Department of Civil Engineering Milestone

The Department of Civil Engineering has today published its first book, entitled "Sustainable Buildings and Structures". The book compiles 37 original manuscripts which were contributed as part of the First International Conference on Sustainable Buildings and Structures (ICSBS 2015), which will be hosted at XJTLU by Dr. CS Chin, the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, and Prof. Xiaoyong Mao the Vice Dean of the School of Civil Engineering at the Suzhou University of Science and Technology. The idea for ICSBS 2015 was generated back in 2014 as a result of the growing collaboration in research between academics working in civil engineering and the built environment within these two institutions. ICSBS 2015 has received wide interest and financial support both from the host universities and representatives of the local government, especially the Suzhou Association of Science and Technology. The conference is listed as one of the Advanced Academic Exchange Activities of Suzhou in 2015.

The articles presented in the volume have been contributed by authors from across the world and include papers on a wide range of innovative and cutting edge research, promoting sustainability within engineering practice across the built environment. Sustainable Buildings and Structures contains six main sections: Sustainable concrete, steel, and composite structures, construction technologies (including BIM), green buildings, and sustainable urban design. The correspondence and organisation for the conference was substantially carried out by Dr. Jun Xia who took on the role of conference secretary. All papers within the book have been reviewed by a technical committee made up of international experts lead by Dr. Tjalfe Poulsen, ensuring the level quality of this volume is maintained from cover to cover. The cover art of the book is a view of the Built Environment Building at XJTLU taken from one of the bridges across the student enterprise park. The picture displays the excellent incorporation of trees and plants into the XJTLU campus. It was taken by the Department of Civil Engineering's expert photographer Dr. Ominda Nanayakkara. Sustainable Buildings and Structures was edited by Dr. Stephen Wilkinson, Dr. Jun Xia and Dr. Bing Chen.