The Earthquake Engineering Association of Turkey (EEAT) will be organizing the 5th International Earthquake Engineering and Seismology Congress and Exhibition ( http://www.5icees.com) on October 8-11, 2019 at Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey.

The Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Argentina and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) have published a Spanish translation of the oral history of the late Professor Vitelmo Bertero.

The translated oral history is available from the link below:

Colleagues, Affiliate Members and Friends of IAEE,

On June 18, 2018, I assumed the position of the fifteenth President of the International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE). I feel much honored to have been elected to this prestigious position, and shall work to my best to promote the sustainable development of IAEE. The utmost mission of IAEE is to provide an international forum in which people with various kinds of expertise convene and discuss issues in the mitigation of earthquake-related disasters. Traditionally, IAEE activities have been energized by engineering practitioners and researchers (civil, structural, mechanical, and geotechnical) and earth scientists (geologists, geophysicists, seismologists). In recent years, the involvement of architects, urban planners, public officials, and social scientists have increased, creating a more multidisciplinary IAEE.

IAEE was founded in 1963. Since that time, IAEE has continued to grow, and as of today, a total of 59 countries and regions are registered in IAEE. Once every four years, IAEE organizes the World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE) at various cities around the world. The last one (the Sixteenth WCEE, called 16WCEE) was held at Santiago, Chile, on January 2017, where 3,000 people registered for the conference. 15WCEE, which was organized four year before 16WCEE, was held at Lisbon, Portugal, on September 2012, where 2,300 people registered. For nearly 60 years, WCEE has been one of the largest technical/professional gatherings and continues to serve as "Connection" among the stakeholders in relevant disciplines as well as people with diverse backgrounds in culture, religion, and social structure.

Our globe is experiencing an explosive increase in population combined with rapid development and urbanization due to growing economic activities. We now face the ultimate question of how to ensure the sustainable development of the human sphere, in which the threat of earthquake disasters is one of the most critical problems to resolve on a global scale. We shall not overlook the reality that the densification of our cities and towns, which occurs as a result of such development and urbanization, makes our society more and more vulnerable against earthquake disasters. To overcome this vulnerability, we must invent novel solutions, and to this end, expend a more interdisciplinary effort, in which new disciplines are forged through collective, integral efforts among diverse genres. It is also notable that we shall further a transdisciplinary attitude, in which linkage with the real world is appreciated, so that solutions reach the society in a most effective and timely manner. IAEE wishes to serve as "Connection" among people and genres to make our efforts more interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.

Human factors are naturally influential in the understanding and promotion of efforts that seek for the mitigation of earthquake-related disasters. Learning from the past and reflecting it to the present and future are important. IAEE regards it as its duty to ensure "Connection" among the past, present, and future and to secure the transfer of knowledge across generations. IAEE is currently preparing for a new initiative that can assist such efforts, and will present it soon in detail.

On behalf of the family of national organizations that comprise IAEE, I greet you with respect and look forward to working with you.