The 6th International Conference on Properties and Applications of Dielectric Materials (ICPADM'2000); and the history of the ICPADM

In the interest of having written notes on some of the history of the DEIS activities, Prof. Kao, Founder of the International Conference on Properties and Application of Dielectric Materials, was asked to set down in writing some of his memories of how the ICPADIM came about. From the beginnings of the DEIS, the Society had sponsored conferences on electrical insulation in North America. Under the leadership of Eric Forster, who was the Meetings Chair for a number of years, the Society broadened its scope and began to sponsor meetings outside of North America. It is of historical interest to understand how the ICPADM came about. It was the first Pan-Asian conference sponsored by the DEIS and continues to hold the distinction of being our only Pan-Asian conference. Prof. Kao, one of the keynote speakers' at the ICPADM 2000, compares the most recent conference with the first in a "Reporter's Notebook" format. He has also drawn from his memory as to how the original conference came about.