The Seventh International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation (SEMC 2019) was successfully held at the Southern Sun Cape Sun Hotel in Cape Town from 2 to 4 September 2019. Organised and chaired by Alphose Zingoni (Professor of Structural Engineering and Mechnaics at UCT), the event was attended by more than 400 participants representing 62 countries and 180 universities worldwide. The top 15 countries in terms of number of participants were Germany, South Africa, Italy, UK, Poland, Japan, USA, China, Portugal, Czech Republic, Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, France & Canada. Keynote speakers included Prof. Klaus-Jürgen Bathe (USA), Prof. Tim Ibell (UK), Prof. Ben Young (China) and Prof. Brian Uy (Australia).   

The SEMC 2019 Proceedings comprise 411 peer-reviewed papers. The subject matter reflects the broad scope of the SEMC conference, from fundamental issues of the mechanics of materials and structures, to advances in numerical modelling, simulations and experimental testing, as well as the latest innovations in design, construction and maintenance of engineering structures and systems. The Proceedings have been published by CRC Press (Taylor & Francis) as a printed book of short versions of the papers (882 pages), and an e-book with the full versions of the papers (2,400 pages).