N. David Smith, chief deputy commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Raleigh, has begun a one-year term as chairman of the ASTM International Board of Directors. Smith is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department.
The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is responsible for a broad range of issues involving the environment, consumer protection, health issues, marketing of agricultural commodities and finished products, surveillance and prevention of animal and plant diseases, recommending soil and plant modification strategies, two large agricultural fairs and five farmers markets, and providing the agricultural research platforms for North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University.
Smith received his B.S. degree in biological and agricultural engineering from North Carolina State University in 1972, the year he began his career with the N.C. Department of Agriculture as a staff engineer. In 1976, he was selected to direct the liquefied petroleum gas inspection program in the Standards Division, and in 1979 he was named director of the Standards Division, serving in that capacity until January 2001. Smith has completed the Government Executives Institute Program at the University of North Carolina and the Top State Managers Executive Education Program at Duke University.
An active member of ASTM Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants since 1987, Smith served as chairman of the committee from 1994 until 1999. He has held many other offices within D02. Smith was secretary of the Volatility Section in Subcommittee D02.A0 on Gasoline and Oxygenated Fuels and chairman of its Antiknock Section; he served on the Executive Subcommittee; he is a member of the Task Group on Reformulated Gasoline; and he chaired the D02 Balanced Voting Task Force. Smith chaired the D02 Centennial Committee in preparation of the Committees 100th anniversary in 2004. For his many contributions, D02 has honored Smith with the Award of Appreciation (1995), the Sydney D. Andrews Scroll of Achievement (1998), the Award of Excellence (1999), and the Lowrie B. Sargent, Jr. Award (2001). Smith served as vice chairman of the ASTM Board in 2003 and 2004.
Also involved in professional groups in addition to ASTM International, Smith is a past-chairman of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) as well as a member of on numerous NCWM standing committees and task forces. He is actively involved in the Southern Weights and Measures Associations (SWMA), one of four regional weights and measures groups in the United States. Smith is an SWMA past-chairman and currently serves as secretary-treasurer.
Release #7091