The 2023 ILEE Summer Program which started on July 31stconcluded on August 12th with a grand closing ceremony at Tongji University, Shanghai, China. The Program themed on Seismic Resilience for Cities and Structures offered an intensive two-week training on advancing seismic resilient cities and structures. During this program, participants attended foundational graduate-level courses on seismic resiliencedelivered by distinguished earthquake engineering researchers from around the globe. By engaging with participants from various corners of the world, the program offered an exceptional opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of earthquake-resistant infrastructure engineering, acquire practical skills, and establish a global professional network. Moreover, participants gained firsthand experience with the local engineering communities, enabling them to actively explore Chinese culture while witnessing the rapid infrastructure development.
The highly anticipated International Summer School Program was opened in Room B504, Civil Engineering Building at Siping Campus, Tongji University on July 31st. The opening ceremony witnessed a gathering of well-known scholars , including Prof. Xianglin GU, Vice President of Tongji University; Prof. Xilin LV, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Chair of the Scientific Committee of ILEE; Prof. Ying ZHOU, Dean of Civil Engineering and Director of ILEE; Prof. Richard Henry from The University of Auckland, New Zealand; Prof. Antonio Bobet from Purdue University, USA; Vice directors of ILEE Prof. Haitao YU, Prof. Yan XU, and Prof. Yiqiu LU; Prof. Zhiguang ZHOU, Chair of Department of Disaster Mitigation for Structures, College of Civil Engineering as well as scholars and students from around the world. The event began with a warm welcome addressed by Prof. Xianglin GU, who emphasized the importance of seismic resilience in the face of increasing urbanization and potential seismic risks. Prof. Xilin LV and Prof. Ying ZHOU also gave commencement speeches, expressing their gratitude to the participants.
The 2023 ILEE summer program hosted 22 participants from diverse regions of the world. These participants attended courses scholars, covering topics such as Seismic Resilience of Building Structures, Seismic Vulnerability and Resilience of Underground Structures, Seismic Isolation, Seismic Resilience of Bridges and Highway Systems, Modeling Resilience Across Scales: The Role of Structural Health Monitoring and Machine Learning and Seismic Resilience of Lifeline Engineering that were delivered by Prof. Richard Henry from The University of Auckland, New Zealand; Prof. Antonio Bobet from Purdue University, USA; Prof. Dimitrios Konstantinidis from UC Berkeley, USA; Prof. Gian Paolo Cimellaro from Polytechnic of Turin, Italy; Prof. Qunfang HU and Prof. Wei LIU from Tongji University, China; Prof. Ian Buckle from Nevada University, USA.
One of the highlights of the program was brought by visits to such as the State Key Laboratory of Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering; Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., TJAD; East China Architectural Design & Research Institute, ECADI; Tunnel Engineering Co., Ltd. Shanghai Tunnel; Yangtze River Delta Integrated Green Technology Demonstration Building; and Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems.
These visits provided participants with invaluable insights into seismic resilience, emphasizing the interconnected nature of engineering, architecture, sustainability, and technology. Supplementing the academic courses were cultural events, sightseeing tours, and networking sessions, fostering a global perspective among participants.
The program's conclusion featured reflective sessions where participants shared their experiences and insights. Student representatives highlighted the value of engaging with advanced knowledge, exploring cutting-edge earthquake research facilities, and forging connections with peers worldwide. Each participant gave a presentation further facilitating the exchange of ideas, fostering a collaborative learning environment.
As the closing ceremony concluded, the ILEE summer program on Seismic Resilience for Cities and Structuresachieved a successful culmination. Over the course of the two-week summer program, students not only deepened their understanding but were better-prepared to make contributions to seismic engineering.
The International Joint Research Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering (ILEE) is an internationally acclaimed center of excellence jointly supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), China. The headquarters of ILEE is located at Tongji University in Shanghai, China. ILEE's primary objective is to provide a robust platform for renowned international earthquake engineering researchers to exchange ideas, collaborate on research projects, utilize shared facilities, and facilitate the exchange of scholars, researchers, staff, and students. The laboratory also facilitates the exchange of laboratory test data among its members. ILEE has established the largest earthquake engineering research network globally. Its core members include the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) in the USA, the Urban Disaster Prevention Research Core (UDPRC) at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan, the European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCenter) in Italy, the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) in the USA, the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility (EERF) in Canada, the NZ Center for Earthquake Resilience (QuakeCoRE) in New Zealand, and the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) in Chinese Taipei. ILEE is committed to conducting advanced collaborative research on an international scale with anaim to develop innovative ideas to mitigate seismic vulnerability worldwide and pave the way for next-generation earthquake engineering solutions.
