Guimarães Portugal 4-6 June 2008

The 7th International Conference on Steel Bridges will be held at the University of Minho, Guimarães – Portugal, on 4-6 June 2008 (www.steelbridges08.com).

This conference follows the tradition of previous ECCS symposiums devoted to steel bridges (Prague, 2006; Barcelona, 2003; Leipzig, 1999 and Rotterdam, 1996) and is addressed to bridge engineers, structural engineering firms, architectural firms, steel producers, steel makers, researchers, general contractors, project owners, representatives from all areas of bridge engineering, consultants, and local authorities working in all aspects of steel and composite bridges.

ICSB'08 covers all major aspects of steel and composite bridges, they include the following topics: aesthetics & architecture; assessment and evaluation; bridge monitoring; bridges for high-speed railways; design for durability; economic steel bridges; emerging technologies; fabrication & construction; field testing; health monitoring; high performance materials; landmark bridges; new technical and material concepts; safety and serviceability; seismic behaviour; service life prediction; strengthening and rehabilitation, the use of Eurocodes, among others.

The interest of the international steel bridges community in all these fields has been confirmed by the high response to the call for papers. In fact, more than 80 abstracts were received at the Conference Secretariat. About 80% of them were selected for final publication as full-papers and presentation at the Conference within 13 technical sessions.

More than 250 delegates are expected to attend from 30 countries presenting over 70 papers - including the contribution of six keynote speakers; António Reis, Francisco Millanes Mato, Vincent de Ville de Goyet, Jens Jensen, Abolhanssan Astaneh and Brian West.

A technical exhibition will also take place during the conference and will allow international and domestic companies and organisations to demonstrate new techniques or newly developed projects relevant to the conference theme.

In parallel to the scientific programme, the organisers will also be presenting the European Steel Bridges Award. The objective is to recognise outstanding steel and composite bridges that emphasise the many advantages of steel in construction, production, economy and architecture. The awards were open to steel and composite bridges whose steel structures were fabricated in the Full ECCS member countries.

Language
The official language of the Conference is English.

Publication
A book and a CD-ROM containing the full papers to be presented at the Conference will be given to all delegates. The cost will be included in the Conference fee.
Extended versions of selected papers will be considered for publication in a special issue of the Journal of Construction Steel Research, an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier Science, with an impact factor of 0.700 in 2006, as referred by the Journal Citation Reports® 2007, published by Thomson Scientific. For more information about this journal, please visit its homepage at
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0143974X.

New deadline to submission of entries to the award: 15 of March of 2008 (extended)

European Steel Bridge Award Scheme 2008.
The purpose is to give European recognition to outstanding bridges in steel and composite structure, emphasizing the many advantages of steel in construction, production, economy and architecture.
The conference program will include a ceremony to announce the recipients of the 1st ECCS Award for Steel Bridges. Medals and certificates will be awarded to the engineer, architect and steelwork fabricator responsible for the design and construction of thewinning project.

Operation of the Awards
The Awards are open to steel and composite bridges whose steel structures were fabricated in the Full ECCS member countries. The construction must have been completed and be ready for use within the last three years, in the period between the 31st May of 2005 and the 31st May of 2008. Previous entries are not eligible.
Both bridges, footbridges and renovation (major retrofit, expansion or rehabilitation) projects are eligible. A panel of judges comprising prominent representatives of Architecture and Civil Engineering will assess the entries.

Panel of Judges
Bertrand Lemoine, Julio Martinez Calzón, Joel Raoul, L. Simões da Silva, Paulo Cruz and René Maquoi.

The judging panel selects award winners after assessing all entrants against the following criteria:
• To have an internationally recognised standard;
• To be outstanding in its construction;
• To emphasise the advantages of steel in construction, production, economy and architecture;
• To disseminate the knowledge of steel, and to draw attention to its development;
• To improve the image of steel;
• To interest clients, architects and engineers in using more steel within the entire building sector, thereby making the steel industry competitive.

Submission of Entries
The Full member Associations are entitled to submit more than one entry. The projects have to be sent to the organising association (cmm, Portugal) before 15th March 2008.
The entries will contain the necessary design drawings, description and photographs of the steel structures in 3 copies. An application form should accompany the entry. The submittal requirements and the application form are available on www.steelbridges08.com. General descriptions and photographs of these projects may be used for publications and articles in the press. Application for a European Steel Bridge Award automatically means agreement that ECCS and/or the full members of ECCS may use the material presented to ECCS for all purposes conform the aim of ECCS.

Deadlines

15th March 2008 – Submission of Entries
30th March 2008– Jury Decision Notification
15th May 2008 – Finalists Presentation/Movies Submission
6th June 2008 – Awards Ceremony