May 27, 2009

Laura E. Hitchcock, senior standards specialist and corporate project manager for external standards management, strategy and policy, at the Boeing Co., Seattle, Wash., has been chosen to receive the 2009 W.T. Cavanaugh Memorial Award from ASTM International. 

Established in 1987, the Cavanaugh Award honors the memory of William T. Cavanaugh, chief executive officer of ASTM International from 1970 until his death in 1985. The award acknowledges individuals of widely recognized eminence who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of national and international voluntary standards.

Hitchcock, who has more than 30 years of experience in standards and is globally recognized by industry, government, academia and standards developing organizations, was honored for her expertise, strong leadership and contributions to the voluntary standards system through numerous leadership roles on national and international standards committees and governing bodies.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Arcadia University, Glenside, Pa., Hitchcock began her professional career as a research assistant in human factors engineering at Essex Corp., Alexandria, Va.  She joined Boeing’s Corporate Engineering Standards Department in 1985 and assumed her current role in 1993.  Her work focuses on the strategic standardization management of policies and processes in the national and international standards arena in support of aerospace standards. She is responsible for the coordination of Boeing’s participation in the development of voluntary consensus standards, and she uses her expertise in the electronic development and delivery of standards, standards benchmarking, and the development of standards data management processes to integrate standards into the Boeing Standards System.

A former member of the ASTM board of directors and IEEE’s board of governors, Hitchcock currently serves on the board of directors of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (Codes and Standards), the Center for Global Standards Analysis and the American National Standards Institute, where she is a vice chair. She also serves as chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO/TC20, Aircraft and Space Vehicles.

At SAE International, Hitchcock is a member of the board of directors; past chair and member of the SAE Technical Standards Board; chair of the SAE Aerospace Council – the governing body over the largest aerospace standards program in the world; and she was instrumental in founding SAE’s Commercial Jet Transport Standardization Committee.  She is also a member of the Standards Engineering Society and the Industry Cooperation on Standards and Conformity Assessment.

Hitchcock received the ANSI Meritorious Service Award in 2002, the SAE International Technical Standard Board’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2004 and the Leo B. Moore Medal, the most prestigious award conferred by the Standards Engineering Society, in 2006. 

Release #8259