American Society for Composites 41st Annual Technical Conference

Madison, Wisconsin

September 28 - September 30, 2026

ASTM Committee D30 Meeting

September 30 - October 1, 2026

Registration is open!

Founded in 1985, the American Society for Composites (ASC) serves as a leading forum for advancing knowledge and fostering the exchange of ideas in composite materials and structures. Established to accelerate interdisciplinary research and promote innovative composite technologies across aerospace, automotive, energy, civil, and emerging sectors, ASC has for nearly four decades united a diverse community of students, faculty, researchers, engineers, and practitioners from academia, industry, national laboratories, and federal agencies. As an all-volunteer organization, it continues to promote collaboration, professional development, and the dissemination of cutting-edge research.


ASTM Committee D30 on Composite Materials, established in 1964, oversees 102 standards through its six technical subcommittees, as published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Although founded with a primary focus on aerospace applications, the committee has expanded its scope over time to address the needs of automotive, industrial, recreational, and medical sectors that rely on advanced composite materials.

Important Dates

  • Registration
  • Registration Open: 15th June
  • Author/Presenter Registration Deadline: 24th July
  • Early Bird Registration Ends: 30th July
  • Regular Registration Ends: 31st Aug
  • Abstract/Paper
  • Abstract Submission Open: 1st Jan
  • Abstract Submission Deadline: 16th March
  • Notification of Acceptance: 31st March
  • Full Paper Submission Deadline: 1st June
  • EXTENDED Full Paper Submission Deadline: June 15th
  • Notification of Paper Acceptance: 10th July
  • Conference: 28th-30th Sep
  • Sponsor
  • Preferred date: 31st May

ASC Plenary Speakers

R. Byron Pipes is Executive Director of the Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center of Purdue University. He was elected to membership of the National Academy of Engineering (1987) and the Royal Society of Engineering Sciences of Sweden (1995). In 2018 at the 150th anniversary of the founding of engineering in the UK, he was awarded the honorary DOCTOREM HONORIS CAUSA by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr Pipes is recognized for his leadership in creating partnerships for university research with the private sector, government and academia. He served as President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1993-98 and was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Delaware from 1991-93. He served as Dean of the College of Engineering and Director of the Center for Composite Materials during 1977-91 at the same institution. He was appointed John L. Bray Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Purdue University in 2004. In 2015, Pipes established the Composites Manufacturing Simulation Center within the National Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation of the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is the author of over two-hundred archival publications including four books and has served on the editorial boards of four journals in his field. In 1984, he led one of the first six National Engineering Research Centers of National Science Foundation.

Sam Tucker is Director of Composites, Materials, & Structures in Boeing Engineering & Technology Innovation, leading advanced composites research and innovation benefiting commercial, defense, and services sectors. He oversees design, analysis, materials and process development, allowables, and sustainment strategies, focusing on balancing manufacturing efficiency with structural performance. With 16 years at Boeing, Sam has contributed to materials, processes, and structures in both commercial and defense areas. He holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Southern Mississippi and dual bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Marketing from the University of Southern Indiana.

2026 Wayne W. Stinchcomb Memorial Lecture:

Dr. James Ratcliffe is an Aerospace Sciences Technologist at the NASA Langley Research Center with 25 years of experience in development of experimental methods for characterizing non-metallic materials. He specializes in developing test methods for damage characterization, structural analysis validation, and mechanical property measurements of various fiber-reinforced composites including polymer-matrix, ceramic-matrix, and carbon/carbon composites. Over the past decade, his work has focused heavily on evaluating the performance of ablative materials for human-rated reentry vehicles. In this role, he has contributed directly to major flight programs, including the certification and post-flight analysis of the Orion thermal protection systems for the Artemis I and Artemis II missions. Dr. Ratcliffe began his career at NASA Langley as a National Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Kevin O’Brien. Before transitioning to his current civil servant role, he spent ten years as a staff scientist at the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA). During his tenure at the NIA, he established a foundation in composite materials research, specifically experimental methods for characterizing fracture in composites with a focus on development of standardized test methods. Within the ASTM D30 Composites committee, he served as chair of the D30.06 Interlaminar Properties subcommittee and as D30 Recording Secretary, and made major contributions to the development of D7205 (Mode II fracture toughness) and D8637 (Mode I dominant facesheet-to-core fracture toughness) and the revision of D5528 (Mode I fracture toughness).

Thank You to our Sponsors!