Robert D. Thomas Elected to ASTM International Board of Directors
W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., December 14, 2009-Robert D. Thomas, president of the National Concrete Masonry Association, Herndon, Va., has been elected a member of the ASTM International board of directors for 2010-2012.
As head of NCMA, Thomas has responsibility for all aspects of the association; he also works closely with state concrete masonry associations and allied industry organizations to ensure industry-wide coordination of relevant programs. He previously had been NCMA vice president of engineering and research from 1999 to 2008. Thomas joined the NCMA staff in 1990; he became director and then vice president of research in 1994 and 1998, respectively.
An ASTM International fellow and Award of Merit recipient, Thomas recently served as chair of Subcommittee C12.02 on Research and Methods of Tests in Committee C12 on Mortars and Grouts for Unit Masonry and as chair of Subcommittee C15.03 on Concrete Masonry Units and Related Units, a part of Committee C15 on Manufactured Masonry Units. In addition to his work on several C12 and C15 subcommittees and task groups, he is also a member of Committees C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates, C27 on Precast Concrete Products and E06 on Performance of Buildings. Thomas joined ASTM in 1991.
Thomas' ASTM involvement has also been recognized with the Gilbert C. Robinson Award in 2004 for outstanding practical research contributions to Committee C15 and the Alan H. Yorkdale Award for the best masonry-related technical paper published in 1996.
Outside ASTM International, Thomas serves on the board of directors for the Building Seismic Safety Council and on the executive committee for the Masonry Society. Author of several technical papers, Thomas is also a member of the American Concrete Institute and chairman of the Council for Masonry Research, a joint collaborative organization that is part of the Masonry Industry Council.
Thomas holds an M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in civil engineering from North Carolina State University.
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