Engineering the Future: Multi-Objective Optimization in Earthquake Resilience and Design

Engineering the Future: Multi-Objective Optimization in Earthquake Resilience and Design develops a rigorous, decision-oriented treatment of performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) by placing multi-objective optimization (MOO) at the centre of modern seismic design and risk management. Moving beyond prescriptive “one-size-fits-all” compliance, the book frames seismic design as an explicit trade-off problem in which safety, functionality, downtime, repair cost, and sustainability targets must be satisfied simultaneously under uncertainty. It consolidates foundational concepts and current practice, and then advances toward implementation pathways that connect hazard characterization, structural response assessment, damage and loss modelling, and stakeholder-informed performance objectives within a coherent PBEE–MOO workflow.

This book integrates technical methods with practice-facing considerations, including regulatory frameworks, governance and policy instruments, socio-economic consequences, and community resilience. It also surveys emerging computational capabilities, including advanced simulation and data-driven tools, and demonstrates their role in accelerating design-space exploration and improving transparency in decision-making. Case-based discussions across multiple structural systems illustrate how optimization can support defensible choices for new design, retrofit prioritization, and lifecycle resilience planning in earthquake-prone regions.

This book targets structural and earthquake engineers, seismic risk analysts, and engineering researchers who seek to advance beyond traditional code-based design approaches by implementing sophisticated multi-objective optimization methods for performance-based earthquake engineering in both academic research and professional practice.

Ali Akbar Firoozi is an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Strategic Research Institute (SRI), Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), Technology Park Malaysia, Malaysia. His academic and professional work spans geotechnical and structural engineering with a sustained focus on performance and resilience of civil infrastructure under extreme loading and uncertainty. His research integrates performance-based earthquake engineering, risk and reliability concepts, and decision-oriented multi-objective optimization to support defensible design and retrofit choices, including lifecycle outcomes such as functionality, downtime, repairability, and sustainability. Together with his co-author, he has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and several books.

Ali Asghar Firoozi is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, National University of Malaysia (UKM), Selangor, Malaysia. His research focuses on advanced construction materials and structural performance, with particular emphasis on nanomaterials and material systems that enhance durability, mechanical efficiency, and long-term serviceability. In addition, he contributes expertise in railway engineering and underground structures, linking material and structural innovation to practical challenges in transport corridors, tunnelling, and subsurface infrastructure resilience. Together with his co-author, he has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and several books.