ASTM launches Center of Excellence website, signs Memorandum of Understanding with KCL, and more.

Jul 01, 2025

Young-ghil Cheon, president, Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL) and Andy Kireta, president, ASTM International, signed an MoU between the two organizations at ASTM’s Washington, D.C., office in May.  

New Center of Excellence – ASCET – Holds Major Workshop, Launches Website

The U.S. Standardization Center of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technologies (CETs), now known as ASCET – Advancing Standardization for Critical and Emerging Technologies, held its first major workshop May 14-15 in the Washington metropolitan area.

The workshop was attended by nearly 200 participants from across the standardization ecosystem, including industry, government agencies, academia, and standards development organizations (SDOs), all with an interest in driving U.S. leadership and engagement in global standardization.

The two-day workshop served as an opportunity for interested parties to learn about the importance of participation in global standardization efforts. The workshop also explored the ways ASCET can advance standards for CETs like artificial intelligence, quantum, and biotechnology, among others.

The workshop included a robust agenda of:

• Presentations and panel sessions on the introduction of ASCET, challenges and opportunities of standardization,
• Breakout sessions focused on identifying activities essential to advance progress for U.S. engagement in CETs, and
• Several presentations on operationalizing ASCET.

“It is essential to introduce advanced standardization processes into the landscape of critical and emerging technologies as early as possible,” notes Dr. Mohsen Seifi, ASTM vice president of global advanced manufacturing programs and the principal investigator of the center. “This successful workshop served as the first step towards operationalizing our objectives, welcoming key stakeholders, and promoting U.S. engagement in this global endeavor forward. We will take information and feedback gleaned from the workshop and further define ASCET’s scope of work and next steps. We look forward to driving this effort with key partners and interested parties.”

As the effort continues to grow and take shape after community feedback and robust road mapping, future standardization workshops are expected.

During the first day of the workshop, participants were also introduced to the center’s branding as ASCET, which is described as a transformative initiative aimed at supporting U.S. private-sector driven engagement and capacity building in the development and use of international standards. The effort will focus on four pillars: pre-standardization activities, workforce capacity building, development of an information and data-sharing hub, and launching pre-standardization pilot programs. To get involved, or to learn more about ASCET, visit www.ascet.com.

ASCET meets the original intent of the cooperative agreement between ASTM International and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology.

ASTM is joined in this effort by several key partners with experience in standards development and education and workforce development. The partners comprise several SDOs and other businesses, including ANSI, A3 Association for Advancing Automation, ASME, IEEE, UL Standards and Engagement, CSA Group, and Nexight Group.

Digital Standards Alliance Welcomes ASTM as New Member

The Digital Standards Alliance (DSA), a consortium working to create best practices for the authoring and use of digital standards, has announced ASTM International as a new member organization.

The DSA is one of SAE International’s Industry Technologies Consortia (SAE-ITC), an initiative by standards users and publishers to implement more efficient digital standards in the mobility industry’s operations and supply chain. The products of the mobility industry support transport by sea, land, air, and beyond. DSA members expect to be able to share digital standards improvements with other industries as well.

ASTM’s participation will further digital standards that improve quality, compliance, and integration throughout the full development cycle.

“We see this as a unique opportunity to align directly with key industry stakeholders to improve accessibility of our standards and build better integration with user workflows,” noted Stuart Radcliffe, vice president of sales and marketing at ASTM International. “As a global organization, we’re grateful to be part of the DSA’s far-reaching collaboration to increase the usability of standards and contribute to industry efficiencies. Digital transformation represents great potential at all levels of standards development and application. We’re eager to contribute our knowledge and experience to this goal and help serve the technical content management needs of standards users around the world.”

To learn more about DSA, visit: https://www.sae-itc.com/programs/dsa.

ASTM and Korea Conformity Laboratories Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Andy Kireta, president, ASTM, and Young-ghil Cheon, president, Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL) signed a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations during a visit from a KCL delegation to ASTM’s Washington, D.C., office in May. 

The purpose of the MoU is to promote mutual engagement in standards development for aviation and aerospace. 

Following up on Kireta’s visit to KCL in January, President Cheon led a KCL team to ASTM’s Washington, D.C., office, where each organization shared updates on its technical activities prior to sealing the new agreement. Phil Kenul, Rear Admiral (retired) and vice chair of the committee on unmanned aircraft systems (F38), and Dr. Yoonseok Chung, head of KCL’s Aerospace Strategy Center, led the exchanges. Representatives of the Korean Embassy to the U.S. were honored guests.

ASTM Staff Meet With Brazilian Dignitaries

In Washington, D.C., earlier this week, ASTM International’s Craig Updyke and Emmanuel Escoto met with two dignitaries from the Brazilian Embassy: Maria Clara Tavares Cerqueira, counselor and head of the Trade & Investment Office; and Ramile Curado, commercial advisor at the Embassy of Brazil.

The visit highlighted the growing collaboration between ASTM and ABNT - Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2021.

ASTM currently has 125 members from Brazil participating in its technical committees, including experts, students, and MoU representatives. To date, over 700 ASTM standards have been adopted or referenced by Brazilian authorities across key sectors such as petroleum, cement, concrete, plastics, and additive manufacturing. Additionally, more than 400 ASTM standards have been translated into Portuguese, further supporting Brazil’s engagement with international standards. 

Later this year, ASTM will welcome its first Brazilian participant into the ASTM Standards Expert Program — another milestone in standards cooperation between the U.S. and Brazil.

Infrastructure Conference in France

In June, ASTM International staff member Emmanuel Escoto, manager of global cooperation, joined a multinational delegation for a site visit as part of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, which took place in Nice, France.

The visit provided a firsthand look at France’s practical solutions for securing infrastructure, particularly ports and roads in coastal areas against sea-level rise, storm surges, and coastal erosion.

Escoto shared information about ASTM’s standard guide for property resilience assessments (E3429) to highlight how partners under ASTM’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) program can benefit from using this and other relevant ASTM standards, especially those related to resilient construction and additive manufacturing.