In the early 1970’s, the field of digital avionics was in its infancy. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) saw a need to provide a forum of technical interchange in this new field and created the Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC). The first DASC was held in Boston, Massachusetts in 1975, followed two years later by the second DASC in Los Angeles, California. In 1979, the third DASC was held in Fort Worth, Texas and the AIAA chose to share financial and technical administration of the conference with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). IEEE was eager to join in administration of this new emerging technology conference. This was accomplished through a written agreement between the AIAA and the IEEE. In 1988, when the AIAA disengaged from full ownership of the conference, they became a co-sponsor and the Digital Avionics Technical Committee (DATC) obtained DASC conference ownership.