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, 2021, for chair 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. 

Chair 2021

John R. Logar is a senior director of aseptic processing and terminal sterilization in the Microbiological Quality & Sterility Assurance organization at Johnson & Johnson in Raritan, New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson is a global healthcare products manufacturer and provider of related services.

Logar, an ASTM member since 2001, currently serves on the executive subcommittees of the committees on radiation processing (E61) and the manufacture of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products (E55). He received the Peter D. Hedgecock Award in 2010 for his contributions to the committee on nuclear technology and applications (E10). Logar, who served on the ASTM Committee on Technical Committee Operations from 2012 to 2014, is also a member of the committees on quality and statistics (E11), primary barrier packaging (F02), and medical and surgical materials and devices (F04).

Logar began his career as a quality assurance manager at SteriGenics in 1996; he then was a senior technical manager and a director of radiation dosimetry for SteriGenics International. In 2008, he became manager and then associate director of research and development for sterilization, science, and technology at Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company. He assumed his current role in 2013.

Logar holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Rowan University.

Vice Chair 2021-2022

William A. Ells is vice president of sales at Vibram USA in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, a manufacturer of footwear and soles for outdoor, recreational, work, and fashion boots and shoes. 

Ells joined ASTM International and its committee on pedestrian/walkway safety and footwear (F13) in 1998. Currently a member at large on the executive subcommittee, he has also served as F13 vice chair and as a subcommittee officer. In 2013, the committee honored Ells with the Award of Merit for his service and commitment to safety standards for footwear. He has also received a Service Award for his term on the Committee on Standards.

Involved in the design, development, and production of footwear and sole materials for military, industrial, and outdoor use, Ells has been with Vibram since 2010. He previously worked in sales at American Biltrite Inc. and Quabaug Corp. 

A member of the ASTM board since 2018, Ells has been serving as chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. In addition to ASTM International, Ells is a member of the board of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. He is also a member of the Canadian Standards Association and serves as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense footwear technical committee.    

Director 2021-2023

Linda Freeman is industry manager, entertainment/amusement, at Rockwell Automation, a global provider of industrial automation and information technology products and services.

A member at large on the executive subcommittee of the committee on amusement rides and devices (F24), Freeman works on several subcommittees and helps lead the F24 student initiative to bring on the next generation of F24 members. She has been an ASTM International member since 2010. Outside ASTM International, Freeman is a life member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), where she is a frequent speaker at conferences, serves on SWE committees, and is an award recipient. She also participates on the board of AIMS International and as a member of the security committee at IAAPA, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry.

Freeman has 24+ years of experience at Rockwell Automation, which she joined in 1996 as a sales engineer. Over her career she has worked in multiple manufacturing industries and in other industries such as on-board marine applications and NASA space launch programs. In 2018, she was selected as an Influential Women in Manufacturing awardee by Putman Media. Working with amusement industry clients since 2000, Freeman moved to an industry role in 2016 to support entertainment market segments. She is involved in the lifecycle of attractions from design and startup to maintenance and retrofits, focusing on safety automation solutions.  

Freeman has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is certified by TÜV Rheinland as a Functional Safety Engineer and a Cybersecurity Specialist.

Director 2021-2023

Timothy J. Morris is vice president of ML Products LLC, Noble, Oklahoma. A medical manufacturer, ML Products LLC is an affiliate of Medline Industries Inc., which makes and distributes medical supplies.

Chair of the committee on rubber and rubber-like materials (D11), Morris also has served as chair of its consumer rubber products subcommittee (D11.40). An ASTM International member since 1994, Morris is also a member of the committee on personal protective clothing and equipment (F23). He recently has completed a term on the Committee on Standards, for which he received a Service Award. Morris has also been honored with a 2019 Committee D11 Distinguished Service Award.

Professionally, Morris has been with ML Products LLC, and its predecessor company Morris Latex Products, since becoming general manager in 1986. In 1991, he became executive vice president of the company, and president in 2004. As president of ML Products, he oversees operations at the Noble, Oklahoma, facility.

Morris holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and an associate’s degree in business technology from Rose State College. Outside ASTM International, he is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its rubber committee, and the University of Central Oklahoma Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. 

Director 2021-2023

Elise Owen is the standards executive at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the government agency that works to protect human health and the environment. In this position, she facilitates the implementation of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, which directs U.S. federal agencies to use voluntary consensus standards, participate in their development, and coordinate certification, testing, and related activities.

Owen has held her current position since 2015. She previously had been associate vice president of global strategy and analysis of AdvaMed from 2013 to 2015 and director of international development for the American National Standards Institute from 2006 to 2013. She also worked as an international trade specialist for the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2004 to 2006, specializing in standards and technical barriers to trade.

Owen was awarded a Project Management Professional certification in 2012. She is also certified by the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center as a Chinese and Japanese linguist. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Regent’s College (now Excelsior College), part of the State University of New York, and an MBA degree from the University of Hawaii. 

Director 2021-2023

Christopher R. Reid, Ph.D., is an associate technical fellow in human factors and ergonomics in Boeing’s Environment, Health, and Safety organization at North Charleston, South Carolina. This organization in the aerospace corporation focuses on corporate strategy in health, safety, and environmental areas, including standards.

A member of the ASTM Exo Technology Center of Excellence (ET CoE) Research and Development board, Reid has been an ASTM International member since 2017. He is chair of the subcommittee on human factors and ergonomics (F48.02) in the committee on exoskeletons and exosuits (F48) and a member of several other F48 subcommittees. Reid is also a member of the committee on additive manufacturing technologies (F42).

In his current position, Reid uses human factors and ergonomics disciplines to improve aerospace product manufacturing and service processing. He is also project manager for Boeing’s exoskeleton technology assessment and integration and had been a lead human factors and ergonomics engineer in the same group from 2017 to 2018. During that time, in 2018, Reid was a Visiting Scholar in integrated systems engineering at The Ohio State University to work on behalf of Boeing and ASTM ET CoE partners on exoskeleton technology feasibility. His earlier positions include human factors roles with Lockheed Martin at NASA Johnson Space Center and the U.S. Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center.

A member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society as well as other professional and honorary societies, Reid has received several awards, including Black Engineer of the Year for 2020 in Outstanding Technical Contributions in Industry and the Rising Star Award from the National Safety Council in 2018. He is co-chair of the annual ErgoX Technology Symposium, and the coauthor of numerous technical papers and presentations, as well as a conference and journal reviewer/editor. Reid earned his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in industrial engineering, and his B.S. in electrical engineering technology from the University of Central Florida.

Director 2021-2023

Julia Schimmelpenningh is the global architectural applications manager at Eastman Chemical Company, in Springfield, Massachusetts, a global specialty material and chemical company. 

An ASTM member since 1992, Schimmelpenningh currently serves as chair of the committee on performance of buildings (E06). She has also been chair of the committee on security systems and equipment (F12). Schimmelpenningh received the Award of Merit in 2016 from F12 for her leadership, service, and technical expertise, and the F12 Outgoing Chair Award in 2018.  She also received the Award of Appreciation in 2011 for her service to E06 and a Service Award in 2019 for her term on the Committee on Standards.

Before joining Eastman Chemical Company in 1988, she previously served as technical applications manager at Solutia Inc., and as a marketing and technical service research engineer with Monsanto Chemical Co. In addition, she served as president of the Glass Association of North America in 2005.

Schimmelpenningh holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Emmanuel College.

Director 2021-2023

Brian P. Shiels is senior consultant at ArcWear, Louisville, Kentucky, which offers arc, flame, and thermal testing and certification. In his position, he has client and project management responsibilities, oversees the firm’s quality system, and works on the firm’s flash-fire testing capabilities.

Shiels, who joined ASTM International in 2008, currently serves as chair of the Committee on Standards. He is also vice chair of the committee on personal protective clothing and equipment (F23) and chair of its flame and thermal subcommittee (F23.80). In addition, Shiels is vice chair, product manufacturing - practices, of the committee on textiles (D13) and a member of the committees on homeland security applications (E54) and electrical protective equipment for workers (F18). For his ASTM contributions, he has received Awards of Appreciation, Service Awards, and an Award of Excellence.

Before assuming his current role at ArcWear in 2019, Shiels was director of quality assurance (2018-2019) and senior development engineer and group leader (2008-2018) at PBI Performance Products. He holds a number of U.S. patents and has edited two volumes of ASTM International’s Selected Technical Papers.  

Shiels holds an M.S. degree in textile chemistry from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of South Carolina. In addition to ASTM International, he is a member of the National Fire Protection Association and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.