A Year of Change
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As the Presidents See It...
Nucleation Was More Fun Than Growth E.N. Kaufmann, 1985 MRS President In 1985, whenever my phone rang, it was not uncommon for the caller to be a new MRS volunteer asking, "What is the policy" on such and such. It would not do to tell those familiar with far larger and older societies that we had no policies. What would they think of MRS? So, trusting that as they became more familiar with our unique style, they would realize that volunteers had been making their own rules, I would invent a policy to tide them over. In 1985 we were riding a wave of enthusiasm for the Society's existing and potential contributions to multidisciplinary information exchange—and for the field of materials research per se. Steering—more than long-range planning—was the challenge. Following on the heels of the presidency of Woody White, who set an unrepeatable standard for energy and dedication, was no easy task. Woody and his predecessors gave us our meetings, proceedings, MRS Bulletin, and a headquarters office, to list just a few ongoing programs. With that underpinning, we were able to nucleate many new activities and practices. For example, JMR was started, with the first issue dated January/February 1986. Publication of MRS Proceedings was transferred from Elsevier to MRS, with the first self-published volume appearing in 1985. The first real Spring Meeting on the real West Coast was run in San Francisco in April of 1985. (The first "near" Spring Meeting, not quite so far west, was of course in February 1984 in Albuquerque). Democracy in MRS was ushered in with the election of 1985, yours truly having been the last unopposed machine candidate for an officer position. In 1985, the position of chair for International Relations was created, culminating in the recent formation of IUMRS. MRS Council approved, in principle, a Washington office for MRS which, albeit after an extended gestation, is now up and running. For the U.S. materials community at large, the National Academy Study on Materials Science and Engineering was begun in 1985. (You see, nucleation in materials was rampant). §f,. To see the fruits of initiatives realized I in real time was by far the most satisfy-
Most remembered, with a great sense of accomplishment and nostalgia, is the camaraderie I enjoyed with energetic, enthusiastic, dedicated, like-minded colleagues. ing aspect of the MRS experience in those days. Of course some of the symptoms of a more mature organization did creep in. We had already begun to need professional meeting planning help, legal advice, personnel policies and procedures, auditors, and an external affairs activity to address relations with domes-
tic and overseas societies that had begun to notice us. Most remembered, with a great sense of accomplishment and nostalgia, is the camaraderie I enjoyed with energetic, enthusiastic, dedicated, like-minded colleagues on the road to building a better MRS. To fairly and accurately characterize the state of the materials field then, and the changes that have taken place
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