Kenneth L. Carper

Technical Council on Forensic Engineering: Twenty-year Retrospective Review

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) formally established the Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE) in 1985. This paper reviews the 20-year history of the TCFE, beginning with several catastrophic events of the 1970s and early 1980s that led to its formation. The current committee structure of the Council is presented. Past activities and products of the TCFE are reviewed along with anticipated future directions.

Construction pathology in the United States

In the United States, several engineering organizations are currently working to enhance the open discussion of failures in the professional literature with the aim that lessons be more quickly inc...

Note of Appreciation for Our Reviewers

The Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities owes much of its success to the many manuscript reviewers who have donated their time to provide constructive comments to authors. Indeed, the reviewers play an equivalent role with the authors in maintaining the quality of this publication. Our reviewers serve without compensation. They are,without exception, highly respected individualswho are very busy in practice and/or academia. Yet, they find the time to contribute altruistically to the dissemination of useful information in the Journal. At the end of this issue are listed those who have provided peer reviews during 2013. I want to extend my gratitude for their efforts. If you recognize one of your colleagues on the list, please express your appreciation.

Special Issue on Performance of Timber and Hybrid Structures

The Journal Publications Committee is pleased to present this issue with a focus on timber and hybrid structure systems. In the past we have published few papers on timber structures, so this focused issue is long overdue. Included are 15 technical papers exploring the actual performance of timber systems and a number of innovative hybrid applications. I am especially impressed with the research on hybrid structures presented in this issue by Canadian colleagues. The creative application of new materials in construction is always inspiring. Equally inspiring, however, is innovation in applications of established materials, and combinations of materials, to achieve aesthetic and optimal performance goals. The editor is pleased to have worked on this project with Solomon Tesfamariam, guest editor and associate professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Tesfamariam approached the editor with the idea in October 2012, and he has since worked diligently with his colleague and coeditor, Dr. Siegfried F. Stiemer, to solicit manuscripts, assist the editor with reviews, and prepare an Introduction to the issue. We have become good friends while working together on this project. In their Introduction, Dr. Tesfamariam and Dr. Stiemer note, “Considerable progress is made in the use of hybrid structures. The papers presented further highlight the research potential in this area, and the need for concerted effort to bring the knowledge into design guidelines.” This special issue contributes to the ongoing effort.

10th International Conference on Shock & Impact Loads on Structures

The 10th International Conference on Shock & Impact Loads on Structures (SI13) was held in Singapore, November 25–26, 2013. It was my pleasure to attend this successful conference, to serve as coeditor of the proceedings, and to organize two special sessions on “Strategies to reduce the potential for disproportionate structural collapse resulting from local blast loading.” Forty-nine papers were presented on current research and practice topics related to blast protection. Twenty of the presenters have been invited to preparemanuscripts for a special issue of this journal. Guest editors will be Dr. ChengqingWu and Dr. Tat Seng Lok. The ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities (JPCF) and the International Journal of Protective Structures (IJPS) were the designated support journals for the conference. Authors invited to contribute to this journal (JPCF) presented on topics related to blast protection against terrorism and/or accidental explosion, whereas those invited by the IJPS presented on design against impact load effects resulting from natural hazard events (extreme winds, tsunami, seismic events, etc.) Beginning with the 1995 truck bombing of the Alfred P.Murrah Federal Building inOklahomaCity, this journal has maintained a commitment to serve as a forum for dissemination of practice-related information aimed at reducing the effects of intentional damage to facilities. The planned special issue will be a substantial contribution to that goal. The SI13 conference was organized by CI-Premier Conference Organization, Singapore. Nine previous Shock & Impact Loads conferences have been held on a 2-year cycle since 1996 inSingapore, Australia, China, and Japan. A special issue of this journal published in September/October 2011 (Vol. 25,No. 5) comprised paperswritten by presenters at the 2009 Adelaide, Australia, conference (SI09). The guest editor was Dr. Chengqing Wu.

International Forensic Engineering Congresses and Conferences

The schedule for significant international forensic engineering activities has been very busy the last 6months,with threemajor congresses and conferences occurring in three countries. Reports summarizing two of these events are included here: The 6th ASCE Forensic Engineering Congress, held in San Francisco October 31 to November 3, 2012 (report by AnthonyM. Dolhon) and the IF CRASC ’12 Congress, held in Pisa, Italy, November 15e17, 2012 (report by Norbert J. Delatte). By publication of this issue, a third major conference will be underway. The 5th ICE Forensic Engineering Conference: Informing the Future with Lessons from the Past, sponsored by the Institution of Civil Engineers, is scheduled to take place in London April 16e17, 2013. I will prepare a report on the London conference for publication in a future Editor’s Note.

Judith C. Wang, Outstanding Reviewer

The 2013 Outstanding Reviewer Award for the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities is given to Judith C. Wang. Dr. Wang is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Colorado School ofMines inGolden, Colorado. She holds a B.A. in English and B.S.E., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in civil engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Wang’s primary research areas are experimental and numerical soil dynamics, geotechnical engineering, structural dynamics, and historic engineering case studies. Her work in these areas has been published in the Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Journal of Structural Engineering, Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, and Journal of Vibration and Control. Outside her civil engineering activities, Dr. Wang enjoys reading, running, yoga, and exploring the Colorado outdoors with her family and pets. Dr. Wang has provided numerous quality contributions as a volunteer peer reviewer that are exemplary in every aspect the award is intended to recognize: timely, conscientious reviews that include specific, constructive comments. In addition, she has made an effort to ensure that papers published in this Journal are of practical value because many of our readers are consultants in engineering practice. Dr.Wangwrites that she feels honored to receive this award because she strives to provide prompt, specific, and constructive reviews of the type that she finds the most helpful and encouraging for her own papers going through the publication process. TheOutstandingReviewerAwardwas established in 2009 by the Journals Division of ASCE. As editor, I am sincerely gratified to present this award. The success of ASCE peer-reviewed publications has always depended on the altruistic contributions of dedicated reviewers. Our reviewers know that their efforts are appreciated and that they are integral to advances in theory and practice. This award formally and officially recognizes the value of our reviewers. Past recipients of the award are Richard J. Deschamps (2010), Charles S. Hanskat (2011), and Carl H. Carpenter (2012). I look forward to recognizing many other deserving colleagues in the future. Judith C. Wang, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE

Awards: ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering

The ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE) has announced the recipients of the 2009 and 2010 Forensic Engineering Awards, planned for presentation at the Sixth Forensic Engineering Congress, in San Francisco, California, October 31-November 3, 2012. The Forensic Engineering Award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to the field of forensic engineering. The award is not necessarily given every year. There have been 13 recipients since the establishment of the award in 1989. Past recipients of the award are John P. Bachner (1990), Jack R. Janney (1991), Joseph S. Ward (1992), Lev Zetlin (1993), George F. Sowers (1994), Kenneth L. Carper (1997), Narbey Khachaturian (1998), John M. Hanson (1999), W. Gene Corley (2002), Paul F. Mlakar (2003), Lewis L. Zickel (2006), Howard F. Greenspan (2007) and Henry Petroski (2008).

Forensic Engineering Education Workshops: A Review of Experiences in the U.S. and in Latin America

An ongoing activity of the Committee on Education of the ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering is the development of workshops for civil engineering faculty. The workshops are aimed at integrating lessons from failure case histories into undergraduate and graduate university education. These workshops have been successfully presented at seven locations throughout the United States to more than 100 college and university professors. The workshops encourage the use of forensic case histories in existing courses by providing easily adapted case modules, visual aids, and proven teaching strategies. Recently, the project has been extended to the international arena, with presentations in the UK, China, India, and Latin America. This paper reviews the background, intent, and content of the forensic engineering education workshops, with a focus on the international activities. Included are specific comments regarding the Latin American experiences in Costa Rica and Ecuador.

ASCE Sixth Congress on Forensic Engineering

The Sixth Congress on Forensic Engineering will take place in San Francisco from October 31 to November 3, 2012. The three-day technical program is designed with four concurrent technical tracks, committee meetings, panel discussions, and workshops. More than 200 technical papers will be presented. The opening keynote speaker will be Raymond “Paul” Giroux, P.E., M.ASCE, who will present “The Building of the Golden Gate Bridge.” Giroux is chair of this year’s 75th anniversary celebration of the opening of the city’s signature bridge. The Forensic Engineering Congresses have been organized by the ASCE Technical Council on Forensic Engineering (TCFE) every 3 years since 1997. They are recognized internationally as a premier event for the forensic civil engineering community. This year’s location is particularly inviting because San Francisco is a major destination for tourism. In conjunction with the Congress, several tours are planned to enhance the Congress theme, “Gateway to a Safer Tomorrow.” These include a project tour of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, one of the largest construction projects currently under way in the United States; a tour of the historic and elegant base-isolated San Francisco City Hall building; an exclusive evening event at the California Academy of Sciences, including a tour of the innovative award-winning museum designed by Renzo Piano; and a postconference tour of California’s wine country. Several new editions of TCFE publications are expected to become available at the time of the Congress. The second edition of Failure Case Studies in Civil Engineering—Structural, Foundation and Geoenvironmental is a product of the TCFE Education Committee. The TCFE Forensic Practices Committee will publish the second edition of Guidelines for Forensic Engineering Practice. A third publication, Guidelines for Failure Investigation, 2nd Ed., will be presented by the TCFE Forensic Investigation Committee. Authors will be available to discuss the content of these new publications. Opportunities will also be provided to attend TCFE committee meetings and to become committee members. Congress attendees are expected to include forensic engineers, civil engineers, architects and architectural engineers, building owners and managers, attorneys, educators, and invited guests. Registrants will benefit from an exchange of practices and procedures, educational opportunities, dissemination of information, and opportunities for publishing and networking. Professional development credits will be available. For further information, visit the Congress website at www.asce .org/forensiccongress.