HISTORY
TRENDS IN WELDING RESEARCH CONFERENCE
HISTORY OF TWR CONFERENCES
The Trends in Welding Research conference series, sponsored by ASM International and the American Welding Society (AWS), has been a premier international forum for advancing the science, technology, and application of welding and joining for several decades.
The conferences, which often included partnerships with organizations like Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), have evolved from foundational weldability studies toward additive manufacturing, sensing, and AI-driven control.
The conferences are renowned for bringing together international expertise from academia, government labs, and industry.
CONFERENCE HISTORY & NOTABLE PROCEEDINGS
3rd International Conference (1992)
Conducted in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, with a primary focus on welding science and technology.
4th International Conference (1995)
Held in Gatlinburg, TN, emphasizing both fundamental and applied research, including advancements in sensing, modeling, heat and fluid flow, and residual stress analysis.
5th International Conference (1998)
Hosted in Pine Mountain, Georgia.
6th International Conference (2002)
Convened at Callaway Gardens, Georgia, with an emphasis on advanced modeling and experimental methodologies.
7th International Conference (2005)
Held at Callaway Gardens, GA, highlighting significant progress in friction stir welding (FSW) technologies.
8th International Conference (2008)
Conducted at Callaway Gardens, GA, with a concentrated focus on FSW, automation, and computational modeling.
9th International Conference (2012)
Organized in Chicago, Illinois, addressing topics such as microstructure characterization, residual stress, and transport phenomena.
10th International Conference (2016)
Held in Tokyo, Japan, and co-sponsored by the Japan Welding Society (JWS) and AWS, covering a broad spectrum of subjects.
11th International Conference
Trends in Welding Research + Additive Manufacturing (TWR+AM 2026): The series was further developed to include specialized sessions on additive manufacturing, with particular attention to the convergence of welding, joining, and additive manufacturing disciplines.