Many regions in the United States and the Soviet Union face earthquake threats. Historically, both countries have had a number of devastating earthquakes, most recently the December 1988 Armenian earthquake and the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Much can be learned from US and Soviet scientists and engineers involved in evaluating the consequences of such events. Post-disaster teams have visited each other's country and much valuable information has been exchanged. The objective of this workshop, is to extend and deepen this relationship and specifically to promote long-term cooperative research in this area. Topics to be addressed in the workshop are ground mechanics (soil-structure interaction, liquefaction, ground failures, and landslides and mudslides; development of new construction materials; development and validation of mathematical models; and development of methods for strengthen- ing and retrofitting existing structures. The workshop is being organized jointly by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. (ASUSSR). The NAS participation is being managed by the NAS/National Research Council Committee on Earthquake Engineering and the delegation will be led by committee chairman George Housner of the California Institute of Technology. The Soviet delegation will be chaired by Dr. V.N. Strakhov, Director of the ASUSSR Institute of the Physics of the Earth. This project fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge by enabling leading researchers in the United States and the U.S.S.R. to combine complementary efforts and capabilities in areas of strong mutual interest and competence in the field of basic scientific research on the basis of equality, reciprocity, and mutuality of benefit.
