Welcoming Note from Conference Co-Chairs, Dec. 2020 Newsletter

We are excited to bring you this first newsletter for the San Fernando Earthquake Conference – 50 Years of Lifeline Engineering. It is unfortunate we had to reschedule the event from its original dates in February 2021 to February 7-11, 2022 due to continued impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and goal to hold a safe in-person gathering. This was a difficult decision but proving to be of great importance. We will still commemorate the 50th anniversary of the San Fernando Earthquake on February 9, 2021 as described below. We will also hold periodic events throughout 2021 to enhance the overall experience, leading up to the February 2022 conference. More information on these events will be provided as details become available.

Our theme of Understanding, Improving & Operationalizing Hazard Resilience for Lifeline Systems is proving to be of great interest. We have a terrific team of volunteers to help the ASCE Infrastructure Resilience Division and UCLA put on this conference from February 7-11, 2022 and initiate programs on the February 9, 2021 50-year anniversary. We have 420 abstracts accepted from at least 23 different countries in a variety of topics important to lifeline infrastructure system and community resilience. This conference is attracting a large number of younger researchers and professionals, whose work will continue to drive this important work forward. We have drawn interest from a number of prominent sponsors and exhibitors and look forward to engaging more. In addition to this newsletter series, conference products being developed include a Book of Abstracts, with the initial release expected February 9, 2021 and periodic additions, Conference Proceedings, Webinars and Seminars through the 2021 calendar year, and others including the conference gathering at UCLA in 2022. We are in the process of organizing the conference program and are pleased to announce three distinguished speakers confirmed to date. We will hear from Professor Emeritus Paul C. Jennings from Caltech, Professor Emeritus Thomas D. O’Rourke from Cornell University, and Professor Emeritus Masanori Hamada from Waseda University, Japan. We will announce other plenary speakers in the future.

Please see our homepage to recognize our terrific sponsors and partners who are providing valuable support, as well as other conference information.

We also want to thank our team of committee volunteers, listed on the website, and all those interested in participating at the conference by organizing special sessions, drafting papers, and giving presentations.