If you build it (with innovative, sustainable and scalable technology), they will come.

This week, McMaster is hosting the 2014 Engineering Mechanics Institute Conference — a forum where global experts can share ideas, research and advanced theory for developing the urban infrastructure of tomorrow.

The theme of this year’s conference is Mechanics for Sustainable and Resilient Systems, and the week-long affair will feature participation and contributions from academic researchers, industry representatives and public officials from all over the world.

This is the first time the EMI Conference has been held outside of the United States.

“This conference will feature top-notch researchers from all over the world linking theory with practice,” said Samir Chidiac, conference chair and a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering.

Overall, the conference will focus on the development of advanced, sustainable communities of the future — those that will require a meshing of increasingly sophisticated technological, scientific, economic, cultural and social expertise.

More than 270 delegates will address a number of pressing issues, including: Intelligent transportation, health modelling, energy integration and investment allocation for sustainability.

Ishwar Puri, dean of McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering, will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 8:30 a.m. (Room 1305 & 1307, MDCL). Puri’s talk will focus on the use of nanoparticles as building blocks in soft materials to create programmable objects. View the full list of keynote speakers.

The EMI Conference will take place Aug. 5-8 on campus, beginning with an icebreaker meet-and-greet on Tuesday.

View the full schedule of events.