2006 Winner Frank A. Iddings

Frank Iddings is best known throughout ASNT for the 25 years of service he provided as tutorial projects editor of the "Back to Basics" department, a part of Materials Evaluation that has consistently ranked at the top of readership surveys. The first "Back to Basics" under his editorship appeared in the July 1979 issue, with 288 of them following over the years.

After graduating as his high school salutatorian, Iddings earned his B.S. in chemistry and math from Midwestern University in 1954. His M.S. and Ph.D. in analytical chemistry were earned at the University of Oklahoma in 1956 and 1959, respectively. From 1959 to 1964, he worked for Esso, conducting research on activation analysis and the application of radioisotopes to engineering and research. His postdoctoral studies during those years included researching the industrial applications of radioisotopes, looking into modern techniques in activation analysis, and various studies at the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies.

Iddings joined the Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1964, becoming a professor of nuclear science. He joined ASNT the next year, upon starting to teach classes on NDT. While at LSU, he was also a consultant for more than a dozen companies and governmental agencies. The International Atomic Energy Agency appointed Iddings a technical assistance expert in 1971, assigning him to the Singapore Institute of Standards and Industrial Research. He was reappointed by that agency in 1983.

After leaving LSU at the end of 1984, Iddings worked at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for 10 years, seven in NDT research and three as the radiation safety officer. While at SwRI, he organized the 17th Symposium on NDE (1989) and was the editor of the proceedings of that meeting. A professor emeritus at LSU since 1985, he has spoken around the world on numerous occasions.

Iddings has been an exceptionally active member of the Society. In addition to his work on "Back to Basics," he also provided material and did some editing of chapters for the RT volume of the second and third editions of the Nondestructive Testing Handbook. He served as coordinating technical editor for the April 1983 issue of Materials Evaluation, which emphasized underwater NDT, and as an associate technical editor for Materials Evaluation from May 1985 through January 1991. Iddings edited a collection of "Back to Basics" articles which were culled from those published from the department's inception through 1986. This collection, published as NDT Basics: Tutorial Articles on Nondestructive Testing, remains in print to this day.

Outside of publications work, Iddings has served as an officer in ASNT's Red Stick (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and South Texas (San Antonio) Sections. He has been involved in a number of ASNT committees and in 1981 was named a Fellow of the Society. He is also the recipient of the ASNT Tutorial Citation (1985), the Meritorious Service Award (1997) and the Mentoring Award (2000). In addition to writing 21 "Back to Basics" article, Iddings is the author of over 60 technical articles, various industrial reports, and a book, Survey of Nondestructive Evaluation, written for the EPRI NDE Center.

About the Lester Honor Lecture

The Lester Honor Lecture is presented during even numbered years in memory of Horace H. Lester, senior physicist at the Watertown Arsenal in Watertown, Massachusetts. Lester published many technical papers and did seminal work as chair of ASTM Committee E07. In his honor, the Board of Directors of the Society selects an outstanding person to lecture on a subject with direct bearing on the use of NDT and its application to materials testing. The lecture is presented at the ASNT Fall Conference.

Congratulations to Frank A. Iddings, 2006 Lester Honor Lecturer.

 

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