60 Years of Turbo Expo

This article presents success and failure stories of turbo expo. For the first three score years, the International Gas Turbine Institute’s (IGTI) Turbo Expo has been the pre-eminent gas turbine conference. The IGTI Turbo Expo in June 2015 will be the 60th gathering—surely a record in longevity and vitality for a single technology conference. The inaugural all-gas turbine meeting had 25 exhibitors, 6 technical sessions with a total of 17 papers and an attendance of 750. On May 8–10, 1944, ASME’s 17th National Oil and Gas Power Conference was held in Tulsa. The technical program consisted of four sessions; three on diesel engine technology and one on the newly emerging gas turbine. As the international gas turbine community grew, the number of papers sponsored increased to the point that it was obvious a separate meeting was needed. Projects and services developed, produced, and financed by IGTI have increased since 1979, supported by a staff of five to seven. One of the global areas for booming markets – and future technology – is Asia. As a reflection of this, IGTI will be holding Turbo Expo 2016 in Seoul, South Korea.