How to Start a SAMPE Professional or Student Chapter

Why Start a Chapter?
Local chapters are still one of the reasons many SAMPE members participate in SAMPE activities. SAMPE chapter meetings can talk about issues that are of interest to SAMPE members who live in that region.

SAMPE chapters meetings can help members with their advanced materials careers. They also serve as training grounds for leadership and organizational skills.

Who Can Start a SAMPE Professional Chapter?
Chapters are started by people who are enthusiastic about material and process engineering. As they are local or regional, SAMPE chapters have the ability to customize their chapter’s programs to your meet their local needs or discuss local issues.

The minimum number of people to form a SAMPE Chapter is 20 active members. Four of these members must be willing to serve as:

Chapter Chair
Treasurer
National Director
National Director

The National Directors serve on the International SAMPE Board of Directors.

A new Chapter has the best chance of being successful if it recruits members from a variety of organizations including relevant industrial, government, and academia. When a chapter has active representatives from each of these, it will have the greatest chances of sustainment through the years.

It is best if you keep SAMPE apprised of your desire and progress in forming a new Chapter – as the SAMPE professional staff can help immensely in this process.

SAMPE chapters are successful if they meet regularly. Some chapters meet three times a year. Other chapters meet six or more times a year.

Chapter meetings may include speaker/seminars, dinner meetings, plant tours, student night, vendor night, workshops, or even the CHAPTER Board meetings.

What Are the Next Steps?
The chapter needs to:
a.) Elect Officers
b.) Adopt a Set of By-Laws
c.) Sign the Petition for Chapter Status

Sample By-Laws and the Petition for Chapter Status can be found at these links on our website.

Once this is done, send the petition to the SAMPE offices who will then forward it to the SAMPE International Board of Directors for approval.

Student Chapters
Student chapters are important to SAMPE because they support the Society’s educational mission. They serve as training camps for “the next generation” of SAMPE members.

Students and faculty members are encouraged to create student chapters according to the following requirements:
1. At least eight SAMPE student members who are full time university students need to sign a petition.
2. A faculty advisor is needed to oversee the chapter's continuity from year to year. This advisor must be a professional member of SAMPE and must also sign the petition.
3. SAMPE Student Chapters must be sponsored by a professional chapter of SAMPE which is usually located near the student chapter’s campus.

FOR QUESTIONS on forming professional chapters, contact Patricia Padelford at patricia@sampe.org or by phone at 1-626-331-0616 EXT 632.