Conference Overview and the Role of Chemistry in High-Temperature Materials Science and Technology LEO BREWER Department of ChemistIy, University of California, and Materials and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 I don't want to compete with the fascinating historic account that John Drowart gave us, but I would like to go through the history of high­ don't get the reaction that I get from temperature symposia. I hope I some of my classes when I say, "Remember when such-and-such hap­ pened during the War?" And I get this blank look, and one of the students will say, "I wasn't born until after the Korean War. " Neverthe­ less, during World War II, many people in the high-temperature field had their first initiation. But there was one handicap. Owing to security measures, they were not able to interact with one another. Following the War, it was recognized that the high-temperature field was going to expand to meet the demands for materials with unique properties. To meet the demands for new fabrication techniques, it was important to establish better communications among various people. High-tempera­ ture symposia were established at that time and have continued very frequently, and I'd like to point out why they are especially important for this field. One problem is that it is not easy to work at high temperatures.