At Work: Ram P. Samy

How did you first become involved in NDT?

With an MS in electrical engineering, I landed my first job at ISRO, India’s space agency, developing control systems for satellite launch vehicles. There, I learned how much mission success depended on nondestructive testing (NDT). My NDT career began when EPRI funded my PhD research at Colorado State University (CSU). On my advisor’s advice, I joined ASNT in 1978.

Who is someone in NDT who shaped how you work?

Professor William Lord at CSU gave me the ladder and taught me how to climb it. As his student, I wrote research proposals and project reports and joined EPRI reviews. He helped me find good R&D jobs in NDT and continued to guide me as I practiced NDT in industry. We shared the 1984 ASNT Achievement Award for a Materials Evaluation article that was based on my doctoral dissertation.

How extensive is your academic background, and how did it help you practice NDT?

I earned a BS in physics and a BS and an MS in electrical engineering from the University of Madras (India), then worked at ISRO for four years. In the US, I earned an ME in nuclear engineering and a PhD in eddy current testing [ECT]—a background that made every NDT method easy to master. I hold ASNT NDT Level III and NAS 410 Level III certifications in ET [electromagnetic testing], MT [magnetic particle testing], UT [ultrasonic testing], PT [liquid penetrant testing], and VT [visual testing].

Walk us through the best part of your work.

I love teaching, and I’ve been quite successful at it. What I enjoyed most was training people to perform NDT, preparing them for certification, and motivating their careers. The challenge is helping them grasp the physics behind each method. The hardest part is teaching them to evaluate test data, like flaw sizing.

Can you tell us about your involvement with ASNT?

I’ve served as an Associate Technical Editor of Materials Evaluation since 1988 and as a guest editor of special issues on ECT, surface quality, and remote-field ECT. Since 1980, I’ve contributed to the Electromagnetic and Magnetic Particle NDT Handbooks, chaired both Personnel Qualification committees, and chaired technical sessions at ASNT conferences. I’ve also written and reviewed SNT-TC-1A Q&A books and ASNT Study Guides.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing manufacturing industries benefiting from NDT?

Visiting manufacturers in Japan, I saw a customer-centered approach: they set reject levels stricter than customers specify, calibrating with an open flaw at half the specified depth, so customers never receive bad products. Some US companies instead calibrate at the customer-specified depth—a profit-centered approach.

What quote or philosophy do you like and live by?

“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters”—Victor Hugo. Extreme adversity fueled my career. I was born in a remote South Indian village with no running water, electricity, or toilets, and was the first there to attend school, bicycling 10 miles each way and staying in charity-run shelters through college. I also believe there’s no shortcut to success. As Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”