B.H. Topping - Böcker

This volume and its companion volume includes the edited versions of the principal lectures and selected papers presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Optimization and Decision Support Systems in Civil Engineering. The Institute was held in the Department of Civil Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh from June 25th to July 6th 1989 and was attended by eighty participants from Universities and Research Institutes around the world. A number of practising civil and structural engineers also attended. The lectures and papers have been divided into two volumes to reflect the dual themes of the Institute namely Optimization and Decision Support Systems in Civil Engineering. Planning for this ASI commenced in late 1986 when Andrew Templeman and I discussed developments in the use of the systems approach in civil engineering. A little later it became clear that much of this approach could be realised through the use of knowledge-based systems and artificial intelligence techniques. Both Don Grierson and John Gero indicated at an early stage how important it would be to include knowledge-based systems within the scope of the Institute. The title of the Institute could have been: 'Civil Engineering Systems' as this would have reflected the range of systems applications to civil engineering problems considered by the Institute. These volumes therefore reflect the full range of these problems including: structural analysis and design; water resources engineering; geotechnical engineering; transportation and environmental engineering.

This volume and its companion volume includes the edited versions of the principal lectures and selected papers presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Optimization and Decision Support Systems in Civil Engineering. The Institute was held in the Department of Civil Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh from June 25th to July 6th 1989 and was attended by eighty participants from Universities and Research Institutes around the world. A number of practising civil and structural engineers also attended. The lectures and papers have been divided into two volumes to reflect the dual themes of the Institute namely Optimization and Decision Support Systems in Civil Engineering. Planning for this ASI commenced in late 1986 when Andrew Templeman and I discussed developments in the use of the systems approach in civil engineering. A little later it became clear that much of this approach could be realised through the use of knowledge-based systems and artificial intelligence techniques. Both Don Grierson and John Gero indicated at an early stage how important it would be to include knowledge-based systems within the scope of the Institute. The title of the Institute could have been: 'Civil Engineering Systems' as this would have reflected the range of systems applications to civil engineering problems considered by the Institute. These volumes therefore reflect the full range of these problems including: structural analysis and design; water resources engineering; geotechnical engineering; transportation and environmental engineering.

These volumes comprise the edited versions of the principal lectures and selected papers presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Optimization and Decision Support Systems in Civil Engineering". The Institute was held in the Department of Civil Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, from June 25th to July 6th 1989. Both volumes reflect the full range of the systems approach to civil and structural engineering problems including: structural analysis and design; water resources engineering; geotechnical engineering; transportation and environmental engineering. This systems approach, discussed in the first volume, includes a number of common threads; mathematical programming, game theory, utility theory, statistical decision theory, networks, and fuzzy logic. A most important feature of this volume is the examination of similar representations of different civil engineering problems and their solutions using general systems approaches. The decision support aspect of the institute is reflected in the second volume by the knowledge-based systems and artificial intelligence approach.Papers discussing many aspects of knowledge-based systems in civil and structural engineering are included in the second volume.

These volumes comprise the edited versions of the principal lectures and selected papers presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Optimization and Decision Support Systems in Civil Engineering. The Institute was held in the Department of Civil Engineering at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, from June 25th to July 6th 1989. Both volumes reflect the full range of the systems approach to civil and structural engineering problems including: structural analysis and design; water resources engineering; geotechnical engineering; transportation and environmental engineering. This system approach, discussed in the first volume, includes a number of common threads: mathematical programming, game theory, utility theory, statistical decision theory, networks, and fuzzy logic. A most important feature of this volume is the examination of similar representations of different civil engineering problems and their solutions using general systems approaches. The decision support aspect of the institute is reflected in the second volume by the knowledge-based systems and their artificial intelligence approach.Papers discussing many aspects of knowledge-based systems in civil and structural engineering are included in the second volume.