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May 01, 2026
The Advancing Standardization for Critical and Emerging Technologies (ASCET) Center of Excellence (CoE) has released a new Insights Brief identifying critical standardization gaps in quantum technology — from the lack of baseline definitions and performance benchmarks to workforce readiness challenges and barriers to expert participation.
The report captures findings from a workshop held Nov. 5, 2025, during the Quantum Economic Development Consortium’s (QED-C) Annual Meeting and Plenary in New York City. This was ASCET’s first technology-specific convening since its inaugural May 2025 gathering of nearly 200 leaders from industry, government, standards-development organizations (SDOs), and academia to identify key priorities and opportunities for impactful standardization. This session brought together stakeholders from across the quantum ecosystem for ASCET’s first small-group evaluation of standardization challenges.
“The quantum community made it clear that standardization can’t wait —the gaps in foundational definitions and performance benchmarks are already creating real barriers to adoption,” says ASCET Director James Dickerson.
“This Insights Brief captures those priorities and will directly shape ASCET’s next steps.”
The ASCET Workshop Insights Brief highlights key themes and challenges for standardization in the quantum space, including:
The report also underscores an urgent need to build a workforce of standards-literate engineers, scientists, and other subject matter experts through broader awareness and accessible, interdisciplinary training.
“In 2026, standards are growing as a critical enabler for the business case of quantum technologies, driving down the industry’s current high unit costs, long lead times, and sourcing risks,” says Austin S. Lin, Head of the United States National Committee to IEC/ISO Quantum Technologies (JTC 3). “These economic barriers prevent quantum technology from transitioning from the lab to commercial-scale industrialization. By partnering across disciplines, ASCET will formally connect quantum, AI, biotech, and semiconductors to collectively establish cross-industry leadership that is both future-looking and financially disciplined.”
For additional information about the conference, or to become a sponsor, please contact event organizers Angela Mejorin at .The findings will inform future ASCET workshops across quantum and the initiative’s three other priority technology areas: AI, biotechnology, and semiconductors and microelectronics. Standardization gaps identified through these workshops will serve as critical inputs to ASCET activities, including sector readiness assessments and a forthcoming national CET Standards Workforce Insights Report.
To view the brief in full, visit: https://ascet.com/reports/.
Performance-Based Façade Design (PBFD) 2026, an ASTM International editorial partner, will take place in Venice, Italy, September 16–18, 2026. Now in its fourth year, the theme of the event is “Durable Façades.” The event will focus on the global construction industry, which is being asked to deliver facades that are complex technically, contractually, and operationally—and that will meet requirements today but remain reliable and safe for decades.
PBFD 2026 connects the durability agenda to the practical, measurable domain of serviceability through a dedicated workshop, “Façade Serviceability: Failures and Lessons Learned,” and a publication pathway via an ASTM Selected Technical Papers (STP) volume that will be presented at PBFD 2027.
Astrid Piber, partner at UNStudio, and Silvia Prandelli, senior principal at Populous, will deliver keynotes for the event at the seminar on “Durable Façades” that will open PBFD 2026. Also this year, the experts presenting at the conference will come from four different continents, keeping the conversation fully global. If your company would like to gain visibility at the conference, there are various sponsorship opportunities (https://www.performancebasedfacadedesign.org/sponsors).
The PBFD 2026 “Workshop on Façade Serviceability: Failures and Lessons Learned” will address the technical and operational space where durability is validated—or challenged—through real-world performance, and will provide a case-driven forum focused on field evidence, diagnostic methods, and lessons learned. At the workshop, Andrei Koshelev, AIA SIA, will deliver a keynote titled, “Durable Façade: A Client Perspective.”
Massimo Colomban, founder of the Permasteelisa Group, will deliver a keynote to share his experience and lessons learned on how to grow a revolutionary global façade contractor firm that made history and shaped some of the most iconic buildings worldwide.
Registration for PBFD 2026 is now open.
To register, please go to: www.performancebasedfacadedesign.org.
The Joint European Drone Associations (JEDA) and ASTM International recently announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the XPONENTIAL Europe Drone event in Düsseldorf, Germany during the Standards Forum.
The MoU establishes a framework for cooperation to strengthen awareness, participation, and alignment around international voluntary consensus standards. This work will support safe, scalable, and harmonized drone operations and technologies across Europe and global markets.
“This MoU brings our National Member Drone Associations closer to the standards work that is increasingly referenced across Europe, and it strengthens the feedback loop between industry and regulators as operations scale and the implementation of U-space and related frameworks accelerates,” says Julie Garland, President, JEDA. “By connecting European stakeholders directly with ASTM’s consensus-based process, we can help reduce fragmentation and improve interoperability and harmonization to accelerate the safe integration of UAS into European airspace.”
Under the MoU, JEDA and ASTM intend to collaborate on activities such as:
Connecting European leaders and technical experts with relevant ASTM technical committees to encourage direct engagement in standards development.
“The future of aviation will be built across borders—and it will require trusted, consensus-based standards,” says Jeff Grove, ASTM’s vice president of global policy, cooperation and communication. “This MoU strengthens global collaboration so innovation can advance safely, regulators and industry can align, and the market can have confidence in the responsible integration of UAS and advanced air mobility.”
The agreement was signed during XPONENTIAL Europe, a leading European forum bringing together industry, regulators, and technology providers focused on advancing uncrewed aviation and enabling services.
The ASCET Center of Excellence has published a new environmental scan report that maps the current landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) standardization to determine priorities for advancing U.S. leadership in AI.
The assessment synthesizes publicly available standards databases, government and industry strategic documents, and input from government, industry, and academia to identify areas of maturity, emerging needs, and priorities for pre-standardization research.
The scan assesses AI standardization at all levels by:
“AI is advancing faster than the standards infrastructure needed to support its safe and responsible deployment,” says Mohsen Seifi, Ph.D., ASTM’s vice president and principal investigator for ASCET. “This scan gives stakeholders across government, industry, and academia a clear picture of where standards exist, where the gaps are, and where we need to focus our collective efforts to ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront.”
The report recommends actionable steps for advancing AI standardization, including an agile approach to keep pace with the technology’s rapid progression, more robust training for risk evaluation and mitigation, development of factuality and trustworthiness benchmarks, and more.
The findings of the AI scan will inform ASCET’s upcoming activities on the topic, such as workshops, roadmap development, and prioritization of standardization efforts. Future engagement on this and other CETs will further ASCET’s goal of supporting U.S. standards alignment to promote national competitiveness, economic security, and innovation.
The newly published scan is the first in a series of four scans, covering each of ASCET’s four critical and emerging technologies: AI, biotechnology, quantum technology, and semiconductors and microelectronics. These reports will be published and updated periodically in the coming months.
The AI standardization report is available at: https://ascet.com/reports/, where stakeholders can also explore opportunities to engage with ASCET’s upcoming initiatives.
May / June 2026
