The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. voluntary standardization system, and its Committee on Education (CoE) are pleased to announce that Karmin Chong of the City College of New York is the first-place winner of the annual ANSI student paper competition. Amanda Goetz, Branden Hill, Libby Lee, and Jennifer Pattillo of Michigan's Ferris State University are the second-place winners. The contest is part of an ANSI-led effort to raise awareness about the strategic importance of standards and conformance among U.S. undergraduate and graduate students.
Entrants in the 2016 competition were asked to submit papers that exemplify what life would be like without standards that support the products, services, and operations that we depend on every day, as part of the theme A World without Standards. The contest was open to students of any discipline currently enrolled in an associate, undergraduate, or graduate-level program at a U.S. academic institute of higher learning.
The winning paper, titled "The Standards of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," examines why standards are vitally essential to maintain a functional civilized society. With examples of how standards protect public health by establishing the safety, efficacy, and security of people, the paper explores the origin and necessity of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with an enlightening historical synopsis.
The second-place paper, "The Bleak Reality of a World without Standards," explores how standards establish fair competition, provide value, and add to the bottom line within three major sectors: manufacturing, healthcare, and education. The paper provides a stark contrast between developing nations, which have faced consequences as they operate without standards, and developed countries, which depend on standards to drive innovation and to protect workers and consumers alike.
All winners will receive a cash prize for their winning paper as well as a certificate for themselves and their schools.
For more information about the ANSI Committee on Education, please contact Lisa Rajchel ([email protected]).
About ANSIThe American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is made up of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.
The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
About the ANSI Committee on Education
The ANSI Committee on Education (CoE) oversees all Institute initiatives related to standards and conformity assessment education and outreach, fulfills the objectives of the United States Standards Strategy (USSS), and responds to other issues that may be delegated by the ANSI Board of Directors, Executive Committee, or the National Policy Committee.