Dr. Baecher Invited as Distinguished Lecturer to OSU

Professor Baecher is invited to the Ohio State University to give a T.H. WU Distinguished Lecture on Apr 15, 2013. The subject of his talk is "From reliability to systems engineering:The evolution of risk analysis and assessment in civil works".

The late 20th C. saw the introduction of a variety of new analytical methods for evaluating risks posed by and to heavy civil infrastructure. The distinguishing feature of this evolving set of new methodologies was that they brought probabilistic thinking to bear in grappling with uncertainty and risk, and employed new techniques in operational research, statistics, and physics-based failure modeling, the development of which had been accelerated by the exigencies of WWII. Now, 50 years later, it is time to catalog the revolutionary insights gained by this ‘new approach.’ Many of these insights today are thought to be no more than common wisdom by younger engineers, but this was not the case when first they began to appear. It is also time to benchmark the ongoing—even accelerating—pace of risk analysis applications in civil engineering and natural hazards practice. A number of examples will be provided from practice.

The lecture is open to public.

April 15, 2013 - 4:00 to 5:00PM
Room 100 Scott Lab
201 W 19th Avenue

Published January 28, 2013