A brief history of CALPHAD

Some 35 years ago, Larry Kaufman and Himo Ansara provided the stimulus to bring together a small number of scientists who were working on the calculation of alloy phase diagrams using as basis the required consistency of experimental thermodynamic and phase boundary data. This group represented the origins of CALPHAD and of subsequent developments concerned with computer coupling of phase diagrams and thermochemistry. From those origins, the “CALPHAD Method” has become a successful and widely applied tool in all areas of materials development.The present paper presents a brief account of the development of CALPHAD, with particular emphasis on the earliest years of its formation and growth.