Preface

Reliable Engineering Computing has emerged as a multi-disciplinary field with this workshop series, which has been established and hosted in Georgia Tech Savannah in 2004, 2006, and 2008. The REC-workshops provide a unique symbiosis of various engineering and associated disciplines with the kernel areas of Engineering, Computer Science, Sciences, and Mathematics. Central issue of the discussions is the reliability of engineering computations. Cross-disciplinary advisements generate synergy and impulses of a new quality for research and development, as well as for innovative applications.

REC2010 is focused on Robust Design in the context of hazards, risk and uncertainty. This issue has attracted increasing attention in the recent past. Societal and industrial interest has grown from both a safety point of view and an economic point of view. The development is driven by a series of accidents with natural and manmade sources including inappropriate design, as well as by changing economic and environmental requirements and conditions including effects from climate change. Robust design has to ensure that our engineering systems can cope with all hazards, risk and uncertainty over their entire lifetime from the construction to the controlled demolition. The potential for applications ranges over all engineering fields. The developments in Robust Design are characterized by a remarkable diversity and high complexity, which concerns (i) the definition of robustness, (ii) the mathematical framework, and (iii) the application field. Included is the design of structures, systems, processes, operations, new materials and technologies, computational procedures, numerical models, hardware components, etc. The modeling of hazards, risk and uncertainty is frequently associated with subjective, rare and imprecise information. Appropriate mathematical models are required for the treatment of aleatory and epistemic uncertainty and for imprecision and indeterminacy. Proposals for solutions include well-developed and established traditional stochastic methods such as Reliability-Based Design and Performance-Based Design, as well as a variety of non-traditional methods based on Bayesian theory, interval analysis, fuzzy set theory, evidence theory, imprecise probabilities, p-box approach, fuzzy probability theory, etc. In this context it is aimed at reliable and efficient numerical models and methods for Robust Design and associated problems.

REC2010 continues the tradition of the workshop series with a unique multi-disciplinary character to achieve advancements in the field of Reliable Engineering Computing.

This workshop is supported by:

The organizers appreciate the support of these organizations. REC2010 would not have been possible without their contributions and commitment.

Michael Beer, Rafi L. Muhanna and Robert L. Mullen
Chairmen of REC2010