beijing, China, 2016

有证据表明，成功绘制人类基因组图可能会彻底改变癌症和精神障碍等疾病的治疗方法。类似的概念也被设想用于工程材料研究和开发。材料基因组倡议(MGI)于2011年在美国启动，旨在发展材料创新基础设施，并激励材料设计文化的改变。材料基因组可以从材料组成、微观结构和固有缺陷三个方面进行描述，并可以通过材料表征方法在多个尺度上确定。基于测得的材料基因组，可以建立多尺度力学模型来评估材料基因组对材料性质的影响。随着高性能计算方法和工具的出现，基于材料的实际组成和微观结构的多尺度模型可以帮助以最小的财务投资和人力成本加快材料设计过程。材料基因组研究的最终目标是能够通过合理的方法设计出具有所需性质和性能的材料。对于熟知的金属材料，这一问题尚未得到解决，而对于水化水泥混凝土、沥青混凝土、骨料和人工增强土壤等石基民用基础设施材料，解决这一问题可能更具挑战性。这些经过工程处理的天然-合成杂化材料对社会的可持续发展非常重要，对经济和环境都有重大的潜在影响。将概念从人类基因组扩展到物质基因组引发了一系列问题，包括：(1)什么是物质基因组？(2)如何确定材料基因组并评估材料基因组对材料特性的影响？以及，(Iii)了解材料基因组将如何加速材料设计的发现和创新？2016年，中国将在北京科技大学举办一次国际研讨会，届时将包括石质民用基础设施材料领域的世界领先研究人员和教育工作者，以制定路线图，帮助及时回答这些问题。石基土木基础设施材料基因组国际讲习班的目的是：(1)审查和更新与金属和石质基础设施材料基因组有关的最新研究和发展；(2)查明开展国际合作的技术障碍；(3)促进建立石材基础设施材料基因组确定国际联合会；以及(4)制订研究和教育路线图，以确定和建立材料基因组与石材基础设施材料性能之间的关系。研讨会将为美国与会者提供一个机会，为未来与中国和欧洲研究人员的互动发展伙伴关系。

Evidence suggests that the successful mapping of the human genome may revolutionize the treatment of cancers and mental disorders amongst other ailments. A similar concept has been conceived for research and development in the study of engineering material. The Material Genome Initiative (MGI) which began in the United States in 2011 is seeking to develop a material innovation infrastructure and to incentivize a change in material design culture. The material "genome" can be described in terms of the material composition, the microstructure, and the inherent defects and can be determined by material characterization methods at multiple scales. Based on the measured material genome, multiscale mechanical models can then be established to evaluate the influence of the material genome on material properties. With the availability of high performance computational methods and tools, multiscale models based on actual composition and the microstructure of materials can help to speed up the material design process with a minimum of financial investment and labor costs. The ultimate goal of the material genome research is to be able to design materials of desired properties and performance by rational approaches. This has not yet been resolved for well-understood metallic materials and may be even more challenging to address for stone-based civil infrastructure materials, such as hydrated cement concrete, asphalt concrete, aggregate, and human-augmented soil. These engineered hybrid natural-synthetic materials are important for the sustainable development of society, with significant potential impacts on both the economy and the environment. Expanding concepts from the human genome to the material genome raises a number of questions, including: (i) what is the material genome? (ii) how can one identify the material genome and evaluate the influence of the material genome on material properties? and, (iii) how will understanding the material genome speed up discovery and innovation in material design? An international workshop will be held at the University of Science and Technology in Beijing, China in 2016 that will include the world's leading researchers and educators in stone-based civil infrastructure materials to develop a roadmap to help answer these questions in a timely manner. The purpose of the international workshop on The Genome of Stone-based Civil Infrastructure Materials is to: (i) review and update the latest research and developments related to the genome of metallic and stone-based materials; (ii) identify technical barriers to developing international collaborations; (iii) promote the establishment of an international consortium for the identification of the genome for stone-based materials; and (iv) develop a roadmap for research and education in identifying and establishing a relationship between the material genome and the properties of stone-based infrastructure materials. The workshop will provide US participants an opportunity to develop partnerships for future interactions with Chinese and European researchers.