EXHIBIT 99a
                                                                  
                                                                  PRESS RELEASE 

    MILTON R. SMITH JOINS INTEGRATED MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AS MEMBER OF IMS BOARD
    OF DIRECTORS

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 1997--

    SMITH BRINGS WIDE BREADTH OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE TO NEW ROLE
    AS IMS DIRECTOR.
                                           
Integrated Measurement Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: IMSC) today announced the addition
of Milton R. Smith as a member of the IMS board of directors.  

"We are excited and extremely pleased to have Milt join the IMS board of
directors.  His depth of industry experience with successful high technology
companies and his entrepreneurial style of management will no doubt greatly
contribute to IMS' success," commented Keith L. Barnes, president and CEO for
IMS.  

SMITH BROADENS HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE ON IMS BOARD

Smith's diverse background and executive management abilities working with both
hardware and software products in the high technology industry will greatly add
to the quality and expertise of the current IMS board of directors.  

Milton R. Smith is the former president and CEO of ThrustMaster, Inc., was one
of its founders, and has been a director of the ThrustMaster since its
inception.  Smith has also served as chairman, president and/or CEO of five
other high-technology companies.  He has been an officer and/or director of four
companies which have gone public.  He recently completed his term as chairman of
the Oregon Council of the American Electronics Association and was a member of
the national board of directors of AEA.  In addition to membership on the board
of ThrustMaster, Inc., Smith currently serves on the boards of RapidFire
Software, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, and TFR Technologies, Inc., Bend, Oregon.  He
also was a member of the board of six other high-technology companies.  

EDUCATION BACKGROUND 
        
Milton Smith received a B.S. degree in physics from Portland State University, a
M.S.E.E. degree at Oregon State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Lewis
and Clark College.  He has also completed the AEA/Stanford University Executive
Institute program.  

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About Integrated Measurement Systems 

IMS is a recognized world leader in Engineering Test Stations and Virtual Test
Software, providing cost-effective solutions to reduce the time required to test
and verify complex electronic circuits.  IMS markets and supports its products
globally through U.S. sales offices, independent international distributors and
dedicated sales personnel employed by affiliated companies.  Technical and
applications engineers are strategically located in worldwide locations to
respond quickly to regional, national and international customer needs.  IMS is
an award winning company in customer support. For the past three years, IMS has
been rated No. 1 in VLSI's 10 BEST Customer Satisfaction Survey of Test and
Material Handling Equipment Companies.  IMS is listed on the NASDAQ National
Market under the symbol IMSC.  For more information, contact IMS at 9525 SW
Gemini Drive, Beaverton, Oregon 97008.  Telephone: 503/626-7117 or 800/879-7117
or! visit our Web site at http://www.ims.com