History
In 1965, the inaugural International Conference on Fracture (ICF-1) was held in Sendai, Japan, under the chairmanship of Prof. Takeo Yokobori. At this conference, 500 participants from 19 countries established an international body for promoting worldwide cooperation among scientists and engineers concerned with fracture, fatigue and strength in solids, known as the International Congress on Fracture (ICF). The ICF was then formally founded in 1969, at the second conference (ICF-2) held in Brighton in the United Kingdom, and registered an office in Sendai, Japan, in cooperation with the Research Institute for Strength and Fracture of Materials, Tohoku University.
The International Conference on Fracture has been held in 12 countries across 4 continents. As the conference is typically held every four years, and due to this and the conference’s international renown, it is informally known as the “Olympics” of fracture mechanics.
Listed below are the locations and dates of the previous conferences:
- ICF-1 Sendi (Japan) 1965
- ICF-2 Brighton (UK) 1969
- ICF-3 Munich (Germany) 1973
- ICF-4 Waterloo (Canada) 1977
- ICF-5 Cannes (France) 1981
- ICF-6 New Delhi (India) 1984
- ICF-7 Houston (USA) 1989
- ICF-8 Kiev (Ukraine) 1993
- ICF-9 Sydney (Australia) 1997
- ICF-10 Honolulu (USA) 2001
- ICF-11 Turin (Italy) 2005
- ICF-12 Ottawa (Canada) 2009
- ICF-13 Beijing (China) 2013
- ICF-14 Rhodes (Greece) 2017
- ICF-15 Atlanta (USA) 2023
Since its founding, the ICF has become a society to foster research on the structural integrity and failure analysis of engineering materials and structural components. The scope of the conferences organised by ICF have evolved to encompass mechanics at the nano-scale through to the macro-scale, to incorporate a wide range of materials including metals, composites, ceramics, polymers, biomaterials, electronic materials and geophysical materials, and to consider topics from basic science to practical technology and engineering.
After 30 years since ICF-9 in Sydney, the International Conference on Fracture will return to Australia for its 16th meeting (ICF-16). ICF-16 will be hosted locally by RMIT University and the Australian Fracture Group, with support from Engineers Australia and several Victorian universities and organisations. The Australian Fracture Group has a long history, dating back to the 1970’s. The Australian Fracture Group has over 100 members in Australia and has successfully hosted several national and international conferences.
Engineers Australia, founded in 1919, is the peak professional body for engineers in Australia. With over 140,000 members, including 5,000 in overseas chapters, Engineers Australia provides resources, connections and growth to engineers in Australia, embracing and advancing the science and practice of all disciplines in engineering. Engineers Australia has a strong record for delivering high quality international events and conferences.
