ASTM President James Thomas Moderates Discussion of Standards System

Standards Roundtable Held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

ASTM International hosted Patrick Gallagher, Ph.D., for a roundtable session with more than 40 members of the standards and technology community at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 20. Gallagher is the undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology, and the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

James A. Thomas, president of ASTM International, served as moderator of the discussion, which focused on the success of the standards system and the continued importance of the public/private sector partnership on challenging issues facing the community.

Recently, the U.S. Congress passed and President Obama signed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 that sets funding levels for science programs at NIST and various other federal agencies.