Teaching of uncertainty analysis and risk assessment in civil engineering

Abstract

There have been many research results related to uncertainty analysis and risk assessment during the past several decades. However, practical applications of these results remain scarce. The slow growth in interest, both in academic and among practicing engineers, in rigorous risk assessment and uncertainty analysis signals a need to reexamine our current means and practice of delivering the risk assessment education to our students. In this paper, a discussion on various techniques in teaching uncertainty analysis and its applications to engineering decision-making are presented. In addition, steps are recommended to develop a decision making framework for the environmental and infrastructure systems.