Gales, earthquakes, explosions, and crashing vehicles can all cause serious damage to buildings and bridges. Recent examples include the attack on the World Trade Centre Building, and earthquakes in Birmingham, Manchester, and, most recently, in Italy.

Serious Problems have also occurred due to vehicles crashing on to railway lines; one notable case being the GNER rail crash in 2000 at Selby in Yorkshire.
The Lecture will consider what causes buildings and bridges to fail when subjected to a sudden impact, and what can be done to improve their resilience. It is a question of risk assessment and issues of public safety in the construction industry. The lecture includes video, physical models, and computer simulations to illustrate the principles and modes of failure.

Professor Brian Hobbs is the Cecil M.Yuill Professor of Construction and also Director of the School of Science and Technology at the University of Teesside. Under his direction work, sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is being conducted into the response of structures subjected to impact loading. A unique impact rig has been designed and constructed to simulate the forces generated by car crashes.

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