The U.S. National Committee (USNC) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) congratulates the U.S. winners of its 2017 Young Professionals Workshop Competition. Recipients will attend the international workshop on October 9-11, 2017, in Vladivostok, Russia, in conjunction with the 81st IEC General Meeting (GM).
The USNC represents U.S. interests in IEC standards and conformance activities, and is an integrated committee of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Young Professionals Workshop, in its eighth year, unites professionals from around the world who are at the start of their careers in the fields of electrotechnical standardization and conformance. The workshop is intended to cultivate long- term national involvement in the international arena, strengthen technology transfer, and encourage the participation of emerging professionals in shaping the future of these areas.
This year, the USNC received excellent applications reflecting a number of well-qualified candidates. As with previous years, the 2017 winners were selected based on their demonstrated leadership and dedication in connection with standardization and/or conformity assessment activities; their vision of the larger commercial and strategic impact of standards and conformance work; and their accomplishments in their chosen field of activity.
The following three IEC Young Professionals have been selected by the USNC:
Eric Franca
Eric Franca received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Florida, where he investigated novel carbon nanomaterials for developing more effective neural electrodes. Following graduation, he began his professional career as a medical device reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he serves as a lead reviewer and consultant for physical medicine and neurotherapeutic medical devices. As a regulator, Dr. Franca encourages use and recognition of international consensus standards for medical devices. His contributions to standards development include serving as the FDA Specialty Task Group representative for physical medicine, co-chair of an internal FDA Robotics Task Group, and as a primary liaison and U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
member to an ISO/IEC Joint Working Group (JWG) focused on medical robots for rehabilitation. Dr. Franca consistently contributes technical expertise and encourages collaboration with colleagues nationally, internationally, and internally across multiple venues to advance the standards development process, and the safety and essential performance requirements for medical robots.
Luiza Kowalczyk
Luiza Kowalczyk joined the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), a division of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), in 2014 and quickly gained significant operational experience by serving as the secretary for multiple DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) Working Groups and the DICOM Standards Committee, managing maintenance of DICOM Standards, and organizing logistics for meetings of standards groups. Her responsibilities include managing ballots, communications among committees, ensuring deadlines are met, and managing day-to-day operations of the committee. She has become a recognized leader, contributor, and problem solver for DICOM working groups and has built relationships with key partners through collaboration on initiatives. These partners include professional societies, standards developers, governmental organizations, and international groups.
Wallie Zoller
Wallie Zoller currently serves as project leader of global product standards and regulations at Rockwell Automation. He is responsible for monitoring domestic and international technical standards and regulations; reviewing domestic and international environmental, process, and trade regulations for impact to product distribution; and engaging embedded personnel to establish compliance strategies for internal business units as well as enterprise-wide initiatives. As project leader, he engages with international colleagues and industry organizations to meet internal directives and provide high-efficiency business processes. Mr. Zoller has developed customized tools to increase visibility of the unit, align goals and processes across the enterprise, and evaluate efficient resource allocation. He serves in a number of roles, including chief information security office liaison, and is a member of the global business readiness management team. Within the IEC, Mr. Zoller currently serves as the representative of the USNC and assistant secretary to IEC SC 65B, as well as secretary to ISO TC 184 SC 5.
"Every one of our candidates was simply outstanding this year, and the decision process was no easy task," said Tony Zertuche, ANSI director, international policy, and general secretary of the USNC/IEC. "On behalf of the USNC, I am pleased and delighted to announce that these top-three achievers have been selected to participate in the IEC Young Professionals 2017 Workshop."
About ANSI
The 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 standards and conformance 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.
About the USNC/IEC
The USNC/IEC serves as the focal point for U.S. parties who are interested in the development, promulgation, and use of globally- relevant standards for the electrotechnical industry. The Committee is also engaged in the assessment of conformance to standards, undertaking work in areas such as testing, certification, and accreditation. As the U.S. representative to the IEC and many related regional standardization bodies, the USNC/IEC serves as a conduit to the global standards-setting community for technical and policy positions arising in the U.S. and brings issues from the global arena to the U.S. for review, consideration, and response. The USNC/IEC is a totally integrated committee of ANSI.