The Adhesion Society

What The Adhesion Society does

The Adhesion Society is a non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1978 and headquartered at 510 King Street, Suite 418, Alexandria, Virginia. Its stated mission is to promote the advancement of the science and technology of adhesion, disseminate that knowledge, support education and training in the field, and provide recognition of accomplishments in the international adhesion science and technology community. Membership is open internationally to chemists, engineers, materials scientists, physicists, mathematicians, biologists, dentists, and others from academia, industry, and government. The Society does not sell commercial products or software; instead, its core offerings are a portfolio of branded awards and fellowships (including the Award of Excellence, Robert L. Patrick Fellowship, Peebles Awards, Distinguished Paper Award, Best Poster Award, Early Career Award, and the Daniel R. King Memorial Scholarship), an annual scientific meeting (with the 2027 Annual Meeting scheduled for the San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk on 02/07/2027), and member services administered through the Wild Apricot membership platform. Its revenue model is subscription-recurring membership dues, with no publicly disclosed pricing; financial details are not disclosed. The Society is governed by an Executive Committee and operates under formal constitution and bylaws, with an associated Endowment Fund.

The organization's competitive positioning rests on its 47-year institutional history, its international cross-disciplinary membership base, and the credibility of its named awards and conferences within the adhesion science community. It maintains core strategic partnerships with the Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC), with whom it co-sponsors the ASC Early Career Award and shares administrative contact channels ([email protected]), and with 3M Corporation through the 3M Excellence in Adhesion Science Award. Leadership is drawn from industry scientific fellows (e.g., President Nick Shephard, Senior Fellow at Dow Consumer Solutions). Marketing and distribution are conducted through the official website (adhesionsociety.org) and social channels (Twitter/X and LinkedIn), with direct membership enrollment via the website. The Society reports no funding rounds, no M&A activity, no proprietary technology products, no patents, and no AI/ML capabilities.

Name

The Adhesion Society

Legal name

The Adhesion Society

Website

https://adhesionsociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Adhesion Society is a non-profit international professional membership organization founded in 1978 that promotes the advancement of adhesion science and technology through annual meetings, awards, scholarships, and education for scientists and engineers in academia, industry, and government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scientific Society

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Business Associations (81391)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Adhesives (Structural & Assembly) (IMAEAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Medical, Scientific & Healthcare Congress Organizers (THAHACAD)

Keywords

• Adhesion science research
• Professional scientific society
• Scientific conference events
• Research awards scholarships
• Materials science community

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The Adhesion Society operates as a membership-based organization serving professionals in adhesion science and technology from academia, industry, and government sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Adhesion Society is a professional membership organization that promotes the advancement of adhesion science and technology. It delivers value through individual and organizational membership enrollment, an Annual Meeting (e.g., 2027 Annual Meeting at San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk), a Short Course, and a portfolio of awards and scholarships (including the Daniel R. King Memorial Scholarship, Peebles Awards, Award of Excellence, Robert L. Patrick Fellowship, Distinguished Paper Award, Best Poster Award, and Early Career Award). Membership is open internationally to chemists, engineers, materials scientists, physicists, mathematicians, biologists, dentists, and other professionals from academia, industry, and government.

Product overview

The Adhesion Society is a professional membership organization focused on promoting the advancement of adhesion science and technology. The society provides membership services, organizes annual conferences, and manages various scientific awards and scholarships. It does not offer commercial technology products or software.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adhesion Society Membership International professional membership open to chemists, engineers, materials scientists, physicists, mathematicians, biologists, dentists, and others with interests in adhesion science; serves members from academia, industry, and government.
• Annual Meeting (e.g., 2027 Annual Meeting) Annual scientific conference for the international adhesion science and technology community, bringing together members from academia, industry, and government.
• Adhesion Society Awards and Scholarships Program Recognition program encompassing multiple named awards and scholarships administered by the Society to honor outstanding students, researchers, and professionals in adhesion science, including student awards and the 3M Excellence in Adhesion Science Award co-sponsored with 3M Corporation.
• Short Course in Adhesion Science Educational short course offered alongside the Annual Meeting to provide specialized training in adhesion science to members and attendees.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Adhesive and Sealant Council co-sponsors the ASC Early Career Award with The Adhesion Society, recognizing outstanding early career professionals in the adhesion science field.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Chemical Society (ACS): ACS is a large incumbent scientific society with overlapping chemistry and materials science communities; its Division of Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering publishes adhesion-relevant work, making it a broader incumbent that competes for members, papers, and sponsors in adjacent sub-fields.
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE): AIChE is a large scientific society serving chemical engineers across academia and industry, with significant overlap in surface science and adhesion-related research. It is a broader incumbent with the scale to host major conferences that compete for member attention.
• ASM International: ASM International is a long-established professional society for materials engineers with overlapping manufacturing and characterization communities. It competes for the same industry-affiliated member audience and offers broader programming that overlaps with adhesion-related tracks.
• Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE): SPE serves plastics engineers and scientists whose work frequently involves adhesives and polymer adhesion. It is a broader incumbent society with adjacent technical communities, overlapping membership pools, and competing annual technical conferences.

Emerging players

• American Ceramic Society: The American Ceramic Society serves a niche materials science community (ceramics and glasses) where adhesion to inorganic substrates and surface chemistry overlap with the Adhesion Society's scope. It operates a similar society model with annual meetings and member awards.
• The Electrochemical Society (ECS): ECS is a long-standing scientific society with comparable membership, meeting, and awards programming for electrochemistry and solid-state science. Adhesion at metal interfaces and corrosion-adhesion overlaps create member and sponsor overlap with the Adhesion Society.
• Society for Biomaterials: The Society for Biomaterials serves the biomaterials community, including researchers working on biomedical adhesives and tissue-bonding materials. It is a specialty society comparable in scale, governance, and programming model and intersects on adhesive biomaterials research.

Direct peers

• Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC): The Adhesive and Sealant Council is the Society's closest partner and operational peer — a U.S. trade association serving the same adhesive/sealant value chain from an industry/commercial angle. They co-sponsor awards, share staff and infrastructure, and represent the commercial counterpart to the Society's scientific focus.
• Materials Research Society (MRS): MRS is a directly comparable scientific membership organization serving materials scientists across academia, industry, and government. Its meetings, symposia, and awards parallel the Adhesion Society's model but span a broader materials scope, serving as both peer and competitive overlap.

Others

• Society for Experimental Mechanics: SEM is a scientific society serving experimental mechanics researchers whose adhesion and interfacial characterization work overlaps thematically with the Adhesion Society's technical community. It is an adjacent society rather than a direct competitor but contributes to overlapping conferences and publications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adhesion_the
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-adhesion-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Adhesion Society