Standardization News

The Congressional midterm elections. Harry Styles. Inflation. None of these things will be found on the annual list of most-read stories on Standardization News Online because as you might guess, there are no standards that apply to them – yet. Even so, there were many newsworthy topics making headlines in 2022 that did have a strong connection to the world of standards, and SN covered a surprising number of them.

You’ll see stories on standards for fuel efficiency, which has certainly been on the minds of motorists around the world this year. You’ll see multiple stories on autonomous flight, one of the hottest tech topics worldwide, as nations strive to make air travel easier and cleaner. You’ll even see a story about an ASTM meeting conducted from space, aboard the ISS – which was a unique event in our society’s history.

However, what we – again – hope readers will see more than anything else in this list is the idea we try to reinforce in all of the content we create at SN: That of the ubiquitous nature of standards. No matter what you do and no matter where you go, they are all around you. And no matter what the trending topic may be on Twitter on a given day, you can bet there will be a connection to a standard somewhere. Except, as we said, for Harry Styles. (But don’t be at all surprised if there is a committee on pop stars someday.)

Here are the 10 most-read articles of 2022, for your enjoyment:

1) New Concrete, New Standards
The most-read story of 2022 by a wide margin covered standards for cleaner and more technologically advanced forms of concrete, which will in turn increase development worldwide and boost global economies.

2) Fuel Efficiency Standards Help Ease Pain at the Pump
It’s no secret that gas prices climbed steeply in 2022, a fact that was on the minds of readers this fall when SN published an article on the ways standards can help increase fuel efficiency.

3) 10 Standards for Back to School
One of the areas where standards can most help the world work better is in the area of safety, and safety takes on special importance with children. This list of standards for back to school was third most-read article of the year.

4) A Bright Future for Recycled Copper
The copper industry is another industry looking to be cleaner as well as more profitable, and reclaiming more copper from the cycle can help accomplish both of those goals. Standards will be one of the keys moving forward.

5) Better Spray, Better Crops
Agriculture is more critical to the global economy that many realize, and standards can help lead to more abundant crops – a fact that landed this story at fifth on our list.

6) A New Era for UAS Standards
Drones continue to capture the imaginations of readers, and their potential applications are limitless, from delivery to inspections to traffic management.  

7) Standards Address Forever Chemicals
PFAS has seen major news coverage in recent years as governments and business alike seek to remediate the effects of this toxic and harmful substance. 

8) Making Autonomous Flight a Reality
Flying is becoming cleaner and more efficient every day, and the technology behind autonomous aircraft like eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing) is advancing rapidly. Standards will help the industry grow.

9) Standards and the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules
Readers were very interested in the ways the worlds of standards and global policy overlap, and the proposed SEC rules for climate disclosure provided an intriguing example of this, landing it at ninth on our list.

10) Standards in Zero Gravity
When ASTM member and astronaut Michael López-Alegría conducted an executive committee meeting from space aboard the ISS this past summer, it gave ASTM and SN one of their most memorable moments ever.