National prosperity and quality-of-life depend upon the massive infrastructure systems that service society.  For example, transportation networks move people and supply chain goods, pipelines deliver energy from source to consumer, while levees and dams protect urban environments from flooding.  Unfortunately, recent catastrophic events in the United States have revealed serious issues associated with the safety of infrastructure systems.  For example, the levees in New Orleans dramatically failed during Hurricane Katrina culminating in the loss of human life and the destruction of the built environment. Similarly, surveys of the national network of dams reveal 1,819 major dams with functional deficiencies which place the public at risk.  Aging and deterioration of infrastructure systems represents another major challenge for the engineering community.  Perhaps the best example of the challenges associated with aging ... More