USNC Names Participants for 2014 IEC Young Professionals Workshop

Program aims to strengthen the future of technology transfer and the next generation of international standardization experts

The U.S. National Committee (USNC) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is pleased to announce the U.S. winners of the 2014 IEC Young Professionals Workshop competition. The USNC represents U.S. interests in IEC standards and conformance activities, and is an integrated committee of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

To be held in conjunction with the 78th IEC General Meeting (GM) in Tokyo on November 10-14, 2014, the Young Professionals Workshop will bring together professionals from around the world who are at the start of their careers in electrotechnical standardization and conformance. Now in its fifth year, the workshop aims 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 standardization and conformance.

The USNC received a number of applications for well qualified candidates, making the selection committee's job difficult. The winners are:

• Ryan Franks
  Mr. Franks serves as a technical program manager for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). He has been actively involved in IEC-related standardization work and serves as the secretary of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to IEC Technical Committee (TC) 120, Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Systems, and the Convener of IEC TC 120, Ad Hoc Group (AHG) 1, System aspects and gap analysis, among other positions.
• Kevin Mangold
  Mr. Mangold works as a computer scientist at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC)'s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He has been an active participant in the work of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) / IEC Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1, Information Technology, Subcommittee (SC) 37, Biometrics, where he serves as a project editor and a data structure expert.
• Carin Stuart
  Ms. Stuart is a senior technology engineer at Energizer Holdings Inc. She currently serves as a subject area expert to IEC TC 100, Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment; IEC TC 35, Primary cells and batteries; and IEC TC 21, Secondary cells and batteries, SC 21A, Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes. She previously served as an expert to IEC TC 105, Fuel cell technologies.

Alongside recipients from other nations, the USNC's selectees will attend a dedicated workshop where they will learn more about the IEC, standardization strategies, and conformity assessment. They will also have the opportunity to attend technical meetings where standards are developed, observe meetings of the IEC Standardization Management Board (SMB) and the IEC Conformity Assessment Board (CAB), and benefit from extensive networking opportunities in an international setting.

"On behalf of the USNC, I'd like to particularly congratulate our three winners, and express the wish that we could have recognized all of the candidates," said Phil Piqueira, global standards leader for General Electric (GE) Industrial Solutions and president of the USNC. "We look forward to having these truly deserving recipients participate in the Young Professionals Workshop as part of the 78th IEC General Meeting in Tokyo this fall."

About the USNC/IEC
The U.S. National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (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 the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).