Thomas A. Schwartz, P.E., senior principal and president at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. in Waltham. Mass., has been named chairman of the 2014 ASTM International board of directors.

Schwartz joined ASTM International in 1982 and currently serves on Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings as well as C14 on Glass and Glass Products and E58 on Forensic Engineering. A past chairman of Subcommittee E06.55 on Exterior Building Wall Systems, he served on the ASTM board of directors from 2006 to 2008 and from 2010 until the present.

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. is a national engineering firm that designs, investigates and rehabilitates structures and building enclosures, with five offices in the United States. Schwartz joined the firm after earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Tufts University in Medford, Mass. He went on to receive a master’s in material engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge during his early years with the firm.

Schwartz held a number of positions at SGH, from engineer to senior staff engineer, and associate to principal, before assuming his current role. A registered professional engineer in 20 states and the District of Columbia, he focuses on building envelope systems, including curtain walls, glazing, roofing, waterproofing and masonry. He investigates and evaluates all types of glass and window systems, wall systems and roofing, and lectures and writes extensively about building enclosure technology.

In recognition of his professional work, Schwartz received membership in the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi and was elected to membership in the scientific research society Sigma Xi. Schwartz received the 2006 ASTM International Walter C. Voss Award in honor of his leadership and more than 30 years of service to the building technology industry. He also earned the 1987 Engineering-News Record Award for Contribution to Engineering. Other accolades include the 1994 ASTM International Award of Merit and a Service Award from the ASTM board of directors in 2008, as well as the 1987 Engineering-News Record Award for Contribution to Engineering.

In addition to his ASTM work, Schwartz has been a construction industry arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Boston Society of Civil Engineers. He was also the technical editor for Glass Digest for more than a decade.

Read a full interview with Tom Schwartz from the latest issue of the ASTM magazine Standardization News.

ASTM PR Contact: Erin Brennan, Phone: 610-832-9602; ebrennan@astm.org

Release #9546