The Executive Committee has awarded Dr. Scott MacKenzie the honorary presidency “In recognition of his exceptional and enduring service to IFHTSE, far exceeding duties as president, his interconnecting role in the global heat-treatment community, his significant technical contributions, and his generous mentorship to generations of professionals.”
This is an exceptional honor for an exceptional service. In its more than 50 years of existence, IFHTSE has appointed only three honorary presidents. He is now the fourth. He will receive the award during the opening ceremony of the 31st IFHTSE World Congress in Cologne, Germany, October 13, 2026.
Leadership and Service to IFHTSE
MacKenzie served on the IFHTSE executive committee for six years following his term as president of IFHTSE (2018-2019), and between 2012 and 2025 he organized and chaired with much personal commitment no less than five IFHTSE conferences.
He was a constant supporter of IFHTSE within the ASM Heat Treating Society, and with his service as a hub, he kept the relationship between IFHTSE and ASM alive and working. In uncountable occasions, he carried findings from the international community to the U.S. and vice versa, establishing numerous new cooperations. Likewise, he took care of the membership of Quaker Houghton in IFHTSE from the beginning and organized its sponsoring of all the plaques for IFHTSE awards.
He is just the right person for IFHTSE’s international Federation with his global mindset and his outstanding curiosity and respect for business, technology, and life in countries around the world.
Technical Contributions
MacKenzie has published more than 100 articles in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings, has contributed dozens of articles to industry magazines (including Thermal Processing and Gear Solutions) and online professional sources, and he still takes the burden of a recurring deadline for the regular column he writes in Thermal Processing to publicize and feature the news and activities of IFHTSE. He has also presented talks at 17 IFHTSE-affiliated conferences since 1996. This is especially noticeable in parallel to his demanding job in industry throughout this time.
For the international Quenching Database Project, which systematically collected data and made them available to the community, MacKenzie contributed numerous cooling curves and provided characteristic quenchant samples to eight laboratories in four continents for a round-robin-test.
His contributions to understanding quenching technology and modeling of quenching process have informed current industrial practice, development of modeling software, and inspired new research in the field of heat treating.
Mentorship
MacKenzie has been a mentor to dozens (if not hundreds) of young heat treaters. He takes time to talk to students and young professionals at conferences; he always volunteers as a judge for poster competitions and student research presentation competitions; he provides thoughtful guidance when students reach out with unique heat-treating challenges, and he encourages early and mid-career professionals to become more involved in both the heat-treating industry and heat-treating professional societies. His constant mentorship has helped to grow the community and build international collaborations and discussions in quenching and distortion control and heat treating in general.
Conference updates
7th Asian Conference on Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering
September 10-12, 2026
Chengdu, China
The 7th Asian Conference on Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering of Materials (7ACHTSE2026) will be in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, September 10-12, 2026. The conference will focus on the latest research progress, technological frontiers, and future trends in the field of material heat treatment and surface engineering and is committed to promoting deep integration and collaborative innovation in this field in the Asian region.
The Asian Conference on Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering of Materials (ACHTSE) is an important series of international conferences jointly initiated by China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries. It focuses on the latest research and developments in surface engineering and heat treatment.
Deadlines
Early bird registration: August 31, 2026.
31st IFHTSE World Congress
October 13-15, 2026
Cologne, Germany
The 31st IFHTSE World Congress is organized by AWT – Arbeitsgemeinschaft Wärmebehandlung + Werkstofftechnik e. V. and will be in Cologne, Germany, October 13-15, 2026, at the International Conference and Trade Fair.
In addition to the World Congress, the event will also feature HK 2026 and the European Conference on Heat Treatment 2026.
This will truly be a huge event. If you have never attended the AWT HK (HärtereiKongress) event, this is one of the largest (if not the largest) heat-treating trade show in the world.
This, combined with ECHT 2026 and the 31st World Congress, will be the one event to attend.
The largest European congress on topics of heat treatment and materials technology, manufacturing and process engineering in 2026 is organized in cooperation with the International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE) as well as the European heat treatment associations from France, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Benelux countries. Due to the expected number of lecture registrations, the congress event is planned as a three-day event. The language of the conference will be English.
More info www.hk-awt.de
32nd IFHTSE World Congress | ECHT 2027
Milan, Italy
April 14-16, 2027
Organized by Associazione Italiana di Metallurgia, this event combines the IFHTSE World Congress and ECHT. The event is dedicated to researchers, engineers, metallurgists, and industry leaders seeking to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and large-scale industrial application.
Conference Chair: Prof. Massimo Pellizzari.
Co-Chair: Lesley Frame (IFHTSE President).
Deadlines
- Abstract Submission Deadline: November 20, 2026.
- Notification of Acceptance: January 15, 2027.
- Early Bird Registration: February 5, 2027.
- Full paper or extended abstract: March 5, 2027.
