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1999 ASC 14th Technical Conference Recap – Dayton, OH

By Navid Zobeiry, Communications Editor, American Society for Composites, Last updated: May 12, 2025

The 14th Annual Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites was held from September 27–29, 1999, at the Holiday Inn—1675 Conference Center in Fairborn, Ohio. The event was hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Dayton.

Co-chaired by Prof. James M. Whitney and Prof. Joseph E. Saliba, the conference brought researchers back to the Dayton area, where ASC's first technical conference was held in 1986. While the inaugural event featured 32 papers in a single session, the 1999 conference presented 83 technical papers across four parallel sessions and included a poster session with over 20 additional contributions.

The technical program covered a wide range of themes, including infrastructure, automotive, aerospace, and military applications, as well as fundamental research topics such as joining, impact, sandwich structures, fatigue, environmental effects, micromechanics, processing, and composite damage modeling.

For a full list of 1999 ASC papers, visit:

Plenary Lectures

  • Dr. J. R. Vinson (University of Delaware) – “Analysis of Sandwich Structures”
  • Dr. N. J. Pagano (Air Force Research Laboratory) – “Micromechanical Effects on Composite Laminate Response”
  • Mr. John Mistretta (National Composites Center) – “Composite Materials in Infrastructure”

Awards and Recognition

  • ASC Fellow: Dr. Robert M. Jones (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)
  • Outstanding Researcher Award: Dr. Charles W. Bert (The University of Oklahoma)
  • Technomic Award in Composites: Dr. H. Thomas Hahn (University of California, Los Angeles)
  • ASC Best Paper Award (1998 conference): E.T. Camponeschi "Composite Materials for Future Ship Applications"
  • ASC Best Paper Award (1998 conference): A. Skontorp "Structural Integrity of Quasi-Isotropic Composite Laminates with Embedded Optical Fibers"
  • ASC Best Paper Award (1998 conference): W.L. Vaughn, E. Shinn, S. Rawal, and J.M. Wright "Carbon-Carbon Composite Radiator Development for the EO-1 Spacecraft"
  • ASC Best Paper Award (1998 conference): M. Lin and F.-K. Chang "Development of Smart Layer for Built-in Diagnostics for Composite Materials"

Poster Session Awards

  1. 1st Place: Qinggang Zeng and C. T. Sun (Purdue University) – Design of a New Bonded Composite Lap Joint
  2. 2nd Place: Shuang-jie Zhou and Martin C. Hawley (Michigan State University) – Microwave Bonding of Polymers and Composites
  3. 3rd Place: Jason E. Lincoln, Roger J. Morgan, E. Eugene Shin, and Andre Lee (Michigan State University) – Effects of Network Structure on the Environmental Durability of Bismaleimide Thermoset Matrices and Carbon Fiber Composites

Highlighted Topics

  • Infrastructure Applications: Monitoring and retrofitting composite bridges, FRP reinforcement, and concrete bonding
  • Military & Defense: Army-funded research in armor, impact resistance, composite mortars, and repair
  • Processing & Manufacturing: RTM, microwave curing, resin infusion, and simulation of residual stresses
  • Joining & Interfaces: Mode II testing, bonded joints, adhesive improvements, silane coupling, and bolted joint failure
  • Emerging Techniques: Smart composites, piezoelectric control, thermal damage modeling, and nano-reinforcements

Organizing Committee

  • Conference Co-Chair: Prof. James M. Whitney (University of Dayton)
  • Conference Co-Chair: Prof. Joseph E. Saliba (University of Dayton)

Reference

  1. Whitney, J. M. (Ed.). (1999). Proceedings of the Fourteenth Technical Conference of the American Society for Composites. Fairborn, OH: American Society for Composites.