Search ASTM
C14 GLASS AND GLASS PRODUCTS C21 CERAMIC WHITEWARES AND RELATED PRODUCTS D01 PAINT AND RELATED COATINGS, MATERIALS, AND APPLICATIONS D06 PAPER AND PAPER PRODUCTS D09 ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC INSULATING MATERIALS D10 PACKAGING D11 RUBBER D12 SOAPS AND OTHER DETERGENTS D13 TEXTILES D14 ADHESIVES D15 ENGINE COOLANTS AND RELATED FLUIDS D20 PLASTICS D21 POLISHES D31 LEATHER E12 COLOR AND APPEARANCE E18 SENSORY EVALUATION E20 TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT E35 PESTICIDES, ANTIMICROBIALS, AND ALTERNATIVE CONTROL AGENTS E41 LABORATORY APPARATUS E53 ASSET MANAGEMENT E57 3D IMAGING SYSTEMS F02 FLEXIBLE BARRIER PACKAGING F05 BUSINESS IMAGING PRODUCTS F06 RESILIENT FLOOR COVERINGS F08 SPORTS EQUIPMENT, PLAYING SURFACES, AND FACILITIES F09 TIRES F10 LIVESTOCK, MEAT, AND POULTRY EVALUATION SYSTEMS F11 VACUUM CLEANERS F13 PEDESTRIAN/WALKWAY SAFETY AND FOOTWEAR F14 FENCES F15 CONSUMER PRODUCTS F16 FASTENERS F24 AMUSEMENT RIDES AND DEVICES F26 FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT F27 SNOW SKIING F37 LIGHT SPORT AIRCRAFT F43 LANGUAGE SERVICES AND PRODUCTS A01 STEEL, STAINLESS STEEL AND RELATED ALLOYS A04 IRON CASTINGS A05 METALLIC-COATED IRON AND STEEL PRODUCTS A06 MAGNETIC PROPERTIES B01 ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS B02 NONFERROUS METALS AND ALLOYS B05 COPPER AND COPPER ALLOYS B07 LIGHT METALS AND ALLOYS B08 METALLIC AND INORGANIC COATINGS B09 METAL POWDERS AND METAL POWDER PRODUCTS B10 REACTIVE AND REFRACTORY METALS AND ALLOYS C03 CHEMICAL-RESISTANT NONMETALLIC MATERIALS C08 REFRACTORIES C28 ADVANCED CERAMICS D01 PAINT AND RELATED COATINGS, MATERIALS, AND APPLICATIONS D20 PLASTICS D30 COMPOSITE MATERIALS E01 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY FOR METALS, ORES, AND RELATED MATERIALS E04 METALLOGRAPHY E07 NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING E08 FATIGUE AND FRACTURE E12 COLOR AND APPEARANCE E13 MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY AND SEPARATION SCIENCE E28 MECHANICAL TESTING E29 PARTICLE AND SPRAY CHARACTERIZATION E37 THERMAL MEASUREMENTS E42 SURFACE ANALYSIS F01 ELECTRONICS F34 ROLLING ELEMENT BEARINGS F40 DECLARABLE SUBSTANCES IN MATERIALS F42 ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES G01 CORROSION OF METALS G03 WEATHERING AND DURABILITY
Bookmark and Share

SpotLight

SpotLight

Making History and Preserving It

ASTM D20 Member Rubin Kravitz Added to Syracuse University Plastics Tribute

By Richard Wilhelm

Longtime ASTM International member Rubin Kravitz, Pharm.D., is currently president and CEO of Cadet Laboratories. This is the latest in a long line of Kravitz’s professional activities.

However, these days, Kravitz spends much of his time contributing his talents through community service near his home in Virginia Beach, Va. In addition to being a Mason and a Shriner, Kravitz has served as a chancellor commander of the Knight of Pythias. He also volunteers for the American Red Cross and serves as a zone captain for an annual beach cleanup project along the Chesapeake Bay.

Additionally, Kravitz finds time to play parade music, swing tunes and standards on his alto saxophone as a member of three different bands.

Kravitz was recently recognized by Syracuse University for his lifetime of achievement in the world of plastics. Kravitz’s work has encompassed both contributing to the history of plastics and preserving that history through a museum and research center.

Kravitz, a member and former vice chairman of ASTM Committee D20 on Plastics, is a chemist and engineer whose career began with service in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After receiving a degree in pharmacy from Northeastern University in 1952, Kravitz worked for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, Kravitz spent most of his career as a research chemist and senior development engineer at Foster Grant.

While at Foster Grant, Kravitz’s responsibilities included conducting tests to evaluate, improve and support expanded polystyrene product lines and supervising physical testing. One of the accomplishments of Kravitz’s years at Foster Grant was his invention of an impact testing machine that bears his name.

An interest in educating the public on the history of plastics development was the impetus for Kravitz’s important role in the 1976 founding of the National Plastics Center and Museum in Leominster, Mass. Kravitz served as the museum’s first and founding president.

While the museum closed in 2008, its collection forms the basis for the Syracuse University Plastics Collection, an online research center devoted to the study and understanding of plastics. According to its website, the Syracuse collection is the largest university-based resource on the history of plastics and “combines narratives about the people, materials and corporations responsible for our cultural embrace of plastic.”

Kravitz has now been added to the People section of the Plastics Collection, joining such figures as Earl S. Tupper, the innovative entrepreneur behind Tupperware; Nathaniel C. Wyeth, inventor of a wide range of plastic products and processes; and Leo Baekeland, the inventor of Bakelite plastic.

Kravitz focused his ASTM standards work on olefins, specimen preparation, nylon and plastic furniture. In addition to his ASTM activities, Kravitz has served as president of the Pioneer Valley Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers and is a member emeritus of the American Chemical Society.

Kravitz says that one of the things he appreciated most about his years as a D20 member was the willingness of other members to brainstorm solutions to industry issues during meetings. He notes that throughout his career, ASTM gave him the opportunity to both give and receive good advice while talking shop with his colleagues.

“I’ve really enjoyed being an ASTM member,” Kravitz says. “People have been very congenial. It’s a wonderful organization.”

Rubin Kravitz

This article appears in the issue of Standardization News.