The 2005 Henry A. Gardner Award has been given to Aivars U. Freidenfelds, vice president at ElektroPhysik USA in Arlington Heights, Ill. He received the award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the operation of Task Group D01.23.12 on Dry Film Thickness.

Freidenfelds lives in Oak Grove, Ill.

Freidenfelds joined ASTM International in 2000 and works on Committee D01 on Paint and Related Coatings, Materials and Applications. Outside ASTM International, he is a member of the Society of the Plastics Industry and the Society for Protective Coatings.

Professionally, Freidenfelds at ElektroPhysik is their North American operations' vice president and general manager; ElektroPhysik is a major manufacturer of coating thickness testing instruments. Before joining the staff at ElektroPhysik, he was a marketing coordinator at MARVCO Tool and Manufacturing Co.

A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University with a B.S. in marketing, Freidenfelds earned his M.B.A, from Roosevelt University; he also studied psychology and criminal justice at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Release #7154