By Katharine E. Morgan

Oct 31, 2023

It feels like just yesterday we were getting ready to kick off our 125th Anniversary Year, and yet now, we’re preparing to wrap up our year-long celebration of this milestone achievement.

It’s been such an exciting year filled with member, staff, and partner celebrations, global outreach, an exceptional case-study competition, an amazing webinar series, events at our ASTM International Student Chapters, and other festivities. 

It’s hard for me to fully describe how impactful and important this 125th celebration has been, not only for me, but for our whole ASTM family. I think ASTM stakeholders know and appreciate the value our organization brings to the world, but it was overwhelming and empowering to have it reinforced by our partners, peers, friends in the standards-development industry, and so many others around the world.

And while these sentiments and celebrations have helped remind me of the important impact we’ve had on society over the last 125 years, the events of the last few weeks have strengthened my belief both in ASTM’s role in society today and the important part we will play in the future. 

A few weeks ago, many members of our standards community gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate World Standards Day. This year, ASTM had the distinct honor of serving as the administering organization. As part of this celebration, the community honored ASTM’s very own Michael López-Alegría, chair of the commercial spaceflight committee (F47), with the Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership Award. It was a wonderful way to recognize someone who has taken ASTM standards development to new heights.

Only a few days later in Washington, we hosted the ASTM Board of Directors meetings, which always reinvigorates my appreciation for the passion of our governance as the board members work to guide ASTM forward. Included in the meeting was a robust outreach day, where board members and ASTM staff took part in more than two dozen fruitful meetings and education sessions with key organizations, trade associations, academia, and government agencies. These sessions with existing and potentially new partners help to remind the world of the great work undertaken by our members and staff and highlight the important role ASTM plays in their respective industries and areas. You can read more about the board meeting HERE.

Following the board meeting were back-to-back committee weeks, where thousands of ASTM members from around the world gathered for October and November standards-development meetings. Taking place nearby was the ASTM International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (ICAM 2023), where more than 1,000 experts across dozens of industries gathered to address all aspects of the innovative and transformative AM industry.

It’s easy to be impressed when you look at these events individually, but when you view them collectively, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the broad impact of ASTM’s work, which impacts our world every day.

During his World Standards Day acceptance remarks, Michael López-Alegría said something that stuck with me over the last few weeks. He said: “Standards are the unsung heroes of progress. They are the threads that weave our global fabric closer and tighter.” It’s a sentiment that I strongly agree with, but it’s also one I think directly applies to ASTM overall. Through the work of our members, partners, and staff, ASTM has played a foundational role in progress over the last 125 years. Be it infrastructure, consumer safety, sustainability, or aviation, the incredible advancements we’ve seen since 1898 have often been underpinned by ASTM standards. It has never been more apparent than this year.

So, thank you. Thank you for your commitment to ASTM International and for your work to advance our mission of helping our world work better. Thank you for the work you’ll continue to do in areas we’ve yet to dream of. And thank you for celebrating with us throughout the year. Happy Anniversary.  ■

Katharine E. Morgan
President, ASTM International