U.S. celebrates World Standards Day 2008.
Press Release Summary:
Nearly 250 members of standards and conformity assessment community joined together in Washington D.C. for U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day 2008. Event honored people, partnerships, and accomplishments that have supported standards and conformity assessment community over past year, with focus on Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings. It is co-chaired each year by American National Standards Institute and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Original Press Release:
U.S. Celebrates World Standards Day 2008
Evening focuses on theme of Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings
Nearly 250 members of the standards and conformity assessment community joined together in Washington, DC, this evening for the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day 2008. The event honored the people, partnerships, and accomplishments that have supported the standards and conformity assessment community over the past year, with a focus on Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings.
The U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day is organized annually by a planning committee consisting of representatives from across the standards and conformity assessment community. The event is co-chaired each year by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In celebration of its ninetieth anniversary, ANSI also served as the administrating organization for 2008.
"Each year we celebrate a particular aspect of our community. Tonight, we focus our attention on the increasingly significant topic of intelligent and sustainable buildings," said S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO. "Our efforts help to create assurances that the spaces in which we live, work and play are more accessible, more usable and more environmentally sound.
"Whether you are an old pro in this well-seasoned community, a newcomer, or are with us tonight as a guest, we invite you to join with us as ambassadors," continued Mr. Bhatia. "Help us to build a future for standardization that is better and stronger because it is driven by market needs, supported by government, and embraced by citizens."
The dinner ceremony included the presentation of the prestigious Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award to Mr. James H. Turner, Jr., chief counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology. Dr. Turner was nominated by ASTM International and ASME for his bipartisan and professional dedication to the U.S. standards community. For the past quarter century, Turner has raised general awareness of the importance of standards while promoting the value of the voluntary consensus standards system throughout the legislative and regulatory process. [see related article]
A second award presented during the celebration was given to the winner of the World Standards Day Paper Competition. Joseph Bocchiaro III was presented with a check for $2,500 and a commemorative plaque for his paper, "Quality and Sustainability Standards Defining a Young Industry: InfoComm International and its Vision for the Future of AV." The paper will be published in the Standards Engineering Society's (SES) journal, Standards Engineering.
A second place prize of $1,000 was awarded to Jay J. Iorio of IEEE.
Celebrated annually each October, World Standards Day pays tribute to the thousands of volunteers around the world who participate in standardization activities and helps to raise awareness of the role that standards play in addressing national and global priorities. Since the initial celebration in 1970, the event is now recognized in nations around the globe.
More information about the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day 2008, Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings, is available at www.wsd-us.org.
