It is a great pleasure to announce that Metz will be the site of the 2016 EMI International Conference of ASCE. The conference will be held at the Université de Lorraine, Ile du Saulcy on October 25 - 27, 2016. On behalf of the Steering Committee, the Local Organizing Committee and the International Scientific Committee, I would like to extend my warm invitation to this event.

The organization of the EMI Conference in Europe will be an excellent opportunity for interactions and exchanges within the mechanics community in and around Europe, as well as an opportunity to become familiar with EMI activities, and, for young researchers and PhD students, to exchange on an international platform.
Presentations with theoretical and applied approaches relating to Engineering Mechanics are welcome.
On the border of Luxemburg, Germany, and Belgium, Metz is a very beautiful city in the East of France and only 1h20 from Paris by train. The conference will be located in the Ile de Saulcy in the historical center of the city. The historical heart of Metz is a friendly animated area and has a great number of cafés and bars and typical restaurants.
Welcome to the beautiful European city of Metz!

Mahdia Hattab
Chair, 2016 EMI International Conference

Professor J. S. Chen
University of California, San Diego, USA

Dear Participants of the 2016 EMI International Conference:

On behalf of the Board of Governors of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, it is my honor to welcome you to the 2016 EMI International Conference. It follows last year’s EMI international conference held at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and is set to be our largest yet. The success of this conference is a testament to the hard work of the Conference Chair and the Local Organizing Committee, and to the commitment at all levels of EMI to make our community the hub for mechanics at the interface of science, engineering and society.

I thank Professor Mahdia Hattab and her colleagues, and the University of Lorraine for hosting this year’s EMI international conference which as of the writing of this message is reaching new heights, with over 400 registrations, and participants from nearly 40 countries making it a truly international event. Many thanks also to the organizations who sponsored this event: the LEM3 Laboratory, the Grand Est Region, and the Metz Metropole ANDRA agency and the Mechanics learned societies (AFM, CSMA). The ever-increasing attendance at the EMI events reflects the fact that our Institute enjoys the worldwide reputation of being the premier venue for mechanics in civil engineering.

As I am starting my second year as President of EMI, I am happy to report that our Institute is thriving; thanks to the dedication and hard work of the Board of Governors, the EMI staff, the technical committees and its members from around the globe. In addition to the vibrant technical programs offered over the past nine years at EMI conferences, our Institute has experienced a healthy increase in its membership and in the reputation of the ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics and the ASCE Journal of Nanomechanics and Micromechanics.

I invite you to be actively involved in your Institute and engaged in its activities. Opportunities include the delivery of webinars, the writing of new volumes for the Lecture Notes in Mechanics series, active participation on committees that organize conference sessions, ideas on how to increase EMI-industry collaboration, and seeking leadership roles on committees.

I am extremely confident that under the leadership of its Board of Governors, EMI will continue along its successful path.

I wish you an enjoyable and productive conference, and look forward seeing you next year in San Diego, California, where EMI will be celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Yours truly,

J.-S. Chen, Ph.D., F.EMI, M.ASCE

EMI President

Tuesday, October 25, 2016
	Michel Potier-Ferry Full Professor Université de Lorraine, LEM3 - CNRS UMR 7239, France
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
	Pierre-Yves Hicher Emeritus Professor, F. EMI Ecole Centrale de Nantes, GeM - Institut de Recherche en Génie Civil et Mécanique - CNRS UMR 6183, France
Thursday, October 27, 2016
	Matthieu Vandamme Researcher & Assistant Professor Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Laboratoire Navier - CNRS UMR 8205 France