SYNOPSIS OF A CONFERENCE SYNOPSIS OF A CONFERENCE ON FAILURE ANALYSIS: A FOUNDATION FOR DIAGNOSTICS AND PROGNOSTICS DEVELOPMENT. The 53rd Meeting of the Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology (MFPT) will be held April 19-22, 1999 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The sponsors of MFPT 53 include the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC). The Technical Program will be presented on Tuesday through Thursday, April 20-22, 1999. On Monday, April 19th and Friday, April 23rd a number of optional short courses will be available to conference registrants. Exhibits featuring new products and services will be an integral part of the meeting. The Keynote Address will be delivered by Mr. Dev Raheja, a world renowned consultant in the areas of Reliability, Quality and Safety. In his presentation, "Zen and the Art of Failure Prevention", he will describe how we can achieve product durability by experiencing the true nature of Reliability at practically no cost. Other distinguished invited speakers are Mr. William D. Marscher, President of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, speaking on "The Role of Engineering Societies, Standards and Certification in Diagnostics, Prognostics and Failure Analysis"; Mr. Julian Bristow, Honeywell Technology Center, will cover "Integrated Diagnostics and Prognostics Systems" and Mr. Kenneth S. Jacobs, Naval Sea Systems Command on "Not All that Glitters is Technology"; NASA is presenting a session on Reliability Centered Maintenance. Dr. Amulya Garga is presenting a session on a CBM programming tool kit developed for ONR; Mr. John Mitchell organized a panel session on an important issue -- making a business case for Condition Based Maintenance. The fifteen technical sessions will be interesting and varied. At least five will feature expert lead-off speakers. These include Dr. Alfred Broz, Chief Scientist for the FAA; Mr. David D. Thurston, Office of Naval Research; Dr. Richard D. Sisson, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Dr. Shawn M. Walsh, U. S. Army Research Laboratory; and Dr. Michael J. Roemer, STI Technologies, Inc. A final program and registration form will be on the MFPT Society's web site, http://www.mfpt.org about 10 February 1999. For more information and/or to receive a complete program and registration information, contact: Henry C. Pusey, Executive Director, MFPT Society, 4193 Sudley Road, Haymarket, VA 20169-2420; Ph: (703) 754-2234; Fax (703) 754-9743; e-mail hcpusey@ix.netcom.com Home Page http://www.mfpt.org. WEB: Society for Machinery Failure Prevention Technology, http://www.mfpt.org. E-MAIL: Office of Naval Research, ngk@onr.navy.mil. Posted 02/05/99 (W-SN295512).

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