ASTM International conducted its first campus visit of the year at the University of California, Irvine, on Jan. 31, 2007.  ASTM has marked 2007 as the Year of the Student in an effort to build greater awareness of standardization among students and educators worldwide.  This latest event was coordinated in conjunction with the ASTM standards development meetings held in Anaheim, Calif. the same week. 

Approximately 20 graduate and undergraduate engineering students from UC Irvine attended the event, where representatives from ASTM International spoke of the benefits of ASTM membership and the importance of technical standards with a focus on the electronics and metal industries.  Students in attendance were from the MatSci and IEEE organizations at the university.  MatSci is a student run organization that includes both graduate and undergraduate materials science engineering students.  IEEE is the student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers at UCI.

Kurt Moser, product development manager, Fabricated Products Group, H.C. Starck Inc., and an active member of ASTM International for over 10 years, spoke to the group about the benefits both he and his company receive from his work with ASTM.  H.C. Starck is an international group of companies that produce an assortment of refractory metal powders and a leading supplier of specialty chemicals and products formulated for the electronics industry.  Moser, a member of Committee B10 on Reactive and Refractory Metals and Alloys and Committee F01 on Electronics, spoke of the support he receives from his company to attend ASTM meetings and what it is like to work alongside both his customers and competitors on the committees.  As chairman of Committee F01.17 on Sputter Metallization, Moser also fielded questions on that subject and spoke of his work with reactive and refractory metals and Committee B10. 

Scott Orthey, staff manager in the Technical Committee Operations Division at ASTM International, gave a brief overview of ASTM and the benefits of student membership.  Undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled full time are eligible to become ASTM student members free of charge and receive benefits such as free attendance at ASTM Symposia, monthly electronic editions of ASTM magazines and newsletters, and reduced membership fees upon graduation.  An ASTM membership gives students the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of standards before they start using them in the workplace. 

To become a student member of ASTM International, visit the Web site at www.astm.org/campus.  To learn more about ASTM’s Year of the Student, visit www.yearofthestudent.org.  For more information about academic outreach at ASTM, contact Teresa Cendrowska, director of external relations, ASTM International (phone:  610/832-9718; tcendrow@astm.org). 

Release #7599