1981 - First International Conference on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering & Soil Dynamics

We at the University of Missouri-Rolla planned to organize the International Conference on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics as early as 1979, just a few months after my arrival in Rolla, Mo., from Roorkee, India. In May 1979, I issued more than 100 letters to friends and professional colleagues in the U.S., Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, Mexico, and Europe of our intention to do so. The proposed themes also were listed and their comments were solicited. We were encouraged to receive fifty-one positive responses. Extremely useful suggestions were received.

The call for papers was issued in January 1980 and papers were contributed from 18 countries, making this conference a truly international one. The large number of papers received were reviewed by a panel of 91 international experts. The organizing committee members were drawn from several countries too.

The conference papers and state-of-the-art reports have been printed in two volumes which will be issued to prospective participants before the conference. The third volume containing moderators' reports, discussions, authors' replies, speeches and special programs, will be issued after the conference. This first volume contained 104 papers. The conference has been sponsored by the International Association of Earthquake Engineering, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and Seismological Society of America. Partial financial support is expected from the National Science Foundation and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The members of the organizing committee were always ready to assist me in matters of organization. In the initial stages of the planning of this conference, I obtained guidance from W. D. Liam Finn and subsequently from Frank E. Richart, Jr., also. The authorities of the University of Missouri-Rolla have been very cooperative throughout, especially John B. Heagler, Assistant Dean of Extension. I must make a special mention of valuable advice and guidance I always received from Professor Joseph H. Senne, Chairman, Civil Engineering Department. Our secretaries worked hard to keep pace with the paper work associated with such a venture. Doris Gragg carried the main burden and was assisted by Nancy Woodley, Margot Lewis, De Anne Larson, Terry Lewis, and Pat Robertson. Everybody knows how difficult it would be to handle such a monumental work without the active cooperation of these ladies!

In addition, I received help, cooperation, and guidance from many colleagues within and outside of UMR and from our graduate students. The printing of the proceedings on time has been possible through the unstinting efforts of Bob Blaylock, Vince Clapp, Dick Hatfield, and Dave Bingham of the UMR Print Shop and Ron Gini of University Printing Services at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where the volume was printed. Without the expertise and technical assistance of these individuals, this volume would not exist in its present form.

We now look forward to a successful event in St. Louis in the last week of April 1981.

Jan. 3, 1981 Shamsher Prakash, Editor and Conference Chairman