The first scientific society in what became the USA was the American Philosophical Society, which was founded in 1743 under the instigation of Benjamin Franklin. The transactions of the American Philosophical Society began publication in 1771. Up to that time most American scientists published in European journals. In 1757 Benjamin Franklin was made a Member of the Royal Society (London) for his work in electricity [18, E-3]. In 1818 Benjamin Silliman, who has been called the "father of American scientific education," started publishing the American Journal of Science and Arts ( ^[E-9]).

The American Vacuum Society (AVS) was formed in 1953 to provide a forum for those interested in the scientific and industrial development of vacuum equipment and processes. At first its primary interest was vacuum melting. It was not until about the Fifth Symposium (1957) of the AVS that papers on vacuum coating began to be presented. The AVS began publishing the Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology in 1964. In 1974 the AVS Conference on Structure/Property Relationships in Thick Films and Bulk Coatings was held in San Francisco. The meeting was sponsored by the Vacuum Metallurgy Division of the AVS, with Roitan (Ron) Bunshah as the Program Committee Chairman. This conference became an annual event called the International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings (ICMC), and later the ICMCTF when the AVS Thin Film Division became involved. The proceedings of these meetings are published in Thin Solid Films and Surface and Coating Technology. In 2001...