Standardization News

Nominations for the ASTM Board of Directors

In accordance with the ASTM International bylaws, we are pleased to announce the slate of candidates selected by the society's Nominating Committee for election to ASTM offices for terms commencing Jan. 1, 2016: chairman of the board - one-year term; vice chairman - two-year term; and six directors - three-year terms. The election is official when the ballot closes on Dec. 1.

This election is administered via the ASTM website. Emails will be sent to ASTM members containing links for accessing 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. Whether using the website or hard copy, remember that the deadline for receipt of all ballots is Dec. 1.

Chairman of the Board 2016

Ralph M. Paroli

Ralph M. Paroli, Ph.D., is director, research and development, in the Measurement Science and Standards Portfolio at the National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

In this position, which he assumed in 2013, Paroli is responsible for providing leadership and managing research activities. From 1998 to 2012, he served as director of Building Envelope and Structure, Institute for Research in Construction, where he had responsibility for the NRC research program addressing concrete materials durability and repair, wall and window systems performance, and thermal and moisture performance of materials and roofing systems. He was also the acting director for urban infrastructure from 2007 to 2009.

Possessing more than 30 years of experience in spectroscopy and thermal analysis and over 20 years experience related to roofing, Paroli has been involved with national and international committees in developing new techniques to characterize roofing materials and systems. As a researcher at NRC, Paroli has been honored with several awards, and he has led government research projects on roof system performance.

Paroli is a past chairman of Committee D08 on Roofing and Waterproofing (2008-2013) and a member of Committees D11 on Rubber and E60 on Sustainability. He joined ASTM in 1994 and was a member of the Committee on Standards from 2006 to 2008, for which he received a 2008 Service Award. He has also received the D08 Award of Appreciation in 2013 and a Leadership Award for his work as chairman in 2014. Paroli has served on the ASTM board of directors since 2011.

Immediate past chairman of the CIB/RILEM Joint Committee on Roofing Membrane Systems, Paroli is also past president of both the Canadian Thermal Analysis Society and the Canadian Society for Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy. He serves on the board of directors for the RCI Foundation USA and RCI Foundation Canada. Paroli has been a member of the NSF International Council of Public Health Consultants since 2008 and is chairman of the NSF 347 Joint Committee for Sustainable Roofing as well as the Joint Committee for Vaccine Storage. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, the Association of the Chemical Profession of Ontario, the Chemical Institute of Canada (Canadian Society for Chemistry) and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.

Paroli holds a B.Sc. in analytical chemistry from the University of Concordia in Montreal and a Ph.D. in physical and inorganic chemistry from McGill University, Montreal.

2016-2017 Vice Chairman of the Board

Dale F. Bohn

Dale F. Bohn is product quality manager for Flint Hills Resources LP, a leading independent refining, chemicals and biofuels company. In this position he has responsibility for product quality and customer support, including development, formulations, testing and process support for petroleum and other products, as well as training, regulatory compliance and quality assurance oversight.

Bohn has been involved with the work of Committee D04 on Road and Paving Materials since he joined ASTM in 1996. He serves on multiple D04 technical subcommittees and has been chairman of Subcommittee D04.41 on Emulsified Asphalt Specifications, and most recently, Subcommittee D04.42 on Emulsified Asphalt Tests. For his contributions, D04 honored him with a Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and an Award of Appreciation in 2009. Bohn is also a member of Committees D02 on Petroleum Products, Liquid Fuels and Lubricants and D03 on Gaseous Fuels. He works on several D02 subcommittees, including D02.E0 on Burner, Diesel, Non-Aviation Gas Turbine and Marine Fuels, D02.H0 on Liquefied Petroleum Gas and the D02 executive subcommittee (D02.90). He served on the ASTM Committee on Technical Committee Operations from 2006 to 2011, including a term as Regulations Subcommittee chairman in 2008, and as COTCO chairman from 2009 to 2011. He received two Service Awards for his work on COTCO, in 2008 and 2011. Bohn has served on the ASTM board of directors since 2012. He received a Service Award in 2014 for his service on the board of directors and is currently serving as chairman of the ASTM board's Finance and Audit Committee.

After graduating in 1989 from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, with a B.S. in chemistry, Bohn became an asphalt chemist and subsequently technical leader for Koch Materials Company, focusing on asphaltic products, including product development, formulation and testing. In 2005, he became technical leader at Flint Hills Resources, prior to moving into the Northern Region quality manager role in 2008, and being promoted to Flint Hills Resources product quality manager in 2011.

Director 2016-2018

Ferdinando E. Aspesi

Ferdinando E. Aspesi is vice president and senior adviser, Novartis Group Quality, based at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., East Hanover, New Jersey. Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. affiliate of Novartis AG, researches, develops and markets medicines and medical treatments.

An ASTM member since 2003, Aspesi is currently vice chairman of Committee E55 on Manufacture of Pharmaceutical Products and chairman of Subcommittee E55.94 on Outreach and Education.

Aspesi has more than 35 years of experience in drug substance and drug product quality assurance and quality control as well as in pharmaceutical research and development. In his work he has fostered the implementation of quality management systems in industrial and development operations as well as laboratory information management systems on a global basis. His experience includes living and working in six countries: France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. He has expertise in their regulatory environments.

Before assuming his current role at Novartis in 2010, Aspesi was senior vice president of global quality and compliance for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. His career also includes positions as vice president of global quality operations and health, safety and environment at Aventis Pharma and at Hoechst Marion Roussel.

Aspesi earned a degree in organic chemistry from the University of Milan, Italy, and began his career as a research chemist.

Director 2016-2018

Cesar A. Constantino

Cesar A. Constantino, Ph.D., is director of business development for Separation Technologies LLC, a Titan America business, in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Separation Technologies is the leading producer of processed fly ash in the United States.

An ASTM member since 2005, Constantino works on Committees C01 on Cement, C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates and E60 on Sustainability. He has also contributed to the ASTM memorandum of understanding program in Latin America.

Before joining the Titan staff, Constantino worked as a researcher and a consultant both in Panama and the United States. In Panama he was appointed to positions in the Ministry of Public Works and was an adjunct professor at the Technological University of Panama. In 2005, Constantino joined Titan America's Florida business as manager of technical services; he then took on the role of director of concrete technology for Titan America LLC from 2007 to 2011. He was senior director of process quality and then vice president of corporate engineering for Titan before assuming his current position.

Constantino holds a B.S. in civil engineering, a master's in structural engineering and a Ph.D. in construction materials from the University of Texas at Austin. His professional memberships also include the American Concrete Institute, the American Coal Ash Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society for Quality, the Iberoamerican Federation of Ready Mixed Concrete, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the Portland Cement Association and the RMC Research and Education Foundation. He is an ACI fellow and currently serves on the ACI board of directors, and he is a member of the University of Miami Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Advisory Board, and of the Florida International University's Civil Engineering Industry Advisory Council.

Director 2016-2018

R. James Galipeau

R. James Galipeau is director of Intertek PTL, Pittsfield Massachusetts, where he focuses on plastics, and polymeric and composite materials testing.

Currently chairman of ASTM Committee D20 on Plastics, Galipeau has been an ASTM member since 1992. In 2011, D20 honored him with the Award of Merit and title of fellow for his contributions to standards development and his leadership as a committee officer. He has also received additional D20 awards, including a 2008 Award of Excellence and a 2002 Outstanding Achievement Award. In addition to his D20 work, Galipeau served on the Committee on Technical Committee Operations from 2008 to 2011.

Since graduating from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Galipeau has concentrated on the analytical, physical, electrical, mechanical and rheological testing of plastics. He joined Plastics Technology Laboratories Inc. as laboratory manager in 1986. When PTL was acquired by Intertek PLC and became Intertek PTL in 2007, Galipeau was named general manager. In 2012 he assumed his current position.

A member and past president of the Society of Plastics Engineers, Western New England section, Galipeau has also served on its board of directors. He represents the United States as a delegate to the subcommittee for mechanical properties of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 61 on Plastics. Galipeau has lectured at SPE events, taught testing and evaluation of plastics, and written papers related to his field. He has also been a director and vice chairman of the board for the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

Director 2016-2018

Deryck M.S. Omar

Deryck M.S. Omar is chief executive officer for the CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality, or CROSQ, headquartered in Barbados. CROSQ, founded by the 15 English-speaking member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is the regional center for standards formation and promotion as well as the advancement of metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment systems.

As CEO of CROSQ, an ASTM memorandum of understanding partner since 2010, Omar is focusing on modernizing and accelerating the preparation, adoption and use of regional standards to increase trade, boost industrial efficiency and effectiveness, and further the cause of the CARICOM single market and economy. He is also working on complementary regional measurement and quality assurance frameworks.

From 2007 to 2013, Omar led the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards as executive director. He also served as chairman of CROSQ, overseeing a regional collaborative effort to develop and implement its first three-year strategic plan.

Omar graduated with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of the West Indies - Trinidad Campus, and pursued a post-graduate diploma in management studies as well as an MBA (finance). He then held executive roles in banking, publishing, academia and quality-competitiveness consulting before becoming head of the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards.

Omar is a registered engineer in Trinidad and Tobago and has served on various private and public sector boards, including the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and the Power Generation Company of Trinidad and Tobago. He currently serves on two national boards for export development and asset-based leasing.

Director 2016-2018

James A. Tann

James A. Tann is director of technical services for the Belden Brick Co. in Canton, Ohio. Belden Brick, the largest family owned and managed brick company in the United States, owns several plants as well as distributors.

An ASTM member since 1988, Tann works on Committees C12 on Mortars and Grouts for Unit Masonry and C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units. He serves as member at large on the executive subcommittees of both groups. In 1996, Tann received the C15 Alan H. Yorkdale Memorial Award for his work as co-author of the paper "Bond Strength and Water Penetration of Low IRA Brick Mortar." He has also been honored for his contributions with the C12 Honorary Membership Award in 2011; a C15 Award of Appreciation in 2013 and an Award of Recognition this year.

In his career, Tann has concentrated on the design of brick masonry structures as well as building codes and standards. After graduating from the Pennsylvania State University in 1985 with a bachelor of architectural engineering, Tann joined the staff of the Brick Institute of America in Reston, Virginia, as a staff engineer. In 1987, he became president of the Brick Institute's Mid East Region, a position he held until 2014, when he assumed his current position at Belden Brick.

In addition to ASTM, Tann is a member of the American Institute of Architects - Ohio, the Brick Industry Association, and the Masonry Alliance for Codes and Standards.

Director 2016-2018

Vicky J. Taylor

Vicky J. Taylor is a senior research technologist in the research and development center of INVISTA (Canada) Co., Kingston, Ontario, Canada. INVISTA is one of the world's largest integrated producers and polymers and fibers used mainly for nylon, spandex and polyester.

An ASTM member since 1999, Taylor currently serves as chairman of Committee D13 on Textiles, which includes over 550 members responsible for more than 300 standards. She is also chairman of D13.54 on Subassemblies and a member of Committee F23 on Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment, and she has recently completed a term on the Committee on Standards, for which she received a Service Award in 2014. Her standards work also includes serving as a voting member of multiple Canadian General Standards Board committees, including textile tests and methodology. Taylor has been a CGSB officer.

Taylor has more than 30 years of experience in textile testing and evaluation using international standards. Her career has focused on methods development, laboratory personnel training, laboratory setup, and compliance auditing and troubleshooting.

Beginning her career at Du Pont in the Customer Technical Fibers Laboratory, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Taylor concentrated on automotive airbag fiber and fabric development as well as other industrial fibers and fabrics. She worked on certification, customer assistance, research, and method and product development for fibers, yarn, fabric and finished goods.

In 1999, Taylor joined the research and development center of Du Pont Canada as a senior research technologist, concentrating on automotive airbag fiber and fabric development as well as other industrial fibers and fabrics. She then became a staff member at the new INVISTA (Canada) Co.