Research + Tech

ASTM International accepting program nominations

ASTM International is accepting nominations for candidates to attend its Emerging Professionals Program. This year's program will provide airfare and lodging for up to 24 participants to attend a leadership development workshop held during one of four ASTM International conference "committee weeks" where technical experts create and revise standards for their industries.

The Emerging Professionals Program seeks to identify candidates who have some familiarity with standards and strong potential to be future leaders in one or more of the organization's 145 technical committees. Winning candidates will receive roundtrip airfare to a committee week location and two nights' accommodation. During their stay, candidates will receive a thorough introduction to standards development; mentoring from a standards professional in their industry; and a professionally led leadership workshop addressing negotiation, consensus-building and problem-solving.

Nominations are due Aug. 10 for the committee week to be held Oct. 10 in New Orleans with thermal insulation, air quality and performance of buildings as the affiliated industries.

Nominations are due Sept. 14 for the committee week to be held Nov. 14 in Atlanta with steel, plastics, consumer products and plastic piping systems as the affiliated industries.

Nominations are due Oct. 5 for the committee week to be held Dec. 5 in New Orleans with road materials, cement and environmental assessment as the affiliated industries.

D. Thomas Marsh, ASTM International's chairman of the board and president and CEO of Centrotrade Minerals & Metals Inc., Chesapeake, Va., is leading the effort to find candidates for the program.

"It's crucial that we empower young people who want to be more deeply engaged in creating standards that support everything from consumer product safety to airplane biofuels," he says. "Society needs the best and the brightest to build tomorrow's technical foundation for the many global industries housed in ASTM International."

To learn more about ASTM International's Emerging Professionals Program and to access the nomination form, visit www.astm.org/emergingprofessionals.

NRCA technical staff update

Staff from NRCA's Technical Services Section regularly attend industry meetings and events to stay up-to-date with the most recent roofing industry developments. Technical Services Section staff also serve on several task groups and committees.

In late January, Jason Wilen, an NRCA director of technical services, traveled to ASHRAE's Winter Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas. During the event, Wilen attended ASHRAE's SSPC 90.1 and SSPC 189.1 Committee Meetings held Jan. 27-Feb. 1.

SSPC 90.1 is responsible for ASHRAE Standard 90.1, "Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings," and SSPC 189.1 is responsible for ASHRAE Standard 189.1, "Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings."

Wilen serves as NRCA's primary organizational representative for SSPC 90.1 and is a voting member of the Building Envelope Subcommittee.

Wilen also is a member of the SSPC 189.1 committee and serves on ASHRAE 189.1's Work Groups for Energy Efficiency (Work Group 7) and Construction and Plans for Operation (Work Group 10).

NRCA technical staff also attended ASHRAE 90.1's spring meetings held in Atlanta April 20-22. The next meeting for ASHRAE's 90.1 and 189.1 committees is during the 2017 Annual Conference June 23-28 in Long Beach, Calif.

In April, NRCA technical staff attended committee meetings during ASTM International's Committee Week in Toronto, Ontario. NRCA has voting privileges for the following committees:

• C16—Thermal Insulation
• E06—Performance of Buildings
• E60—Sustainability

In June, ASTM International will return to Toronto for another round of committee meetings. Mark Graham, NRCA's vice president of technical services, serves as a committee officer on the Executive Subcommittee of D08—Roofing and Waterproofing. In addition to D08, NRCA Technical Services Section staff will attend committee meetings for E05—Fire Standards.