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Mike Mitchell
Northern Arizona University
Department of Mechanical Engineering |
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“The value in [incorporating standards into curriculum] is that the students will understand that there are standards that they will necessarily be required to use and be familiar with when they eventually are employed in industry, government labs or academia.” |
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At what university and in what department do you teach? |
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I am an adjunct professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northern Arizona University. |
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What is the nature of the courses you teach? |
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Machine design, material science and advisor for senior projects; this year we’re building an SAE Supermileage vehicle! |
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What year did you join ASTM International? In which committees are you active? Are you a committee officer? |
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I joined in 1983. I am on Committees E08 on Fatigue and Fracture, E28 on Mechanical Testing, F04 on Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices and G01 on Corrosion of Metals. I was chairman of E08 for six years and have been subcommittee chair of a number of activities within E08. I am presently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Testing and Evaluation (JOTE). |
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What are some advantages of your participation in standards development? |
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It actually helps with interaction with peers; the networking is fantastic, as are the life-long friendships with individuals of similar interest. Also, the meeting venues are often very interesting! |
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Do you incorporate standards, ASTM or otherwise, into your curriculum? If so, what types? How are they implemented (case studies, research, other)? What is the value of doing so? |
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Standards from ASTM are always inserted into the courses in material science and machine design as well as other courses, as are ISO, SAE, AISI, BSI, UNI and JSI. The value in doing so is that most all materials have such standards with which they must comply, and certainly in the material science laboratory the test standards such as tensile, hardness, fatigue, etc. are always employed. The value in doing so is that the students will understand that there are standards that they will necessarily be required to use and be familiar with when they eventually are employed in industry, government labs or academia. |
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Have you worked in industry, either past or currently? If so, in what capacity? What role did standards play in this experience? |
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I am presently a consultant to NDC (Nitinol Devices and Components) in Fremont, Calif. I retired from Rockwell Science Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., after 25 years. I was an assistant professor at University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., and a research engineer at Ford Motor Scientific Research Staff in Dearborn, Mich. I’ve taught at the University of Illinois (statics, dynamics, material science, mechanics of materials, etc.), Moorpark College in Moorpark, Calif., and NAU. Standards have always been involved in every aspect of what I was or have been doing simply because material must comply with such standards and all the fatigue and fracture testing I do is certainly standardized. I’m also Secretary to ISO TC164/SC5 on Fatigue so I am familiar with the EU and other standard systems as well. |
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Have you been involved in research, either past or presently? If so, in what capacity? What role did standards play in this experience? |
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See above – my whole professional life was/is basic research on the cyclic deformation and fracture of materials and I’ve really enjoyed it for the past 45 years. |
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What advantages do you see for students to have an understanding of standards and their development? |
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See above! |
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In your view, should a familiarity with standards be required for graduate-level education, particularly in engineering, law and business disciplines? Would this assist in gaining professional success? |
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Requirement at a grad level? I think not. Try undergraduate! Such a course at an undergraduate level might be best since it is at that level where “introductions” to most subjects should be made. At present, standards are only “mentioned” in many engineering courses. A singular course specifically addressing ASTM, SAE, ISO – all types standards – would be welcome. Putting together a challenging course for this topic would certainly not be easy.
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