Agenda Overview for the CMS 2026 Conference
SESSION DETAILS
Date: MON - THU
Time: Lunch Break
Price: Free for Attendees
Lunch will NOT be provided.
Lunch N' Learn Sessions
The Composites, Materials, & Structures (CMS) Conference is pleased to offer Lunch ‘N Learn sessions again this year to promote workforce development and knowledge building regarding materials for extreme environments.
- The daily sessions (Monday thru Thursday) will be presented by subject matter experts across a variety of important topics including material fundamentals, testing and evaluation, and key historical programs and lessons learned.
- These learning sessions are targeted to help young engineers/scientists or those who are unfamiliar with a topic as these will be “general overview” sessions (“100 level topics”).
- The Lunch ‘N Learn Sessions will be free and open to all conference attendees. These sessions will be included in the registration price and no additional sign-up will be required.
- Lunch will NOT be provided, so attendees should bring their own lunch.
Agenda
| Date | Session | Topic | Title | Presenter | Org |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Jan | A | Holoman High Speed Test Track | An Overview of High Speed Rocket Sled Testing | Michelle Ziesset | AF |
| 27 Jan | B | Intro to Personnel Armor Materials | Armor Materials | Kris Behler | ARL |
| 28 Jan | C | Intro to Textiles and Composite Applications | Intro to Textiles and Composite Applications | Steve Clark | FMI |
| 29 Jan | D | Weather Effects | Weather Encounter Design Process | Gerald Russell | RTCS |
VIEW THE FULL DYNAMIC AGENDA HERE
2026 CONFERENCE AGENDA
To view the FULL dynamic agenda, click the link above.
SUNDAY | January 25
| 8:00 AM | Registration on 1st Floor until 9:00 PM |
| 9:00 AM | Workforce Development Training Course until 4:15 PM |
| CMS Hypersonic Short Course Prof. Rodney Trice, Purdue University, School of Materials Engineering This in-person course will take place on January 25, 2026, in New Orleans, LA. in conjunction with the 2026 Composites, Materials & Systems Conference. Building upon the foundation established in 2024 and 2025, this course has been expanded and enhanced. Part I will provide comprehensive, in-depth coverage of Modules 1–4 with expanded content, new case studies, and advanced material not previously covered:
You must be registered to participate in the training. VIEW COURSE OUTLINE |
MONDAY | January 26
| 7:00 AM | Registration until 6:00 PM |
| 7:30 AM | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 AM | PLENARY SESSION |
| 10:20 AM | Refreshment Break |
| 10:40 AM | PLENARY SESSION continued |
| 12:00 PM | Open Lunch - unless going to Lunch N' Learn / Session A |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch N' Learn / Session A Lunch will NOT be provided, you will need to use the half hour of open lunch to retrieve and bring to LNL. |
| 1:30 PM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 1 Click to view on dynamic agenda Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Methods 1Ceramic Matrix Composites 1 Materials Maturation for High Mach Systems MMHMS: Carbon Carbon Works 1 Structural Ceramics |
| 3:00 PM | Refreshment Break |
| 3:20 PM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 2 Click to view on dynamic agenda Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Methods 1Ceramic Matrix Composites 1 Materials Maturation for High Mach Systems MMHMS: Carbon Carbon Works 1 Structural Ceramics |
| 5:00 PM | POSTER SESSION until 7:00 PM |
TUESDAY, JANUARY 27
| 7:30 AM | Registration until 6:00 PM |
| 7:30 AM | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 3 Click to view on dynamic agenda Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Methods 2Ceramic Matrix Composites 2 Materials Maturation for High Mach Systems MMHMS: Carbon Carbon Works 2 Electromagnetic Materials 1 |
| 10:00 AM | Refreshment Break |
| 10:20 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 4 Click to view on dynamic agenda Advanced Manufacturing Technologies and Methods 2Ceramic Matrix Composites 2 Materials Maturation for High Mach Systems MMHMS: Materials for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Electromagnetic Materials 1 |
| 12:00 PM | Open Lunch & Graduate/Undergrad Student Lunch |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch N' Learn / Session B Lunch will NOT be provided, you will need to use the half hour of open lunch to retrieve and bring to LNL. |
| 1:40 PM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 5 Click to view on dynamic agenda Carbon-Carbon Composites 1Ceramic Matrix Composites 3 Propulsion, Refractory, and Coating Materials Electromagnetic Materials 2 |
| 3:00 PM | Refreshment Break |
| 3:20 PM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 6 Click to view on dynamic agenda Carbon-Carbon Composites 1Ceramic Matrix Composites 3 Propulsion, Refractory, and Coating Materials High Velocity Impact Effects - HVIE |
| 5:00 PM | NETWORKING RECEPTION | POSTER SESSION |
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28
| 7:30 AM | Registration until 5:00 PM |
| 7:30 AM | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 7 Click to view on dynamic agenda Additive Manufacturing 1Carbon-Carbon Composites 2 Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 1 Unlocking CMC's Potential: Testing and Modeling Frontiers 1 |
| 10:00 AM | Refreshment Break |
| 10:20 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 8 Click to view on dynamic agenda Additive Manufacturing 1Carbon-Carbon Composites 2 Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 1 Unlocking CMC's Potential: Testing and Modeling Frontiers 1 |
| 12:00 PM | Open Lunch & USACA Member Lunch |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch N' Learn / Session C Lunch will NOT be provided, you will need to use the half hour of open lunch to retrieve and bring to LNL. |
| 1:30 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 9 Click to view on dynamic agenda Additive Manufacturing 2Carbon-Carbon Composites 3 Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 2 Unlocking CMC's Potential: Testing and Modeling Frontiers 2 |
| 3:00 PM | Refreshment Break / Exhibit Hall closes |
| 3:20 PM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 10 Click to view on dynamic agenda Additive Manufacturing 2Carbon-Carbon Composites 3 Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 2 |
| 5:00 PM | Session Chair Meeting |
THURSDAY, JANUARY 29
| 7:30 AM | Registration until 1:00 PM |
| 7:30 AM | Continental Breakfast |
| 8:30 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 11 Click to view on dynamic agenda Ablative and Reusable TPS Development, Testing, and Modeling 1Additive Manufacturing 3 Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 3 |
| 10:00 AM | Refreshment Break |
| 10:20 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 12 Click to view on dynamic agenda Ablative and Reusable TPS Development, Testing, and Modeling 1Additive Manufacturing 3 Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 3 |
| 12:00 PM | Open Lunch |
| 12:30 PM | Lunch N' Learn / Session D Lunch will NOT be provided, you will need to use the half hour of open lunch to retrieve and bring to LNL. |
| 1:30 AM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 13 Click to view on dynamic agenda Ablative and Reusable TPS Development, Testing, and Modeling 2High Temperature Coatings Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 4 |
| 3:00 PM | Refreshment Break |
| 3:20 PM | CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSION 14 Click to view on dynamic agenda Ablative and Reusable TPS Development, Testing, and Modeling 2High Temperature Coatings Hypersonic Structural Material & Component Evaluations 4 |
| 5:00 PM | Happy Hour |
| 6:00 PM | CONFERENCE CONCLUDES |
About the CMS 2026 Conference
The annual Conference on Composites, Materials & Structures (also known as the Cocoa Beach Conference) is the preeminent export controlled and ITAR restricted forum in the United States to review and discuss advances in materials for extreme environments. The Conference started in the 1970s as a small, informal gathering for government and industry to share information on programs and state-of-the-art technology. Attendance has grown to nearly 500 people while preserving this same objective to share needs and trends in high-temperature and extreme environment materials, and the latest information on advanced materials and manufacturing processes.
The four-day conference program includes three to four parallel sessions per day on topics including thermal protection materials, ceramic matrix composites, carbon-carbon materials, ballistic technologies, hypersonics, and gas turbine engines. Attendees are engineers, scientists, managers, and operational personnel from the turbine engine, aviation, missiles and space, and protective equipment communities, including Navy, Air Force, Army, MDA, NASA, DARPA, FAA, DOE, engine manufacturers, missile and aircraft manufacturers, commercial space companies, and material and component suppliers.
