Dr. C. Clair Claiborne, principal consulting research and development scientist at ABB Inc. in Raleigh, N.C., has been named the new chairman of ASTM International Committee D27 on Electrical Insulating Liquids and Gases. The 90-member committee is responsible for more than 60 standards published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards.

A resident of Apex, N.C., Claiborne has been an ASTM International member since 1990.
An active member of Committee D27, he participates in several D27 subcommittees and is the current chairman of Subcommittee D27.03 on Analytical Tests.  For his contributions, D27 has honored Claiborne with the Charles A. Johnson Award in 2001 and the Award of Merit and accompanying title of fellow in 2002.

Claiborne has been with ABB Inc. since 1984 and in his current position since 1999.  His work has dealt with structure-property relationships of materials, in particular, insulating fluids and development and analysis of insulating materials, combustion product determination and a reclassification process for PCB transformers.  He is the co-inventor of a biodegradable and fire resistant natural ester dielectric fluid which has been commercialized.

In addition to ASTM International, Claiborne is a member of the American Chemical Society, the Society of Plastics Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and ASM International.  He holds a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Northwestern University.

Release #7900