1947-1972
Foundations of engineering reliability
The sixty-year draft situates IASSAR in the postwar growth of structural safety, stochastic mechanics, random vibration, reliability methods, and risk analysis.
History
Six decades of structural safety and reliability.
A concise history of IASSAR and ICOSSAR, adapted from the sixty-year legacy draft and the association records in the local workbook.
Origins
From a specialist conference to an international association.
IASSAR's history is closely tied to the growth of engineering reliability, stochastic mechanics, and risk-informed design. The first ICOSSAR was organized by Alfred M. Freudenthal in 1969, while the association was formally named at ICOSSAR 1985 in Kobe.
Since then, ICOSSAR has become the association's principal international forum, rotating across North America, Europe, and Asia and supporting scientific exchange through plenary lectures, awards, proceedings, and technical committees.
Milestones
Key moments in the IASSAR and ICOSSAR record.
These milestones summarize the web-ready historical points from the sixty-year legacy draft.
1969
First ICOSSAR in Washington DC
Alfred M. Freudenthal organized the first International Conference on Structural Safety and Reliability as an invitation-only meeting with 15 papers across several engineering domains.
1977
The conference series was revived
Herbert Kupfer and Masanobu Shinozuka brought ICOSSAR back in Munich, establishing the rhythm that later became a roughly four-year international conference cycle.
1985
IASSAR was formally named
At ICOSSAR 1985 in Kobe, the association was formally named IASSAR, Alfredo H. S. Ang became its founding President, and Masanobu Shinozuka became Chair of the Executive Board.
1989
Freudenthal Lecture established
The San Francisco conference introduced the Freudenthal Lecture as the opening keynote in honor of Alfred M. Freudenthal, founder of the first ICOSSAR.
1993
IASSAR research prizes began
The Innsbruck conference established the Senior Research Prizes and Junior Research Prizes, recognizing sustained and early-career contributions in the field.
1996
Umbrella Committee initiated
After ICOSSAR 1993, IASSAR and RILEM's stochastic methods community initiated the Umbrella Committee on Stochastic Methods in Structural Engineering.
2022
Award names renewed
At ICOSSAR 2022, the Senior and Junior Research Prizes were renamed the Distinguished Research Award and Early Achievement Research Award.
2025
New service award and technical committees
ICOSSAR 2025 in Los Angeles introduced the IASSAR Distinguished Service Award and established four current technical committees on emerging research themes.