Extreme Value Theory and Applications: Proceedings of the Conference on Extreme Value Theory and Applications. Volume 3. Gaithersburg, Maryland. May 1993.
Extreme Value Theory and Applications: Proceedings of
the Conference on Extreme Value Theory and Applications.
Volume 3. Gaithersburg, Maryland. May 1993.
(16407 K)
Galambos, J.; Lechner, J. A.; Simiu, E.; Hagwood, C.
NIST SP 866; 242 p. August 1994.
Available from:
Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20401-0003.
Telephone: 202-512-1800.
Website:
http://www.gpo.gov
Order number: PB95-104956
Keywords:
extreme value theory; statistics; seismic risks;
environment; wind; corrosion
Abstract:
It appears that we live in an age of disasters: the
Mississippi and the Missouri rivers flood millions of
acres, earthquakes hit Tokyo and California, airplanes
crash due to mechanical failure, and powerful windstorms
cause increasingly costly damage. While these may seem
to be unexpected phenomena to the man on the street,
they are actually happening according to well defined
rules of science known as extreme value theory. For
many phenomena records must be broken in the future, so
if a design is based on the worst case of the past then
we are not really prepared for the future. Materials
will fail due to fatigue: even if the body of an
aircraft looks fine to the naked eye, it might suddenly
fail if the aircraft has been in operation over an
extended period of time. Extreme value theory has by
now penetrated the social sciences, the medical
profession, economics and even astronomy. We believe
this field has come of age. To utilize and stimulate
progress in the theory of extremes and promote its
application, an international conference was organized
in which equal weight was given to theory and practice.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899