International Society of Automation

The International Society of Automation (ISA), formerly known as The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society, is a non-profit technical society for engineers, technicians, businesspeople, educators and students, who work, study or are interested in industrial automation and pursuits related to it, such as instrumentation. It was originally known as the Instrument Society of America. The society is more commonly known by its acronym, ISA, and the society's scope now includes many technical and engineering disciplines. ISA is one of the foremost professional organizations in the world for setting standards and educating industry professionals in automation. Instrumentation and automation are some of the key technologies involved in nearly all industrialized manufacturing. Modern industrial manufacturing is a complex interaction of numerous systems. Instrumentation provides regulation for these complex systems using many different measurement and control devices. Automation provides the programmable devices that permit greater flexibility in the operation of these complex manufacturing systems.

ISA provides leadership and education in the professions that it serves, assisting engineers, technicians, and research scientists, as well as many others, in keeping pace with the rapidly changing industry. ISA is the host of the largest trade show for instrumentation, systems, and automation professionals in North America, ISA Automation Week (formerly known as ISA EXPO). ISA members are able to gain input from professionals around the world and may get the answer for almost any technical question quickly and without the need to search through multiple sources. ISA professionals work in numerous fields and may provide expertise in diverse areas ranging from environmental quality to automobile manufacturing, to nearly any technological field in use today.

The ISA is a non-profit member-driven organization, which is built on a backbone of volunteers. Volunteers, working together with the ISA's full-time staff of 75, are key to the ongoing mission and success of the organization. The ISA has a strong leadership development program that develops volunteer leaders as they get involved with the organization's many different facets. The ISA has several different ways that volunteers get involved from the section, division, and standards roots of the organization.

ISA members are typically assigned an ISA Section (local chapter) which is related to their geographic location. Members can then join two or more ISA Divisions which correspond to their individual technical interests. ISA Standards Committees are open to both ISA members and non-members to become involved with.

In addition to the member-driven aspects of the ISA, major ISA interests and products are divided into departments headed by a department vice president. These departments are:

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