Dear Colleagues, On behalf of the Organising Committee of ICF11, I am very pleased to introduce the 11th International Conference on Fracture, to be held in Turin, Italy, on March 20-25, 2005. ICF11 has been organised under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Italy, under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructures and Transportation of the Italian Government, and of the National Science Foundation of Italy (CNR), with the scientific support and sponsorship of worldwide leading Institutions in the fields of Fracture, Fatigue, Material Strength and Structural Integrity, like the International Congress on Fracture itself (ICF), the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), while the Italian Group of Fracture (IGF), the Politecnico di Torino and the Turin Academy of Sciences have taken the role of host organisations.

The conference is endorsed by a strong scientific programme and by the attendance of senior Scientists and younger Delegates coming from 52 different Countries. Besides the more traditional topics, the scientific programme will cover exciting and new developments such as scaling laws, nanomechanics, smart materials, biomechanics, geophysics and tectonics, infrastructure durability, damage and restoration of historical and monumental buildings.

12 Plenary Lectures will be delivered by well-known Speakers during the Opening, Plenary and Closing Sessions. 38 Keynote Lectures will be delivered by leading Scientists in the field of Fracture to characterise the topics of the Mini-Symposia, whereas nearly 1100 presentations are scheduled to take place during 228 Special and Contributed Sessions. This total is obtained by multiplying the 16 parallel sessions by the 14 working time periods of the conference, and adding four further events in the Auditorium. I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to the Organisers of the Special Sessions and Mini-Symposia as well as to the Referees of the papers.

The Lingotto Conference Centre, selected to host ICF11, is one of the largest in Europe, offering first-rate services. In addition, Turin – a very historic and artistic city but also a modern and dynamic one – is ready to receive you in the best way, as it will be for the Winter Olympic Games one year from now. I hope that you will also have an opportunity to visit other beautiful places and cities of Italy during your post-conference tours.

I wish you an enjoyable stay in Italy.
Very sincerely yours,

Alberto Carpinteri
ICF11 Chairman