Editorial: Message from SAMPE's global president

Abstract

SAMPE was born among nine individuals working in the aerospace industry in Southern California, a likely place in 1944 for rising concerns on the lack of focus on materials and processing within their industry. It was called the Society of Aircraft Material and Processing Engineers. The space age brought about a realization that the society should be focused on aerospace and though the acronym remained the same, aircraft was transformed to aerospace. In 1973, with what we now can see as the onset of advanced materials, the society renamed itself to the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. This transition focused SAMPE's mission from just the engineers in the aerospace industry to providing "the global forum for information, education, and professional fellowship for those who define the leading edge and application of materials and processes advancement." Yet the acronym remained the same. Some of our members can recall those days when Aerospace became Advancement.