Earlier this week, global standards organization ASTM International launched a new student chapter at UTEC, the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología, in Lima, Peru. More than 30 UTEC students, faculty, and ASTM representatives attended the virtual meeting to launch and celebrate the new chapter.

UTEC Student Chapter members will be ASTM student members and will be able to apply for student project grants and other academic awards offered by ASTM International. The chapter is sponsored by the ASTM precast concrete products committee (C27). 

Kathie Morgan, ASTM International president, welcomed the participants. “When I looked at the UTEC website ahead of the meeting, I saw that UTEC asks their students, ‘Are you ready to change the world? Are you ready to develop the engineering of the future.’ At ASTM, we have an equally high calling,” she said. She added that she looks forward to working together.

“This will push the frontier of knowledge more and more,” said Carlos Heeren, UTEC executive director, in his opening remarks. “Our collaboration will be mutually beneficial for the next generation.”

The student chapter will also provide students the opportunity to learn more about using standards as well as being part of the standards development process. Luis Bedrinana, Ph.D., a UETC professor and chapter faculty adviser, said that more and better solutions are needed for today’s engineering challenges and that international standards provide an important part of addressing them. The chapter will further build a foundation for UTEC students to solve engineering problems.

The chapter president, Diego Gonzales, a civil engineering student, said that the chapter will raise awareness, which will be further enhanced by the chapter’s initial planned program with construction leaders there. Expert lectures and contests will be part of the chapter’s work as well.

The launch event also included presentations by Giancarlo Flores, Ph.D., director of the UTEC civil engineering department, Maria Isabel Barrios, ASTM representative for Latin America, and Lissy Velez, ASTM program manager for business development. James Olshefsky, ASTM’s director of external relations, hosted the launch. 

For more information about the UTEC and other student chapters, contact Travis Murdock, ASTM academic outreach (tel +1.610.832.9826; tmurdock@astm.org). 

Media Inquiries: Jaime Martorana, tel +1.610.832.9796; jmartorana@astm.org

Release #11197

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