The Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM) is a nonprofit professional association dedicated to the advancement of microbiological sciences, especially as they apply to industrial products, biotechnology, materials, and processes. Founded in 1949, SIM promotes the exchange of scientific information through its meetings and publications, and serves as liaison among the specialized fields of microbiology. Membership in the Society is extended to all scientists in the general field of microbiology. Corporate membership is available to industrial companies interested in the aims of the Society.

To learn more about the Society and to discover ways you can increase your participation in SIM, read the History of SIM, see who chairs and sits on the SIM Board and Committees, peruse our Constitution and Bylaws, and meet our Staff.

SIM members work in diverse fields of microbiology and biotechnology; member demographics by area of specialization follow:

• General, Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (24.2% of total membership)
• Fermentation & Cell Culture (21.9%)
• Antibiotics/Sec. Metabol./Natural Products & Pharmaceuticals (10.6%)
• Molecular Biology/Genetic Eng./Genetics & Strain Development (7.6%)
• Environmental Microbiology & Waste Treatment (4.7%)
• Process Development & Biochemical Engineering (3.6%)
• Microbial Physiology, Biochemistry & Metabolism (3.2%)
• Biocides, Disinfect. & Ster./Clinical & Medical Microbiology (3.1%)
• Biodegradation & Bioremediation (2.5%); Microbial Ecology (2.2%)
• QA/QC & Analytical (2.1%)
• Biocatalysis & Biotransformation/Spec. Chem & Polymers (2%)
• Food Microbiology & Safety (1.7%)
• Cosmetics Microbiology (1.3%)
• Fungi & Mycology (1.3%)
• Microbiology Education (0.7%)
• Petroleum & Hydrocarbon Microbiology (0.6%)
• Microbial Taxonomy (0.6%)
• Marine, Aquatic Biology & Algae (0.5%)
• Legal, Regulatory & Compliance (0.2%)
• Other (5.4%)

In terms of job function, many of our members are involved in industrial discovery research (24.2%), academic research (21%) or process and/or product development (13.9%). Others work in management (9.2%), manufacturing (4.6%), QA/QC testing (3.2%), and government research (0.7%). Finally, some of our members are consultants (2.9%), executives (3.2%), supervisors (1.5%), specialists including mycologists (0.1%), or work in various, unspecified positions (15.1%).

We welcome individuals both within and outside the United States (US) to join SIM. Currently, 83.3% of our members are within and 16.7% outside the US. SIM is composed of regular US and non-US full members (88.8%), Emeritus members (8.9%), and student members (2.3%). Visit our Membership page to join SIM's diverse network today.