Summary Discussion

What I thought we would do this afternoon is to pull together, to the extent that we can, what we have heard earlier in the day in the plenary talks and the poster presentations that we have just observed. The plenary talks addressed methodology for reliability and two general categories of materials: ceramics and polymers. In the poster sessions there were quite a variety of topics covered, mostly having to do with specific instrumentation addressed to the question of NDT--not so much on the methodology side, but more at the NDE interface. We would like to explore the convergence of these two elements. To begin, I would suggest that methodology be considered as the first category of concern (together with materials), and that attention be drawn primarily to the gaps in the methodology that we have relative to particular materials categories, even though primary attention in materials has been placed upon ceramics today. We will include, of course, metals and composites in our discussion. Now does anybody want to add to or subtract from these categories before we go ahead