Guido Morgenthal Chair, Editorial Board of SEI; Professor, Bauhaus University Weimar; Managing Partner, INFRALYTICA Germany There’s no glory in prevention. This quote was used by a virologist in March when discussing the need for Coronavirus-related lockdowns. At that time, medical scientists faced scepticism from the general public even when a very serious pandemic was developing. It can be hard to explain and justify prevention measures developed from mathematical predictions—we structural engineers know this very well. When we demand maintenance and repair to ensure the safety of ageing bridges, this may not be welcome as it costs money and there is nothing shiny to show for it. The public tends to take structural safety and operability for granted. Yet, people certainly remember engineers immediately when a bridge has collapsed.

中文翻译：

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事实和结构工程师的作用

Guido Morgenthal 主席，SEI 编委会；魏玛包豪斯大学教授；管理合伙人，INFRALYTICA 德国 预防没有任何光彩。3 月份，一位病毒学家在讨论与冠状病毒相关的封锁的必要性时使用了这句话。当时，即使在非常严重的流行病正在发展的情况下，医学科学家也面临着公众的怀疑。很难解释和证明根据数学预测制定的预防措施是正确的——我们结构工程师非常了解这一点。当我们要求维护和修理以确保老化桥梁的安全时，这可能不受欢迎，因为它花钱而且没有任何亮点可以展示。公众往往认为结构安全和可操作性是理所当然的。然而，人们肯定会在桥梁倒塌时立即想起工程师。