Standardization News

We are pleased to announce the slate of candidates for board offices, selected by the ASTM International Nominating Committee. Terms will begin Jan. 1, 2020, for chairman of the board (one-year term); vice chair (two-year term); and six directors (three-year terms). The election is official when the ballot closes on Dec. 2, the deadline for receipt of all ballots.

Members will receive an email with a link to the online ballot. If you do not have access to the internet, you may request a hard copy of the ballot from Maureen Houck at +1.610.832.9594.

Chairman
2020

Andrew G. Kireta Jr. is vice president, market development, at the Copper Development Association (CDA) Inc., in Mclean, Virginia, a not-for-profit trade association that serves as the advanced market development and engineering services arm of the copper and brass industry in the United States.

An ASTM member since 1998, Kireta works primarily on the committee on copper and copper alloys (B05) and its subcommittees. A 2016 Award of Merit recipient, he was also recognized by the B05 committee with the Copper Club Award and the Arthur Cohen Memorial Distinguished Service Award for his work. He has previously served as B05 membership secretary and is the current chairman of the awards subcommittee (B05.92). Kireta has been a member of the board since 2014, serving as chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee and vice chairman. He also currently serves as chairman of the board of SEI International, having served previously as vice chair. Kireta is also active on the committees on fire standards (E05), pesticides, antimicrobials, and alternative control agents (E35), and additive manufacturing technologies (F42).

Kireta joined CDA in 1992 as Midwest regional manager and held management positions for tube, pipe and fittings, and architectural applications before becoming vice president, building construction, in 2008. He assumed his current role in 2010. As CDA vice president, Kireta promotes the use of copper and copper alloy systems and related products in building construction, sustainable energy applications, electric vehicles and systems and other copper application areas.

Kireta holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

Vice Chair
2020-2021

Vicky J. Taylor is a senior research technologist in the research and development center of INVISTA (Canada) Co., Kingston, Ontario. INVISTA is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers
and fibers.

A past chairman of the committee on textiles (D13), Taylor currently leads the subcommittees on inflatable restraints (D13.20) and subassemblies (D13.54). She is also a member of the committee on personal protective clothing and equipment (F23), and she has been an ASTM International member since 1999. Taylor, who recently completed a term on the ASTM Committee on Standards, also serves as a voting member of multiple Canadian General Standards Board committees.

Taylor has more than 30 years of experience in textile testing and evaluation using international standards. Beginning her career in the Customer Technical Fibers Laboratory in Kingston, Ontario, she worked on certification, customer assistance, research, and method and product development for fibers, yarn, fabric, and finished goods. Since joining the Research and Development Center in Kingston, Ontario, in 1999, her career has focused on methods development, laboratory personnel training, laboratory setup, and compliance auditing and troubleshooting.

Director
2020-2022

Francine Bovard is a senior technical specialist with Arconic, Alcoa Center, Pennsylvania. Arconic engineers and manufactures lightweight metals, and the company’s aluminum, titanium, and nickel products are used for diverse applications worldwide.

An ASTM International member since 2013, Bovard is a member of the committee on light metals and alloys (B07), fatigue and fracture (E08), additive manufacturing technologies (F42), corrosion of metals (G01), and the joint ASTM/NACE committee on corrosion. Her committee leadership includes her current role as chair of the subcommittee on laboratory corrosion testing (G01.05) as well as former roles as recording secretary of the main B07 committee and chair of the subcommittee on aluminum alloy wrought products (B07.03), and as secretary of two additional B07 subcommittees. In 2016, Bovard received the Francis L. LaQue Memorial Award from G01.

Bovard has been with Arconic for 28 years. Previously, she was a technical specialist with Alcoa and a technician with Sandia National Laboratory.

Outside ASTM International, Bovard is a member of SAE International and the Aluminum Association, where she previously served as chair of the Technical Committee on Products and Standards. She holds an M.S. in material science and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, and an associate’s degree in metallurgy from the Pennsylvania State University.

Director
2020-2022

Michael J. Brisson is a technical adviser at the Savannah River National Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina. The lab, an applied science facility and a national laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, focuses on environmental management, national and homeland security, and energy security.

An ASTM International member since 2005, Brisson is chair of the committee on air quality (D22), a group of more than 500 members responsible for over 200 standards. He is chair of the subcommittees on methods of test (C26.05) and quality assurance, statistical applications, and reference materials (C26.08) in the committee on the nuclear fuel cycle (C26). In addition, he is a member of the committees on metal powders and metal powder products (B09), soil and rock (D18), water (D19), performance of buildings (E06), nuclear technology and applications (E10), quality and statistics (E11), and homeland security applications (E54). Brisson has been honored with the Award of Merit (2017), Moyer D. Thomas Award (2018), Awards of Appreciation from D22; the Harlan J. Anderson Award (2014), Awards of Appreciation and Awards of Achievement from C26; and the Richard S. Ladd Standards Development Award (2009) from D18. He also received the J.A. Thomas President’s Leadership Award in 2009.

With Savannah River National Laboratory since 1988, Brisson was previously a chemist at Beecham Products.

Outside ASTM International, Brisson is a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the Project Management Institute. He has a B.S. in chemistry from the College of Charleston and an M.S. in hazardous waste management from the National Technological University.

Director
2020-2022

Bonnie McWade-Furtado is an associate research and development scientist at Cabot Corp., Billerica, Massachusetts, a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company.

Currently vice chair of the committee on carbon black (D24), McWade-Furtado is also chair of two D24 subcommittees: non-carbon black components of carbon black (D24.31) and carbon black microscopy and morphology (D24.81). In addition, she is a member of the committees on recovered carbon black (rCB) (D36) and plastic piping systems (F17). She has been an ASTM International member since 2003.

With Cabot Corp. since 1993, McWade-Furtado joined the company as a research associate. In 2000 she assumed her current role.

McWade-Furtado holds a bachelor of science degree in biotechnology from Northeastern University.

Director
2020-2022

Carol Pollack-Nelson, Ph.D., is owner of Independent Safety Consulting LLC in Rockville, Maryland, and a human factors psychologist specializing in consumer product safety. She provides guidance to stakeholders on a wide range of product safety issues including foreseeable use and anticipated hazards. She also conducts and publishes her research findings in this area.

Pollack-Nelson, an ASTM International member since 1992, is vice chair of new projects for the executive committee (F15.90), of the committee on consumer products (F15). She is also chair of the F15 subcommittees on liquid laundry packets (F15.71) and weighted products (F15.74) and a member of numerous other subcommittees. She is also a member of the committee on textiles (D13). In 2006, Pollack-Nelson received a 2006 F15 Consumer Award.

Pollack-Nelson serves on various boards and committees related to product design and safety, including the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, where she leads the Children’s Issues Technical Group. In 2011, she received the society’s A.R. Lauer Safety Award recognizing her contributions to consumer safety, specifically through her work in voluntary standards. She is also a past president of the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, which honored her with the Ross Koeser Achievement Award in 2018. She also serves on UL’s Consumer Advisory Council.

Prior to working as a consultant, Pollack-Nelson worked as a senior engineering psychologist at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from 1988 to 1993. In 2013, she was awarded the CPSC Chairman’s Circle of Commendation for her work in product safety and voluntary standards. Pollack-Nelson has a B.A. in psychology and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from George Washington University.

Director
2020-2022

Casandra W. Robinson is a physical scientist in the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standards Coordination Office, Gaithersburg, Maryland. She is responsible for leading the development of documentary standards and coordinating with NIST technical units, other federal agencies, industry, and relevant stakeholders in the development of standards and conformity assessment systems. Overall, NIST advances measurement science, standards, and technology to enhance U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness.

An ASTM International Award of Merit honoree, Robinson became a member in 2006. She is vice chair of the committee on homeland security applications (E54) and vice chair of one E54 subcommittee. In addition, she is a member of the committees on textiles (D13), leather (D31), pedestrian/walkway safety and footwear (F13), and personal protective clothing and equipment (F23). She was also recognized with the E54 Award of Appreciation in 2013.

Prior to joining NIST in 2012, Robinson was a program manager with the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River National Laboratory. For the previous 5 years, she supported the National Institute of Justice’s Standards and Testing Program with development of performance standards and conformity assessment for public safety equipment.

Robinson has a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University and a master of science degree in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Alabama. In addition to ASTM International, she is the federal co-chair for both the American National Standards Institute’s Homeland Defense and Security Standardization Collaborative (HDSSC) and the Standards Coordination SubGroup, part of the InterAgency Board for Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Director
2020-2022

Dalia Yarom is the director of the Standardization Division at the Standards Institution of Israel (SII), Tel Aviv, Israel. SII is a non-governmental organization and the country’s official body for preparing and publishing Israeli standards. SII also focuses on product quality and provides testing, certification, and training.

In her previous role, Yarom was the head of the SII Chemistry, Health, and Environment Laboratory, which tests various consumer products according to national and international standards. She managed the laboratory from 2010 to 2017. Yarom’s experience in standardization stretches further: she has 29 years of experience in different related positions.

As part of her work, Yarom represents SII in several international organizations as well as in various committees of the Israeli Parliament. She is also chair of the International Convention on the Control and Marking of Articles of Precious Metals, a treaty that facilitates cross-border trade.

Yarom has a bachelor of technology (BTech) degree from Shenkar College of Engineering, an M.Sc. in chemistry from Hebrew University, and an MBA from Technion Israel Institute of Technology.