AIME

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Founded to Advance Engineering Knowledge

Nearly 150 years ago, in 1871, 22 mining engineers in Pennsylvania had an idea: preserve their collective knowledge and experiences for the benefit of future engineers through a Society of similar professionals. The American Institute of Mining Engineers was born.

AIME grew with man’s quest to explore and increase productivity and created a Petroleum Division in 1922, an Iron and Steel Division in 1928, and an Institute of Metals Division in 1933. And, so, in 1957, the organization changed its name to the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, and, the current Member Societies, SME (the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration), TMS (The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society), and SPE (the Society of Petroleum Engineers), were formed from the branches of AIME.

In 1974, a fourth Member Society, the Iron and Steel Society (ISS), was added. A further evolution occurred in 1984 when the four AIME Member Societies became separately incorporated 501(c)3 organizations, like AIME. In 2004, ISS merged with AISE (Association of Iron and Steel Engineers) to form AIST the Association for Iron & Steel Technology, which remained under the AIME umbrella.

A Proud Tradition of Excellence

AIME’s proud history includes the efforts of the foremost leaders in mineral and energy engineering: Henry Krumb, Seeley Mudd, James Douglas, Daniel Jackling, Anthony Lucas, Everette DeGolyer, Henry Doherty, and many others. Herbert Hoover, thirty-first president of the United States, was President of AIME in 1920.

A Unifying Voice for Its Member Societies

Today, the AIME organizations include over 200,000 of the most influential and innovative figures in engineering and science. AIME’s mission is to support its Member Societies.

AIME activities are supported primarily by the return on investment of nearly forty endowment funds. These funds provide support for forward-reaching programs including interdisciplinary projects and forums, excellence awards, scholarships, and grants.

A Community of Engineers

AIME was one of the first national engineering societies established in the United States, along with ASCE (civil), ASME (mechanical), IEEE (electrical), and AIChE (chemical). Together, these Engineering Founder Societies formed the United Engineering Trustees (UET) that operated the United Engineering Center (UEC) and Foundation. With the sale of the UEC in 1998, the UET was reconstituted as the United Engineering Foundation (UEF). AIME has representatives from its Societies as voting members of the UEF Board and facilitates information exchange between its Members and the other leading engineering organizations in the world.

AIME is also a Member Society of the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES), the United States’ representative to the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and (UPADI).

Finally, AIME is a Member Society of the Council for Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE).

Commitment to the Future

Through its Member Societies, Board of Trustees and Staff, AIME is committed to sharing best practices and participating in collaborative opportunities to enhance the profession and society.

AIME provides its societies a conduit to a well-networked engineering audience of policy and decision makers and its collective membership a source of interaction, information, and recognition to benefit their careers.

View a short overview from 2010 AIME President DeAnn Craig about the organization's history created for the 140th anniversary.

Further Reading

Visit the AIME History page at http://www.aimehq.org/about-us/history to gain access to much more detailed information on the history of the Institute.

Visit the AIME Oral Histories page at http://www.aimehq.org/programs/archives to access first hand accounts of the evolution of the mining industry over the past forty years.