ASTM International Committee C08 on Refractories has honored Maurice Cook, manager in the Sintertec Division of BPI Inc. in Muskogee, Oklahoma, with the Award of Merit. The prestigious award, which includes the accompanying title of fellow, is ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities.

The committee noted Cook’s exceptional leadership as C08 vice chairman from 1995 to 2005 and his work on several revisions to C08 standards during his tenure. He currently serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on International Standards (C08.91) and actively promotes the use of ASTM standards in the global market. Cook, who first joined ASTM in the early 1960’s and has been a continuous contributing member since1995, received the C08 Louis J. Trostel Jr. Award in 2012. He also works on Committee E29 on Particle and Spray Characterization.

A graduate of the University of Utah, where he received a bachelor’s degree in ceramic engineering, Cook has more than 55 years of experience in refractory and ceramic materials research and engineering. He joined BPI Inc. in 1990. Prior to that he owned an international trading company for refractory and ceramic raw materials, and also owned and operated his own processing company. Cook holds several patents on monolithic refractory technology and raw materials.

Cook is a distinguished life member of the American Ceramic Society. He is also a member of the American Foundry Society and the Refractories Institute, as well as the International Organization for Standardization, where he has served as convenor of TC 33 on Refractories since 1999.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin K. Brennan, tel: +1.610.832.9602; ebrennan@astm.org

Release #9848