"The publication presents an examination of the theories and methodologies available for risk assessment in geotechnical engineering, spanning the full range from established single-variable and “first order” methods to the most recent, advanced numerical developments. In response to the growing application of LRFD methodologies in geotechnical design, coupled with increased demand for risk assessments by clients ranging from regulatory agencies to insurance companies, the authors have introduced an innovative reliability-based risk assessment method, the Random Finite Element Method (RFEM). The authors have spent more than fifteen years developing this statistically based method for modeling the real spatial variability of soils and rocks." (MCEER, Information Service, January 5, 2009)