Lead Author: John Brtis, Contributing Authors: Scott Jackson, Alice Squires, Richard Turner
According to the Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1973), resilience is “;the act of rebounding or springing back.” This definition most directly fits the situation of materials which return to their original shape after deformation. For human-made, or engineered systemsengineered systems the definition of resilienceresilience can be extended to include the ability to maintain capabilitycapability in the face of a disruptiondisruption. The US government definition for resilient infrastructureinfrastructure systems is the “ability of systems, infrastructures, government, business, communities, and individuals to resist, tolerate, absorb, recover from, prepare for, or adapt to an adverse occurrence that causes harm, destruction, or loss of national significance” (DHS 2010).
