The field-activated sintering technique (FAST) was applied to simultaneously sinter and react sol-gel amorphous powders to form AI,TIO,. Densities close to theoretical and conversion to AI(2)TiO(5) (to 92.5%) have been achieved using FAST at 1050 degrees -1200 degreesC for 10 min. Conventional sintering of the same powders at 1300 degreesC for 2 h resulted in 88.9% Al2TiO5 and similar to 75% of theoretical density. The enhanced sintering and compound formation using FAST have been explained by the synergistic effects of precursor reactivity, nanosized powders, and electric-field effects.