11-14 October 2006, Portopia Hotel, Kobe, Japan
INSTRUCTION FOR PAPER PREPERATION is now available! [ZIP](Oct. 16, 2006)
OR Publisher's homepage [Balkema's WEB-SITE] (Oct. 16, 2006)


Final Program is now available! (it contains How to access to the conference hotel.) [HTML] [PDF](Oct. 10, 2006)

ON-LINE REGISTRATION & HOTEL BOOKING are updated! (see On-line registration) (Closed!)

Before June 15, 2006: submit a title and one page abstract to: ifip2006@kobe-u.ac.jp (Closed!)
Last updated October 16, 2006 Webmaster: Chul W. Kim

Conference sponsorship
Conference themes
Programme summary
Conference venue
Working group members
Participation
Proceedings
Registration fees
On-line registration
Accommodation
How to get to the conference site(Updated!)
Organization
Conference secretary
Conference contact

CONFERENCE SPONSORSHIP
The Conference is sponsored by IFIP TC-7, the Technical Committee on Modeling and Optimization. It is co-sponsored by the 21st century COE Program for "Design Strategy towards Safety and Symbiosis of Urban Space" of Kobe University and the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety, IABMAS, http://IABMAS.org/, and the Civil Engineering Risk and Reliability Association (CERRA). This conference is the thirteenth scientific meeting of the IFIP Working Group on "Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems" and it will take place in Kobe, Japan. The purpose of the Working Group is to:

  • promote modern structural system reliability and optimization theory,
  • stimulate research, development and application of structural system reliability and optimization theory,
  • further the dissemination and exchange for information on reliability and optimization of structural systems,
  • encourage education in structural system reliability and optimization theory.

CONFERENCE THEMES
The working conference focuses on reliability and optimization of structural systems. Topics include:

  • Reliability of structural systems

  • Time-variant systems reliability

  • Strength and load modeling for structural systems

  • Structural safety: objectives and optimization

  • Optimization of structural systems

  • Application of structural systems reliability theory

  • Reliability of special structures, e.g. wind turbines, offshore structures, ...

  • Failure modes for structural systems, and

  • Reliability-based optimization

PROGRAMME SUMMARY
The conference runs from Wednesday evening till Saturday morning. It opens with a welcome reception on Wednesday night to be held at Portopia Hotel. Keynote lectures will be given Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. No parallel sessions are planned at the IFIP Working Conference. Thursday afternoon the member's meeting of Working Group WG 7.5 will be held.




CONFERENCE VENUE
PORTPIA HOTEL is located at a man-made island (so called Port Island), and provides convenient approach to the down town area of Kobe.
THE PORT CITY OF KOBE , which is located just to the west of center on the main island of Honshu in an area known as the Kansai Region, is easily accessible to most domestic and international destinations by land, sea or air. Travel time from Tokyo takes 1 hour 20 minutes by plane and 2 hours 50 minutes by Shinkansen Bullet Train. From Osaka, train travel takes 30 minutes and Airport Limousine Bus service from Kansai International Airport takes one hour. In addition, even the most remote points in Japan, as well as the neighboring countries of Korea and mainland China, are but one and a half to two hours by air. Its ideal location allows Kobe, together with Osaka and culturally-rich Kyoto, to serve as the focal point for the economy of western Japan.
Geographically, the city can be roughly divided into two sections by the Rokko Mountain Range. The southern portion which faces Osaka Bay forms the urbanized area, while the western and northern areas have become the scene for the construction of large-scale new towns that maintain harmony with their natural surroundings. Stretching like a ribbon 30 km east to west and 2 to 4 km north to south, the southern urban area occupies roughly 30% of the city but is home to 60% of the population.
Developmentally, Kobe is built upon a 3-tier structure: a port and industrial zone along the coast, residential areas on the hillsides, and mixed residential and commercial areas in the intermediate zone between the mountains and the sea. With the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, and with its overall mild climate averaging 17.1°C (62.8°F), Kobe is a city blessed with unparalleled natural conditions extremely conducive to business and daily life.

* MORE ABOUT KOBE or SIGHTSEEING!

WORKING GROUP MEMBERS (as of Oct. 2005)
Working Group 7.5 (http://www.ifip.or.at/) has the following membership. Most of the researchers and practitioners listed are expected to play an active role in the scientific programme of the conference.
A. H.-S. Ang, USA
G. Augusti, Italy
F. Biondini, Italy
A. Borri, Italy
C. Bucher, Germany
J. Casas, Spain
H.N. Cho, Korea
M. Ciampoli, Italy
C. A. Cornell, USA
R. B. Corotis, USA
A. Der Kiureghian,USA
O. Ditlevsen, Denmark
M. Dogaki, Japan
H. Ellis, USA
L. Esteva, Mexico
M.H. Faber, Swizerland
D.M. Frangopol, USA (Chair)
G. Fu, USA
 H. Furuta, Japan
P. Geyskens, USA
M. Gioffre, Italy
C. Guedes-Soares, Portugal
M. Grigoriu, USA
H. Ishikawa, Japan
R. Iwankiewicz, South Africa
S. Jendo, Poland
M. Kawatani, Japan
N. Kogiso, Japan
M. Lemaire, France
M. A. Maes, Canada
K. Marti, Germany
R. Melchers, Australia
Y. Murotsu, Japan
J. van Noortwik, The Netherlands
A. S. Nowak, USA

 M.D. Pandey, Canada
R. Rackwitz, Germany
J.O. Royset, USA
M. Sakano, Japan
T. Sato, Japan
N. Shetty, United Kingdom
W. Shiraki, Japan
P. Sniady, Poland
J. D. Sorensen, Denmark (Vice-Chair)
B. Sudret, France
M. M. Szerszen, USA
W. Tang, Hong Kong
N.J. Tarp-Johansen, Denmark
P. Thoft-Christensen, Denmark
P. Waarts, The Netherlands
Y.-K. Wen, USA
Z. Zembaty, Poland


PARTICIPATION
Attendance at the Conference is by invitation only. Interested researchers and practitioners are invited to adhere to the following action schedule:

  • Before June 15, 2006: submit a title and a 1-page abstract to: ifip2006@kobe-u.ac.jp

  • All abstracts are reviewed by the Technical Committee of IFIP 2006. Notices of acceptance and rejection wille be e-mailed around July 31, 2006.

  • October 11-14, 2006: attend the conference and bring one original copy of your full-length paper (for possible publication in the proceedings) and a number of copies for subsequent distribution to the other participants at the conference. Please see: INTRODUCTION FOR PAPER PREPARATION (maximum length of papers 8 pages, keynote papers 12 papers).

PROCEEDINGS
The maximum length of papers is 8 pages, keynote papers 12 pages. To be included in the proceedings, camera-ready papers shall be mailed to: ifip2006@kobe-u.ac.jp before November 30, 2006. Please observe the Instructions for paper preparation and be sure to mail the Word file or TeX-file along with the pdf file.
Author-instructions are uploaded on website of Balkema (http://www.balkema.nl/instructions.asp).

Previous proceedings

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1987 Proc. of the first IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Aalborg, Denmark, May 6-8, 1987 (Ed. P. Thoft-Christensen). Lecture Notes in Engineering, Vol.33, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1988 Proc. of the second IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, London, UK, Sept. 26-28, 1988 (Ed. P. Thoft-Christensen). Lecture Notes in Engineering, Vol.48, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1990 Proc. of the third IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Berkeley, California, USA, Mar. 26-27, 1990 (Eds. A. Der Kiureghian & P. Thoft-Christensen). Lecture Notes in Engineering, Vol.61, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1991 Proc. of the fourth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Munich, Germany, Sept. 11-13, 1991 (Eds. R. Rackwitz & P. Thoft-Christensen). Lecture Notes in Engineering, Vol.76, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1993 Proc. of the fifth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan, Mar. 22-26, 1993 (Eds. P. Thoft-Christensen & H. Ishikawa). IFIP Transactions B-12, Applications in Technology, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1994 Proc. of the sixth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Assisi, Italy, Sept. 7-9, 1994 (Eds. R. Rackwitz , G. Augusti & A. Bori), 1995 Chapman & Hall, London.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1996 Proc. of the seventh IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Boulder, CO, USA, April 2-4, 1996 (Eds. D.M. Frangopol, R.B. Corotis & R. Rackwitz), Pergamon, Elsevier.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 1998 Proc. of the eighth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Krakow, Poland, May 11-13, 1998 (Eds. A.S. Nowak & M.M. Szerszen), Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 2000 Proc. of the ninth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Sept. 25-27, 2000 (Eds. A.S. Nowak & M.M. Szerszen), Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 2002 Proc. of the tenth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan, Mar. 25-27, 2002 (Eds. H. Furuta, M. Dogaki & M. Sakano), A.A. Balkema publishers.

  • Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 2003 Proc. of the eleventh IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Banff, Canada, Nov. 2-5, 2003 (Eds. M.A. Maes & L. Huyse), A.A. Balkema publishers.

  • Advances in Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems 2005 Proc. of the twelfth IFIP WG 7.5 Working Conference, Aalborg, Denmark, May 22-25, 2005 (Eds. J.D. Sorensen & D.M. Frangopol), A.A. Balkema publishers.

REGISTRATION FEES

Early registration (before August 31, 2006)

  • Participants: 40000 JPY
  • Accompanying persons: 15000 JPY
  • Students: 20000 JPY.

Late registration & on-site registration (after September 1, 2006)

  • Participants: 45000 JPY.
    Note: No penalty for accompanying persons and students.
    Note: Cash only for on-site registration.

The registration fees for the 13th IFIP WG7.5 conference include:

  • A copy of the Conference Proceedings (mailed about 3 months following the conference)
  • Wednesday night reception
  • Friday excursion and banquet
  • All 3 lunches on Thursday, Friday, Saturday
  • Coffee-breaks during the conference

The registration fee for accompanying persons includes Wednesday reception and Friday excursion and banquet.

ON-LINE REGISTRATION

ACCOMMODATION
A number of rooms have been reserved at PORTPIA HOTEL with special conference rate including breakfast. Please see the on-line registration

HOW TO GET TO THE CONFERENCE SITE
Kansai Int. airport is the closest international airport from Kobe Portopia Hotel.
You can approach from Shin-Kobe Station (Bullet train (Shinaken) station).
For those who from Kansai Airport, the sea route by ferry is very convenient!

  • HOW TO ACCESS TO THE CONFERENCE HOTEL[HTML] [PDF] (Updated!)

ORGANIZATION
Technical Committee:
Armen Der Kiureghian, USA
Dan M. Frangopol, USA (Chair)
Hitoshi Furuta, Japan
Mitsuo Kawatani, Japan (Co-Chair)
Marc A. Maes, Canada
Andrzej Nowak, USA
Rüdiger Rackwitz, Germany
John Dalsgaard Sørensen, Denmark
Palle Thoft-Christensen, Denmark

Local Organizers:
Masahiro Dogaki
Hitoshi Furuta
Mitsuo Kawatani (Chair)
Chul-Woo Kim (Secretary)
Nozomu Kogiso
Masahiro Sakano
Tadanobu Sato
Wataru Shiraki

CONFERENCE SECRETARY
Chul W. Kim
Phone: + 81 78 803 6383
Fax: + 81 78 803 6069
Email: cwkim@kobe-u.ac.jp

CONFERENCE CONTACT
Professor M. Kawatani (or Dr. Chul W. Kim)
Department of Civil Engineering, Kobe University
1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan
Phone: + 81 78 803 6278 (Kawatani); +81 78 803 6383 (Kim)
Fax: + 81 78 803 6069
Email: ifip2006@kobe-u.ac.jp

The 13th IFIP TC7 WG 7.5 Conference 11-14 October 2006, Kobe, Japan