THE BIRTH AND HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON WEAR OF MATERIALS

The International Wear of Materials (WoM) Conference series has experi enced a colorful history of changes. from the struggles of its founder s and the difficulties of finding suitable publishers for its papers, to the latest organizational experiment in coordinating with another m ajor conference, In the face of minimal technical society support, ste adfast efforts by the Steering Committee, enthusiastic volunteers, and a host of international paper solicitors have permitted the conferenc e to survive and even to flourish, Throughout the years, the conferenc e has reflected the trends in materials tribology research and has dev eloped a loyal following. The success of the WoM conference series has flowed directly from the confluence of four basic elements: a special focus on wear of materials, the use of a rigorous review and editing process for all the papers submitted, an organization based on an inde pendent group of tribology researchers with diverse but complementary backgrounds, and, lastly, a willingness to experiment with all aspects of the conference, including the choice of conference sites, sponsori ng organizations, and publishers for the proceedings. It is impossible to know what form the WoM conference series will take in 1999 or beyo nd, While the paper publication situation seems to have been resolved for the moment, who will manage the future conferences has not. Thanks to past efforts, important contributions to understanding and using t ribomaterials and to the stimulation of new research on wear-resistant materials are a lingering legacy. It will take the enthusiastic work of many selfless and dedicated individuals to continue the fine tradit ions established in the first twenty years of WoM. (C) 1997 Elsevier S cience S.A.