2026 Technical Seminar
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS!
Industry Challenges and Lessons: Failures and How they Move us Forward
Location: Rice University - Duncan Hall, Houston, TX
Date: May 21th, 2026, 8:00am – 5:00pm CT
Networking session to follow, 5:00pm – 7:00pm CT
Throughout history, failures in industries such as manufacturing, engineering, energy, and
technology have exposed hidden weaknesses, challenged established assumptions, and forced organizations to rethink how they design, build, and operate. From factory accidents that reshaped safety regulations to product failures that inspired revolutionary innovations, industrial failures have repeatedly acted as catalysts for learning and transformation. By studying these failures, we move beyond blame and toward understanding. When lessons are acknowledged and applied, failures become stepping stones to drive safer practices, smarter technologies, and more resilient industries. In this way, industrial failures do not simply mark what went wrong; they illuminate the path forward. This seminar provides a platform for both industry and academia to work together to rethink and resolve problems for a safer community.
Call for Abstracts: We invite you to contribute to this seminar by submitting your abstracts covering a wide range of industrial application failures and lessons learned, including but not limited to:
• Corrosion (stress corrosion cracking, pitting, galvanic, hydrogen embrittlement, etc.)
• Welding failures – technology, diagnosis, applications, dissimilar metal welding challenges
• Failures owing to improper microstructural control in manufacturing
• Metallurgical instability in high temperature service
• Advanced materials characterization techniques in failure analysis
• Tooling failures (dies, machine tools, drilling tools, etc.)
Abstracts must be submitted by February 28th for consideration.
Contact Information: For questions, further details, and to submit your abstracts and presentations, please reach out to ASM International - Houston Chapter at seminar@asmhou.org. Please note that presentations intended for distribution may be edited to exclude proprietary information or to include additional content not covered in the oral presentation.
Professional Development: This seminar will provide 8 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Certificates of attendance and completion will be issued upon request.