Welcome to the Eighth World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring (8WCSCM) in Orlando, the City Beautiful.

The University of Central Florida (UCF) in collaboration with the U.S. Panel of the International Association for Structural Control and Monitoring (IASCM) are the organizers of the international conference. The host organization is the International Association for Structural Control and Monitoring (IASCM) which has the main objective of promoting international cooperation in the fields of structural control and monitoring by organizing conferences and workshops. The international conferences have been hosted every four years by the International Association for Structural Control and Monitoring (IASCM) since 1994. The preceding conferences have been held in Pasadena - USA (1994), Kyoto - Japan (1998), Como - Italy (2002), La Jolla - USA (2006), Tokyo - Japan (2010), Barcelona – Spain (2014), and Qingdao - China (2018). These world conferences have encompassed all aspects of structural control and monitoring for a variety of civil, mechanical, aerospace and energy systems. Subjects that have been discussed at these conferences over the years include smart sensing technologies, algorithms for damage detection, parameter identification and model topics such as updating, theories for condition assessment, safety evaluation and reliability analysis, structural control devices and systems, hybrid simulation and various testing technology, control algorithms, integration techniques of structural health monitoring systems, structural monitoring and control systems, and the practice of structural monitoring and control techniques for different applications.

The 8WCSCM will also cover all major related topics, including smart control and sensing devices; smart and multi-functioning materials; important infrastructures, such as bridges, buildings, tunnels, road and rail structures; wind, earthquake and multi-hazards issues; Bayesian inference and uncertainty quantification; life-cycle assessment; machine-learning and computer-vision applications; artificial intelligence, digital twins; smart cities, smart tourism and resilient communities; recent research advances; and more. The program has 8 keynotes from prominent researchers from 7 different countries and 4 continents, 39 breakout sessions with several special sessions organized by experts, several technical sessions in thematic areas (252 papers from 41 countries and 5 continents), and 2 mini-symposia with contributors from academia, industry, and government.

The full technical submissions will be compiled for publication as Springer Proceedings papers within the Book series as International Conference Proceedings Series: the 8th World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring (8WCSCM). The extended abstracts will be made available to the major indexing services such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar. The Springer Conference Proceedings papers will be published soon after 8WCSCM.

Since 2019, our world has been shocked by COVID19 pandemic. The effects of the global pandemic have been observed in anything we do and how we carry out our lives. As one of the most prominent conferences in the interdisciplinary field of structural control and monitoring, we decided to create opportunities to meet in person and virtually to exchange ideas to contribute to the body of knowledge with our novel work even during the global pandemic. The 8WCSCM will be held as a hybrid conference in its almost 30-year history. This hybrid conference will bring participants flexibility from distance, time, medical and financial limitations. The conference has a rich past and diverse participations from all around the world. The collective objective is to provide novel technical solutions for smart and resilient systems in a sustain- able society in today’s technologically fast-paced world with many other issues such as health, sustain- ability, economic hardships, conflicts, and social justice.

We also would like you to enjoy one of the tourism centers of the world. As the nation’s #1 visitors’ desti- nation, on-site participants have numerous choices of lodging, resorts, and restaurants in and around the City of Orlando. Disney World, Universal Studios, and many other theme parks are conveniently located near the conference venue. Orlando has been awarded two Smart Cities awards and is currently pursu- ing a variety of additional projects for Smart Cities initiatives that would assist citizens and visitors. The Florida High Tech Corridor is a technology rich region known for space technologies and other high-tech clusters of innovation, such as modeling and simulation, optics and photonics, digital media, and medical technologies. NASA Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX, and Blue Origin are just about 50 miles away from the UCF Main Campus.

We thank you for joining us to explore solutions to engineering problems in the interdisciplinary field of Structural Control and Monitoring.

On behalf of the IASCM and the conference organizing committee, we warmly welcome you to the 8WCSCM.

Dr. Hae-Bum "Andrew" Yun Chair of 8WCSCM, 2022 Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Construction Engineering,
University of Central Florida
Dr. F. Necati Catbas Chair of 8WCSCM,
2022 Lockheed Martin St. Laurent Professor Civil, Environmental & Construction Engineering,
University of Central Florida