scope:

Boundaries of Rock Mechanics. Recent Advances and Challenges for the 21st Century contains 180 papers from the International Young Scholars' Symposium on Rock Mechanics 2008 (Beijing, China, 28 April-2 May 2008). The symposium was organized by the ISRM Commission on Education, and sponsored by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) and the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics and Engineering (CSRME).

Boundaries of Rock Mechanics. Recent Advances and Challenges for the 21st Century covers a variety of topics, grouped into 7 main themes:

- Field investigation and instrmentation

- Rock properties and mechanical behavior

- Underground mining and excavation engineering

- Rock slopes and landsides

- Tunnels and foundations

- Dynamics and blasting

- New techniques and methods

This volume offers an overall understanding of current concerns and advances in rock mechanics, and will be of interest to professionals, engineers and academics involved in rock mechanics and engineering.