Section News
Read Section News every month to see what types of programs and activities ASNT Sections have held recently or to catch up on what your Section has been doing. These postings for May will also be published in the June issue of Materials Evaluation.
Chicago
CHICAGO, ILLINOISOn 13 February, 29 members and guests were present at Mack’s Golden Pheasant restaurant in Elmhurst, Illinois to enjoy dinner and hear a presentation by ASNT President Bob Potter, titled “ASNT: An International Organization.” The presentation addressed the continued growth in ASNT membership overseas and how the organization has grown to have a significant global presence. Continued international involvement and growth will help maintain the ASNT certification programs as the world standard for nondestructive testing.
Greater Houston
HOUSTON, TEXASThe Greater Houston Section hosted 47 members and guests at a meeting at Brady’s Landing restaurant on 14 March for the annual Awards Night and Captains of Industry Panel.
Section Chair Skip Hoyt welcomed everyone, including guest speaker and ASNT President Bob Potter, and thanked the meeting sponsors: DTM Enterprises, Olympus NDT, Inc., Fugro Consultants, Inc., Scan Systems Corp., Hocker, Inc., Ocean Corp. and National Oilwell Varco. Meeting announcements included updates on the Section blood drive, scholarships, the Houston Science and Engineering Fair, the upcoming golf outing and vendors night. After a round of introductions, Ron Hayden, assisted by John Chen, conducted a door prize drawing.
Adam Zambrano announced the Section’s four scholarship recipients, Edward Diaz, Kimberly Keil, Nicholas Pashigian and Dana Smith. Steve Jackson announced the Section’s Technician of the Year, Jeff Nerat.
Potter then joined Dave Bajula, David Culbertson, Jerry Fulin, Danny Keck and Joe Mackin for the Captains of Industry panel, which was moderated by John Iman. The panel reflected on and discussed a variety of inspection industry topics including training, ACCP certification, personal experiences, the importance of mentoring and the future of ASNT as an organization on the international stage. A question and answer session was held following the panel.
Captains of Industry panelists (from left): Bob Potter, Jerry Fulin, Joe Mackin, Danny Keck, David Culbertson and Dave Bajula presented at the Greater Houston Section meeting in March.
Hampton Roads
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIAThe Hampton Roads Section was joined by guest speaker Mike Welling at its February meeting. Welling is the director of the radioactive materials program at the Virginia Department of Health. He spoke about upcoming changes to CFR 37, which may affect the way people do business concerning radiographic operations.
Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY, KUWAITThe Kuwait Section held a technical presentation on 10 March at the Hilton Kuwait Resort, which was attended by approximately 30 members and guests, including representatives from various companies. The meeting topic, “Understanding ASNT ACCP Certification Programs,” was delivered by Abdel-Hamid Hassanein, a renowned nondestructive testing (NDT) professional from Egypt and member of ASNT’s Certification Management Council.
Education Committee Chair N.H. Reddy organized the program and welcomed Hassanein, along with members and guests. Nayef Al-Enezi then delivered an inaugural speech and stressed the importance of training and certification in NDT.
Hassanein’s technical presentation inspired enthusiasm among members. Following the presentation, he was presented with a bouquet as a token of appreciation, while Ahmad Shabbir proposed a vote of thanks.
In addition to the technical meeting, the Section organized ASNT NDT Level III examinations, which were held on 9–10 March at the Hilton. Approximately 15 NDT professionals took advantage this opportunity. Hassanein was the test monitor and Reddy served as the assistant monitor.
Members of the Kuwait Section met in March for a technical presentation and the chance to take an ASNT NDT Level III exam.
Lewis & Clark
PORTLAND, OREGONThe Lewis & Clark Section held a meeting on 13 March with guest speaker Flynn Spears, of Laser Technology, who spoke on “Laser Shearography Testing.” The talk centered on aerospace and wind energy markets, wherein Spears described how the inspection of aero structures could be used on current metal bonded structures for commercial and military aircraft. Wind energy blades can also be inspected using this technology for in-service and manufacturing purposes. These new technologies benefit the nondestructive testing industry by expanding inspection processes beyond their current applications.
Northeast Florida
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDAThe Northeast Florida Section held a meeting on 15 March at Holiday Inn in Jacksonville, Florida. Seven members and guests attended and enjoyed the dinner and social activities. During the meeting, attendees discussed the benefits, drawbacks and industry uses of phased array testing. After dinner, Section Chair Bill Plumstead, Jr., vice president of Plumstead Quality and Training Services, Inc., gave a detailed and informative PowerPoint presentation on Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A: Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing (2011), which was followed by questions and discussion.
Northeast Florida Section Chair Bill Plumstead Jr. (left) received a certificate of appreciation for his presentation from Section Secretary Jamie Webb.
Old Dominion
RICHMOND, VIRGINIAThe Old Dominion Section conducted their sixth meeting of the program year on 23 February as part of a combined meeting with the Richmond Area Joint Engineer’s Council. Four members and guests of the Section gathered at the Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond to attend the annual Engineer’s Week banquet and to listen to David Lohr, president and executive director of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing. In conjunction with the banquet, several awards were presented for outstanding contributions to engineering and the community, as well as awards for the student presentations associated with Engineer’s Week.
Pacific Northwest
SEATTLE, WASHINGTONEleven couples of the Pacific Northwest Section let their hair down and enjoyed a four-course meal and entertainment at Seattle’s Teatro ZinZanni on 19 February. Teatro ZinZanni is an entertainment venue that combines improvisational comedy, vaudeville revues, music, circus acts and dance. Members enjoyed an excellent Mexican meal prior to the show, which was fitting for the theme of the evening, ¡Caliente! The show was funny, exotic and exciting. Members from the audience were chosen to participate in some of the routines, including an embarrassed Section Chair Tim Burkholder, who was given the chance to showcase his salsa dancing skills in front of hundreds of people. Everyone had a good time at the Section sponsored event.
Twenty-one Section members met on 8 March at Rock Salt restaurant on Lake Union to listen to Larry Culbertson, of Virtual Media Integration, give a talk on the benefits and pitfalls of digital radiography, including computed radiography and digitized radiographic film. Attendees ordered from a limited menu designed specifically for Section meetings. After dinner, Burkholder presented Emery E. Roberts with a plaque for his service to ASNT at the local, regional and national levels. Roberts is the Section secretary and also Region 16 director. The Section’s 2011 Gold President’s Award, the first ASNT regional yearbook and the first online page-flipping yearbook are among the accomplishments under Roberts’s direction. Afterwards, members signed the guestbook for a chance at winning the year-end drawing. Nominations were then opened for the board and three director positions for the 2012 – 2013 year.
Members of the Pacific Northwest Section enjoyed a fun-filled evening at Teatro ZinZanni in February.
Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIAOn 13 March, Industrial Testing Laboratory Services, LLC (ITLS) opened its doors to the Pittsburgh Section and the local chapter of the American Welding Society. More than 67 participants from both organizations took the opportunity to tour the laboratory.
ITLS provided various demonstrations including: helium leak testing (mass spectrometer leak detection) of components, tensile testing of rebar material, a number of weld cross-sections prepared for macroscopic testing, and a tour of the ITLS Mobile Training and Testing Center.
Marty Wenzig (left), president of Industrial Testing Laboratories Services, LLC (ITLS) joined Pittsburgh Section Chair Bob Saunders in front of the ITLS Mobile Testing and Training Center.
San Diego
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIAThe San Diego Section hosted its first meeting of the year on 7 February at the Best Western Seven Seas hotel, with 22 members and guests in attendance. The speaker for the evening was Jodi Reeves, who spoke on the topic of “Nondestructive Testing and Quality Control in Superconductor Manufacturing.” Reeves has four patents issued, two patents pending and has published more than 20 refereed papers on high temperature superconductors, engineering education and thin film characterization.
Reeves shared facts about high temperature superconductors (HTS), which were developed in the late 1980s and held great promise for a myriad of devices that would supposedly revolutionize the electric power industry. She sent some samples around the room for the audience to see. The subject matter was very interesting and provided great interaction with the audience. Reeves explained how quality control has evolved from failure analysis of HTS using destructive testing to quality assurance of HTS using nondestructive testing methods. Everyone enjoyed the presentation.
The Section then presented education certificates for the completion of Level I and Level II formal training in liquid penetrant testing. Each student awarded a certificate attended and completed the required training hours and successfully passed the final examination.
The Section hosted its next technical meeting on 6 March at the Best Western Seven Seas hotel, with 18 members and guests in attendance. The speakers for the evening were Region 15 Director David Mitchell and ASNT Vice President Raymond Morasse. The topic of the meeting was “Organization, Services and Procedures of ASNT: Benefits of ASNT Membership and Serving on Boards and Committees.” The Section wishes to thank Mitchell and Morasse for their expertise on the subject. All in attendance had a good time.
San Diego Section members were awarded certificates for completion of training in liquid penetrant testing. From left: Abduhl Ahmed, Leobardo Alcantara and Rufino Alferez. They are joined by the instructor for the class, Larry Olsen (far right).
Saudi Arabian
DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIAThe Saudi Arabian Section held a meeting on 19 March at the Carlton al Moaibed Hotel in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The meeting was attended by 81 members and guests, and was sponsored by the Section.
Section Board Chair Mohammad A. Al Salih inaugurated the meeting with a warm welcome. He then made announcements, including a mention that, as of the second quarter, the Section still held Silver level standing in the President’s Award Program.
After the announcements, Al Salih introduced the speaker, Section Chair Mohammad A. Abu Four. His presentation, titled “Corrosion Under Insulation Challenges,” was enjoyed by all present.
After the question and answer session, a raffle was held, and winners received a variety of household gifts from SACO. After the prize distribution, members retired to a buffet dinner served by the Carlton Al Moaibed.
Saudi Arabian Section Chair Mohammad A. Abu Four (second from left) received a plaque of appreciation for his presentation. He is joined by Board member Abdullah M. Al Khalifah (far left), Section Board member Isa H. Mudaibegh (center), Board Chair Mohammad A. Al Salih (second from right) and President’s Award Program Chair Mohammad J. Anjum (far right).
St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURIOn 22 February, the St. Louis Section held a student outreach activity, helping to celebrate Engineering Day at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Engineering Day in the College of Engineering at SIUC started in 1981 as part of the National Engineers Week. This year, 453 students from 23 high schools across Missouri came to SIUC to participate in this event. In addition, several engineering major students stopped by the nondestructive testing (NDT) exhibit to learn about NDT techniques.
Two members of the St. Louis Section were present to provide demonstrations. Section Chair Steve Fults gave a demonstration on how magnetic particle testing works and how it is used to test the integrity of welds in steel structures. Anish Poudel explained how infrared thermography works and how it is applied to check the integrity of composites. The Section’s participation was sponsored and coordinated by Tsuchin Philip Chu, a Section board member and SIUC professor in the department of mechanical engineering and energy processes.
St. Louis Section Chair Steve Fults gave a demonstration on magnetic particle testing to students at Missouri’s annual Engineering Day.
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