About TMS

Headquartered in the United States but international in both its membership and activities, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) is a rare professional organization that encompasses the entire range of materials and engineering, from minerals processing and primary metals production to basic research and the advanced applications of materials.

In support of its Mission statement and Strategic Plan, the society provides forums for the exchange of information; promotes technology transfer; promotes the education and development of current and future professionals; represents the profession in the accreditation of educational programs and in the registration of professional engineers (a U.S.-grounded activity); encourages professionalism, ethical behavior, and concern for the environment; and stimulates a worldwide sense of unity in the profession. Read the 2007 Annual Report or the 2006 Annual Report.

MEMBERSHIP AND DIVISIONS

Included among its nearly 10,000 professional and student members are metallurgical and materials engineers, scientists, researchers, educators, and administrators from more than 70 countries on six continents.

Volunteer members serve at all levels of the society, and take a hands-on approach to shaping the policy, programming, and publications of the society. Initially, the volunteer member becomes involved through working with one of the society's technical divisions.

The divisions sponsor technical meetings, publish proceedings of meetings, sponsor short courses, present awards, and engage in cosponsorship activities with other TMS divisions and other professional societies. The relationships among the divisions and technical committees are well structured to explore all aspects of the four core elements of materials science and engineering: synthesis/processing, structure/composition, properties, and performance. For a clear view of the division and technical committee structure, visit the Technical Divisions home page.

Student members comprise approximately one-quarter of TMS's membership and are encouraged to take an active role in society activities. TMS has student chapters throughout the world, guided by advisors who work closely with TMS and the Student Affairs Committee to integrate the activities of the chapter. Students have access to a variety of scholarships through TMS and can compete in a number of society-sponsored contests. Students also receive drastic discounts on registration fees at TMS meetings and on publications.

To further address the needs of young professionals, TMS has formed the Young Leaders Committee. This committee is open to TMS members under the age of 35 and promotes the influx of young professionals into all aspects of the society, from technical committees to the Board of Directors.

MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES

TMS sponsors two large meetings annually--the TMS Annual Meeting in the spring and Materials, Science & Technology in the fall. In addition to four days of technical programming, these meetings feature luncheons and dinners, short courses, award presentations, exhibitions, and myriad networking opportunities.

About 8,000 attendees (professionals and students) participate in the TMS-sponsored meetings worldwide annually. Society members attend these conferences at significantly reduced rates and develop the meeting programs on-line using the Conference Management System.

For a complete list of upcoming meetings, please visit the TMS Global Meetings Calendar.

JOURNALS AND PUBLICATIONS

TMS is a major publisher in the materials community. Each year TMS publishes an average of 30 new proceedings volumes containing papers presented at society-sponsored meetings. Many of the books are published annually, including Light Metals, traditionally the society's top seller and an indispensable resource in the international aluminum industry, and the EPD Congress, which documents selected Annual Meeting programming of the Extraction & Processing Division. Textbooks, CD-ROMs, software, and digitally downloaded manuscripts are also part of the mix.

Periodicals also provide a forum for disseminating information to the professional community. JOM is a monthly journal devoted to exploring the many aspects of materials science and engineering. Written for industrial and academic audiences alike, it presents topical overviews, research summaries, news of the field and TMS, opinion, and general-interest features. All members of the Society receive a subscription JOM as a member benefit.

On a subscription basis, the Journal of Electronic Materials, published jointly with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, prints peer-reviewed technical articles each month on advances in the electronics materials field. Also available via subscription, the Metallurgical and Materials Transactions series comprises two peer-reviewed archival journals. The A volume, published monthly, covers physical metallurgy and materials science; the B volume, published bimonthly, covers extraction and processing.

TMS members may avail themselves of significant discounts on all Society publications and can order conveniently through the Knowledge Resource Center.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The society is also dedicated to life-long education and participates on both the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET ) and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

TMS serves as the lead professional society for ABET in evaluating materials science and metallurgical engineering programs at universities in the United States seeking accreditation. With NCEES, TMS participates in the development, administration, and grading of the exam to become registered as a professional engineer in the various states of the United States. The society maintains a study guide to this exam.

In addition, TMS provides access to the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center to acquaint young people with career opportunities and choices in materials science and engineering.

Visit our Continuing Education home page, to learn more about these opportunities.

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

As the world changes and adapts to an increasingly global market, TMS continues to change as well. The society is of an increasingly international character, with about 30 percent of current members living and working outside of the United States.

TMS is responding to this growing international membership with outreach programs to Partner Societies outside of the U.S. to pave the road to international cooperation.

In this spirit of cooperation for the common good of the materials science and engineering field as well as the international community, this is a noncompetitive policy the TMS plans to pursue with equal or greater vigor in the coming years.

HONORS AND AWARDS

The recognition of outstanding accomplishments by members of the international minerals, metals, and materials community is one of the primary objectives of TMS.

In the society's view, the bestowment of honors and awards is necessary to not only reward distinguished performance by a scientist or engineer but to encourage his or her colleagues to strive toward the same—and perhaps a greater—level of distinction.

Visit our Honors and Awards home page to learn about various awards available, and how to nominate a fellow colleague.

The information on this page is maintained by the TMS Membership Department (members@tms.org).