Historical Perspective of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management

On May 17, 1958, a few materials control and accountability(MC&A) professionals gathered in Pittsburgh to discuss the formationof a professional organization to advance the aspects ofnuclear materials management. After general agreement on thepurpose of the organization, they decided to name it the Instituteof Nuclear Materials Management (INMM).They left the meeting agreeing to talk to other colleaguesabout the institute, and joining them in this new venture.In a subsequent meeting in October 1958, a formation meetingwas held and Dr. Ralph Lumb was elected chair, Richard S.Frankel, vice chair, Shelly Kops, treasurer, and William Thomas,secretary of the INMM. It was recognized that to start achievingthe objectives they set for INMM, the most urgent concern wasincreasing membership and having a general membership meeting.By the end of 1958, there were fifty-five members. Sinceemployees of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) were akey part of this early membership, and to assure a larger audience,it was decided to hold the general membership meeting in conjunctionwith the annual AEC/Contractors, Source, and SpecialMaterials Management meeting in Washington, DC, in May1959. It was this group of nuclear material management expertsthat could provide the basis for increasing membership and promotingthe ideals of the INMM. After the meeting, it was decidedthat subsequent annual meetings would be held and sponsored byINMM so as to provide an independent viewpoint of nuclearmaterials management. Therefore, the INMM held its firstAnnual Meeting the following year on June 21-22, 1960, inColumbus, Ohio, USA. Membership continued to grow, mainlyby word of mouth, and by the time of the meeting the membershiphad reached 135.