In his position as professor at the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science at the Delft University of Technology, Jan van Noortwijk had a simple goal: to apply mathematical modeling techniques to problems in civil engineering. In particular, he aimed to make advanced decision-theoretic models accessible to engineers in other fields such as civil and mechanical engineering. Most of his work involved the application of probability theory to problems in maintenance optimization and the management of risks due to flooding. The inherent uncertainty involved with the current and future state of structures and systems requires a sound methodology for quantifying these uncertainties.

This book presents some of the latest developments in these areas by leading researchers at academic institutions and practitioners in various lines of work. The contributions will be presented during a one-day symposium on November 24, 2009 in Delft, the Netherlands. Both this book and the symposium are a tribute to the legacy of professor Jan van Noortwijk.

First and foremost we are indebted to the authors for their enthousiastic response to the call for papers and the significant effort they have put into finishing their contributions within a very short period of time. We extend our appreciation to the scientific committee, being Tim Bedford, Christophe Bérenguer, Rommert Dekker, Pieter van Gelder, Antoine Grall, Matthijs Kok, Tom Mazzuchi, Robin Nicolai, Martin Newby, and Hans van derWeide for their swift reviews. We would also like to thank Ton Botterhuis and Karolina Wojciechowska for additional reviewing and editing of a number of contributions.

At the time of writing, the symposium has been made possible by the organizing institutions, HKV Consultants and the Delft University of Technology, as well as the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Risicoanalyse en Bedrijfszekerheid (NVRB), Universiteitsfonds Delft, the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), and the organizing committee of the 7th International Probabilistic Workshop (November 25-26, 2009 in Delft).

The editors,

Maarten-Jan Kallen and Sebastian Kuniewski

Delft, September 23, 2009.