Abstract:The sixth International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering was held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from November 1 to 4, 2015. This study provides an overview of the conference. In the conference, 21 oral session topics were introduced. We summarize the contents of the academic exchange particularly in four oral sessions:those addressing(1) site effect and microzonation;(2) slopes, embankments, dams, and landfills;(3) seismic hazards and strong ground motion; and(4) soil liquefaction and lateral spreading. We also report the contents and decisions of the Technical Committee on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering and Associated Problems(TC203) of ISSMGE and evaluate research advances and highlights in relevant fields as follows:(1) a breakthrough in the development of a shared geotechnical engineering database for the rebuilding of Christchurch, New Zealand(NZ), following the Canterbury earthquake sequence(CES);(2) soil liquefaction and lateral spreading as the hottest issue in international earthquake geotechnical engineering;(3) the need to further study key scientific problems with respect to the liquefaction mechanism, the evaluation of the liquefaction potential, post-liquefaction deformation, and performance-based design in anti-liquefaction engineering;(4) the presentation of the moving particle simulation method for simulating the slope failure process;(5) "the special session of Ishihara-Idriss-Finn presentations" as a highlight of the conference; and(6) the close cooperation of the United States(US) with NZ, following the CES in 2010-2011, with respect to field investigation and research. Bilateral NZ-US collaborations for immediate response and long-term research have resulted in mutually beneficial scientific advancements for understanding the CES, achieving rapid damage assessment, and in policy and planning analysis to enable robust recovery.
