John A. Millane, president of Tinius Olsen Testing Machine Co. in Willow Grove, Pa., and James H. Turner, Jr., chief democratic counsel of the Committee on Science, U.S. House of Representatives, have received the 2000 William T. Cavanaugh Memorial Award. The award, granted to a person or persons of widely recognized eminence in the voluntary standards system, was established in 1987 in memory of the late William T. Cavanaugh, chief executive officer of ASTM from 1970 until his death in 1985.

John A. Millane was cited for his years of devoted leadership in advancing the technology and standards for mechanical testing of materials both nationally and internationally. An active ASTM member since joining Committee E28 on Mechanical Testing in 1966, Millane has also been very involved in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as chairman of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Technical Committee 164 on Mechanical Testing.

In his work on E28, Millane, a graduate of Lehigh University with a B.S. in metallurgical engineering, has been instrumental in setting goals and directions for the committee. Three years after joining ASTM, Millane was elected secretary of E28. From 1980 to 1986, Millane served as chairman of the committee. He has participated actively in task groups responsible for writing numerous standard test methods that are regularly employed throughout industry for determining mechanical properties of materials.

Millane has also led ASTM in top executive board positions through serving as chairman of the Board of Directors in 1991, vice-chairman from 1989 to 1990, and director from 1986 to 1988. A 1985 ASTM Award of Merit recipient, which recognized his meritorious and dedicated leadership serving E28, Millane also received an Award of Appreciation for dedicated service. ASM International also recognized Millane by bestowing on him an International Distinguished Life Member Award in 1994 “in recognition of time, knowledge, and ability devoted to the advancement of the materials industry.” ASTM also made him a fellow in 1999.

In his capacity as chairman of the U.S. TAG for ISO TC 164 on Mechanical Testing, Millane has had the responsibility of ensuring that U.S. interests are best represented at the international ISO meetings through qualified U.S. experts. Millane’s dedication to this work has included fund raising to provide travel assistance for some experts to attend ISO meetings. In addition, Millane is secretary for ISO/TC164/SC4 on Toughness Testing, which is made up of three subgroups on Fracture, Pendulum, and Tear. His responsibilities include meeting organization and arrangements as well as minutes preparation, solving international issues, and other secretarial duties.

“To acknowledge his dedication and extraordinary contributions to the acceptance and recognition of the value of the voluntary consensus standards system by the U.S. Congress and the Federal Regulatory System” reads the citation on James H. Turner, Jr.’s, plaque. Turner has focused much of his work and career in supporting the U.S. voluntary consensus standards process.

Turner first began working on standards matters in 1985 as the head of the Technology Group within the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Turner had proposed an amendment to encourage steel research by the then-National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in a year when the NBS budget was frozen. Turner’s efforts played an important part in breaking that freeze. Turner was also instrumental in helping to create a flexible personnel system for NBS and in the hard research and preparation work that resulted in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

In a bipartisan manner, Turner has contributed greatly to Congress’s general awareness of the importance of standards. He has accomplished this task by visiting with members of Congress on the subject of standards and organizing Congressional hearings on standards issues that have benefited both members and the public at large. Topics covered include the decentralized and voluntary nature of the U.S. standardization system and the role of standards in international trade.

Through the years Turner has consistently supported ASTM by inviting and listening to ASTM’s input and by holding working sessions with all major standards development organizations. Through Turner’s work, ASTM has been given the opportunity to meet and exchange points of view with key members of the Congressional staff.

Throughout the early 1990s, Turner worked closely with ASTM and other U.S. standards development organizations to ensure the passage of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act. This landmark legislation contains key provisions pertaining to standards. First, all federal agencies must use technical standards developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies when carrying out procurements and policy objectives; and second, the only exceptions to this use of voluntary consensus standards are when those standards are either inconsistent with applicable law or otherwise impractical to use. Federal agencies and departments are expected to participate in the development of voluntary consensus standards.

Turner, who lives in McLean, Va., has more than 20 years’ experience working in Congress. A graduate of Westminster College, Turner received a Masters of Divinity from Yale University, and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He currently holds overall Democratic staff responsibility for the legislative process including parliamentary matters and moving legislation through Congress. Prior to assuming his current position, Turner was the full committee staff member of the Democratic staff with responsibility for technology and competitiveness matters. //

Copyright 2000, ASTM