The advent of steam turbines and the sudden rise of steam temperature at the beginning of the 20th century gave a great impetus to the start of scientific research on metal creep and high-temperature strength. Then aeronautical and aerospace exploitation in the 1940's and 1950's enlarged the scope of creep research. In this context, the first IUTAM Symposium on "Creep in Structures" was held at Stanford University in July 1960, and about 60 participants from seven countries around the world discussed their recent results on this problem. Subsequent innovation in science and technology, as in...