Experimental Techniques has been published since 1983. It is a bi-monthly news magazine designed for the practicing engineer or technician. Experimental Techniques is devoted to relatively brief and informal "how-to-do-it" or "how-not-to-do-it" articles, emphasizing experimental, analytical and computational techniques and methods.

Experimental Techniques is designed for the practicing engineer or technician who must find ingenious means to collect testing and measurement data. To address the needs of the readership, new features and departments will be regularly updated. Some of what is being planned are, field testing, data acquisitions, new/young engineer training, consortiums "Developing Partnerships", student projects, large structures, lecture demonstrations, experimental techniques used in the classroom, "Where Mechanics Matters": Chemical Physics, Chemical Vapor Deposition, applications of mechanics: emerging fields and more.

Experimental Techniques also offers the reader information on the latest commercially available hardware and software. This is accomplished with product and literature releases and book reviews. Such information is vital to keeping current with the field.

ISSN: 0732-8818

The following is a brief review of the history of Experimental Techniques. (As printed in ET September/October 1995). ET began in 1975 as a special project of the SEM Applications Committee (SEM-AC). The members of the SEM-AC recognized the need for a practice-oriented Society publication that would feature relatively brief articles devoted to the day-to-day problems faced by the experimental mechanician. It was envisioned that the new publication would allow members of the technical community to relate "tricks of the trade" at a relatively informal level.

From 1976 to 1979 ET appeared as a 4- to 6-page quarterly newsletter, and members of the SEM-AC were responsible for authoring and/or soliciting relatively brief "how-to-do-it" (or "how-not-to-do-it") articles to support the newsletter. During these first few years, activities were coordinated by the officers and members of the SEM-AC, notably Robert Johnson, John Ligon, George Warren, John Kelly and Susan Foss.

The decision to expand ET into a more formal "magazine" format was made in 1979, and the first "new look" ET issue appeared in February, 1980. An ET Editorial Committee was formally established and included Susan Foss (chair), Stu Swartz, Jan Cernosek, T.P. Keiffer, Dick Marloff, Burke Dykes, D.R. Hartdegen, Dave Willis and John Kelly. Lloyd Lazarus, Darrell Harting and Art Lawrence were added to the Editorial Committee shortly thereafter. A succession of senior and associate technical editors have guided the evolution of ET since 1980, and have included Susan Foss (1980-87, 1997-present), Dick Marloff (1980-85), Stu Swartz (1982-83), Burke Dykes (1983-87), Mark Tuttle (1985-89), Dave Windstein (1987-91), Robert Schwarz (1987-93), 1998-present), Lloyd Lazarus (1989-95), Ibrahim Miskioglu (1991-1995), Elizabeth Fuchs (1993), Jon Rogers (1993-1997), Henry Busby (1994-1999), Jaime Cardenas-Garcia (1997-98) and Mark French (1998-2001). In 1998 an ET Advisory Group was created to provide guidance for ET and to recommend potential editors and reviewers for the publication. The ET Advisor Group's first chair was Beth (Fuchs) Stelts and included Lloyd Lazarus, Jon Rogers, Stu Swartz and Mark Tuttle.

The Society owes a debt of gratitude to these individuals for their foresight and for making Experimental Techniques into the publication it is today.