Laminates: An inspiring opportunity keynote paper

In composite materials, the laminating industry has been built on the principle of locating things where they would do the most good. Way back in 1922 at General Electric Company I began to appreciate that the same base materials in the same proportions would give twice as much strength if they were disposed in laminate fashion than if they were randomly mixed. Throughout the years, these structures have been applied, originally to give greater strength and stiffness; but more recently through the whole gamut of qualities, to toughness and controlled permeation of films. Let me review some of those earlier days with you.