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History

Founded in 1931 as the "Society for Agricultural Bacteriologists", the Society has changed its name twice during its 75 year history. The last change occurred in 1997 when over 96% of the membership voted in favour of a change of name from "Society for Applied Bacteriology" to "Society for Applied Microbiology".

Until 1991 the Society was run entirely by volunteers. Even when permanent staff were first employed in 1991, the Society had no permanent home. This changed in June 1997 with the adoption of a new name and a move to permanent quarters in the Blore Tower, Bedford, UK. The Blore Tower forms part of the Harpur complex, originally erected in 1833 by the trustees of a local charity, the Harpur Trust to house two schools, a children's home, a house for the Clerk and a boardroom for the trustees. The magnificent gothic facade designed by the architect, Edward Blore remains, and still graces Bedford town centre as it has done for nearly 200 years. The Society occupied the central Tower, where it had a boardroom, offices and an archival storage area. The establishment of an office was an important milestone in the Society's development. Since 1997, the Society has gone from strength to strength and the growing number of staff has since outgrown the Blore Tower.

In August 2006 the Society moved to alternative purpose-built office accommodation on the outskirts of Bedford. Bedford Heights was the site for Texas Instruments UK headquarters since 1957 and in 1999 the building was developed into purpose-built office accomodation by Saturn Facilities. SfAM has open-plan office accommodation here including a  meeting room, storage and state-of-the-art IT facilities.

The launch of a new website in March 1999 made it possible to apply for membership, book meetings and much more with the click of a mouse! But late in 2002 it became clear that the mere provision of static content no longer met the needs of the Society or the membership and so an interactive, database-driven website was officially launched in June 2003. With the fast pace of technological development came the need to redesign the website and a new, flexible, CMS-driven website was launched in October 2011. This offers online grant application, a forum for the new Special Interest Groups even more benefits to members and visitors alike and we are confident it will continue to serve the needs of the Society in the coming years.

Another development has been the launch of the in-house magazine (formerly called the "News") in December 2002 with the more appropriate title Microbiologist. The look of the magazine changed in early 2007 and the content continues to include topical and relevant scientific articles and features as well as regular information on Society meetings and affairs. 

Built on these solid foundations, the Society for Applied Microbiology is fully equipped to fulfil its role as the voice of applied microbiology with enthusiasm and confidence.

*Image: photograph taken at the then Society of Bacteriology meeting in Belfast, 1948