AWS Mission Statement
The mission of the American Welding Society is to advance the science, technology and application of welding and allied joining and cutting processes, including brazing, soldering and thermal spraying.

As Time Goes By
... A pictorial history of welding as seen through the pages of the Welding Journal

Welding and the Society
... A nostalgic look at the AWS and events in the history of welding.

AWS At-A-Glance
... Membership to Publications. Expositions to Scholarships. Find out more about the American Welding Society and how it works.

Blockbuster Events in Welding's Long History
...Welding was a vital part of many major events in American history.  Read more.

Welding History.org...
A unique site offering the history of thermal joining from ancient times to today. Also Brazing from 6000 B.C.E. to modern times, brazing is the most ancient form of metal joining. A "must see site" for the welding enthusiast. Includes movies, photos, timelines and more.

Photo display: First
Conventional Plasma ARC Torch
Patented by Robert MacCornack Gage in 1953, developed at Linde Laboratories, Buffalo, NY.

Past Presidents of AWS.
Discover which president ...
...Became a professional baseball player before returning to engineering;
...Created the Navy's first metallurgy lab;
...Was decorated with the French Legion of Honor;
...Was "inspired" by the Titanic disaster to write "Observation on Ocean Temperatures in the Vicinity of Icebergs";
...Was honored along with Herbert Hoover and Thomas Edison by the National Academy of Sciences.

Welding Forges into the Future
... Answers from a survey of industry leaders give valuable feedback on the state of welding for the year 2000 and beyond.

The Job Outlook for Welders...
Reprinted from the Welding Journal, June 1999.

Welding-Related Expenditures, Investments, and Productivity Measurement in U.S. Manufacturing, Construction, and Mining Industries
"This report summarizes findings of the initial wave of research conducted for the Economic Impact and Productivity of Welding study commissioned by the American Welding Society and Edison Welding Institute. The overall objectives of this research were to determine the economic contribution and productivity of welding in specific U.S. industries where welding is a primary enabling technology and identify where the greatest opportunities exist to further improve welding productivity."
Download Economic Impact and Productivity of Welding in .pdf format.

Vision for Welding Industry
The American Welding Society, in conjunction with the Department of Energy, has put together a vision that will carry the welding industry through 2020. As part of obtaining global consensus on the Vision for Welding Industry document, industry was encouraged to download the document, read it and return comments, suggestions or corrections. We will be reviewing all responses carefully. Thank you for supporting this most important endeavor.
Download Vision Document in .pdf format.

Culmination of Vision for Welding Industry
The recently published Welding Industry Vision Workshop Results describes the issues and opportunities facing the U.S. welding industry (users as well as suppliers of welding equipment, materials, processes, and support services) through the next twenty years. The strategic goals outlined in the Vision are ambitious and will require hard work and commitment by the industry, but expectations are high for maintaining a competitive worldwide position for welding well into the new century.

The roadmap is based on input provided by representatives from the industry segments at workshops held in Chicago in October 1999 and Houston in March 2000. Input for the automotive section was extracted from previously developed roadmaps prepared in collaboration with the Edison Welding Institute.
Download Vision Workshop Results in .pdf format.

To request membership information, please visit our Membership Pages

AWS Magazines
The Welding Journal, a major monthly magazine specifically serving the welding and manufacturing industries is mailed to all AWS Members. The publication includes authoritative articles that can help your business and professional development, as well as news, "how-to" stories, welding research, advertisements, and much more. Winner of more than 60 editorial and design awards, including the 1999 Florida Magazine Association award for "Best In-Depth Reporting". In addition, Inspection Trends the magazine for materials inspection and testing personnel, is mailed to individuals and facilities certified by AWS, including all Certified Welding Inspectors.

Technical Publications
AWS offers over 300 books, charts, videos, replicas, proceedings, and software. 160 AWS-developed codes, recommended practices, and guides are produced under strict American National Standards Institute (ANSI) procedures, including one of the most consulted codes in the world, D1.1 Structural Welding Code - Steel. Download our annual Catalog, full color catalog free or visit the AWS On-Line Catalog and Bookstore.

Educational Programs
Include international, national and local conferences, seminars, individual corporate programs, and home study courses. Subjects range from the basics to the leading edge of technology. AWS offers the award-winning program SENSE (Schools Excelling through National Skills Education) to all qualified U.S. welding programs.

AWS Foundation
Founded in 1989, to support research and education in welding and related technologies. It is committed to annually awarding fellowships to deserving graduate students for important research in areas important to the requirements of industry. Accordingly, each year the AWS Foundation administers two $25,000 grants - matched in kind by the participating universities. The award of scholarships to vocational and undergraduate college students is also a high priority. The Foundation is also working on the welder workforce shortage and crisis in our industry. That focus involves many aspects from Recruitment to Retirement if we are to have a sustainable and viable solution to the welder shortage.

AWS Certification Programs
The American Welding Society offers a number of certification programs to assist industry in identifying qualified welding personnel and to provide opportunities for welding professionals to demonstrate their qualifications to the welding industry. The premier AWS certification program is the Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) program. Established in 1977, over 34,000 inspectors have been certified and approximately 20,000 are currently certified. This program has been a major contributor to improved weld quality and reduced costs of inspection. AWS offers additional certification programs for welding supervisors, engineers, radiographic interpreters, educators, and welders. Visit the Certification pages on this website for additional information on any of these programs.

FABTECH International & the AWS Welding Show
The FABTECH  International  &  AWS Welding Show is largest event in North America dedicated to showcasing a full spectrum of metal forming, fabricating, tube and pipe, and welding equipment and technology.  In 2009, the event returns to McCormick Place in Chicago.  Thousands of buyers and sellers from around the world will gather to exchange products and services, form new business relationships,  problem-solve, and share best practices. Be a part of this exciting  industrial tradition—make plans now to exhibit or attend the 2009 FABTECH International & AWS Welding Show. For more information visit our Show Pages.

The Professional Program
The AWS Professional Program offers a broad spectrum of Technical Papers describing the latest findings in welding research, processes and applications. Special sessions and gatherings exploring the boundaries of industry issues are also significant features of the convention. Subjects cover an entire range of industry concerns from the joining of space age materials to production management techniques, testing, quality assurance and more.

To contact the Technical Papers Editor who is responsible for the Professional Program, please email Martica Ventura.