The idea of ICTAM originated from a conference on hydrodynamics and aerodynamics held in Innsbruck in 1922. It was at this conference that Theodore von Karman suggested that an international congress might be held to cover the whole field of applied mechanics. This led to the first International Congress of Applied Mechanics held in Delft in 1924, organized by J. M. Burgers and C. B. Biezeno, where the Executive Committee made the decision to constitute a permanent institution – the International Congress for Applied Mechanics. During the sixth Congress in Paris, it was proposed that the Congress of Applied Mechanics should transform itself into a Union. Thus, the IUTAM was founded in 1946. The term “theoretical” has been added to the official names of the Congresses since the thirteenth Congress, though theoretical mechanics has always been an essential part of the Congresses.

This International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ICTAM2012) held in Beijing constitutes the twenty-third one of the ICTAM series. The recent decades have witnessed remarkable evolution of mechanics from major classical branches and applications to many interdisciplinary areas interacting with environmental science, biology, materials science and technology, geophysics, energy technology, etc. The papers contributed to this Congress reflect recent achievements in fundamental understanding of deformation and motion of matter, in applications of mechanics to modern technology, and in education in mechanics. Thus, we hope it fulfills the objective of ICTAM, that is, to bring together scientists from all over the world to exchange information on recent developments in the field of mechanics to advance research, application and education in mechanics.

This 23rd International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics is hosted by The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (CSTAM). The preparation of the Congress involves the devotion and contribution of many organizations, institutions and individuals. On behalf of the organizer, we thank all the contributors to this Congress and hope you enjoy the meeting in Beijing.

Yilong Bai

Jianxiang Wang

Beijing, August, 2012