Standardization News

ASTM Launches Student Chapter at UCLan in England

ASTM International launched a new student chapter at UCLan, the University of Central Lancashire, in Lancashire, UK. Nearly two dozen UCLan students, faculty, and ASTM representatives attended a virtual kickoff in March to launch and celebrate the new chapter.

UCLan Student Chapter members will be ASTM student members and can apply for student project grants and other academic awards currently offered by ASTM International. The chapter is sponsored by ASTM’s exoskeletons and exosuits committee (F48)

“Our greatest asset is our members and all they do to drive standards development,” notes ASTM president Kathie Morgan. “We are excited for the student members of this new chapter to bring their voices, experiences, and knowledge to ASTM International and help shape the future of exo technology standards.”   

The UCLan student chapter will focus on the exo technology industry, and its members will have the opportunity to learn more about the exo industry and get involved in standards development. 

The chapter advisor, Matthew Dickinson, Ph.D., serves as member secretary of ASTM’s exoskeletons and exosuits committee (F48) and chair of the exoskeleton maintenance and disposal subcommittee (F48.04). 

UCLan now joins ASTM student chapters in UTEC (Universidad de ingenería y Tecnología) in Lima, Peru, and FIU (Florida International University) in the United States. For more information on UCLan and other student chapters, contact Travis Murdock, ASTM academic outreach (tmurdock@astm.org).

Darla Goeres Wins Professor of the Year Award

ASTM International has awarded Darla Goeres with its Professor of the Year Award. 

Goeres is a research professor of regulatory sciences with the Standardized Biofilm Methods Laboratory at Montana State University’s Center for Biofilm Engineering. She has more than 20 years of experience researching biofilm bacteria in industrial systems. 

Goeres’ work includes studying biofilm found in beer draught lines, Danish district heating distribution pipes, anaerobic biofilms in sourced oil fields, and biofilms in recreational water systems. Goeres has evaluated various treatment strategies for killing, removing, and/or preventing biofilm formation. 

Goeres is a member of ASTM’s committee on pesticide, antimicrobials, and alternative control agents (E35).

Maddison Konway, a senior undergraduate student of materials engineering and management at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, won the Mary R. Norton Scholarship for Women, awarded by ASTM International’s metallography committee.

Student Presentation

ASTM’s Travis Murdock presented an overview of ASTM International and the standards-development process to students at both Georgia Southern University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Presentations were held virtually. Both universities are recipients of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standards Course Curricula grant.