The Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center in cooperation with the Office of Sponsored Programs of Syracuse University has been conducting the Annual Sagamore Army Materials Research Conferences since 1954. The specific purpose of these conferences has been to bring together scientists and engineers from academic institutions, industry and government to explore in depth a subject of importance to the Department of Defense, the Army, and the scientific community. This 30th Sagamore Conference, entitled Innovations in Materials Processing, has attempted to focus on the inter disciplinary nature of materials processing, looking at recent advancements in the development of unit processes from a range of standpoints from the understanding and control of the under lying mechanisms through their application as part of a manufactur ing sequence. In between, the classic link between processing and materials properties is firmly established. A broad range of materials are treated in this manner: metals, ceramics, plastics, and composites. The interdisciplinary nature of materials processing exists through its involvement with the basic sciences, with, process and product design, with process control, and ultimately with manufacturing engineering. Materials processing is interdisciplinary in another sense, through its application within all materials disciplines. The industrial community (and the Army as its customer) is becoming increasingly concerned with producibility/reliability/ affordability issues in advanced product development. These concerns will be adequately addressed only by employing the full range of disciplines encompassed within the field of materials processing.
