Connecticut Yankee
Groton, Connecticut
A virtual business meeting was held on 30 August, led by Section Chair Kari E. Thibodeau. Section Secretary and Treasurer John P. Moran, Section Director Mike C. Tsao, Section Director James R. Mitchell, and Nancy Mitchell were in attendance. Thibodeau presented on section bylaws, a summary of the past year, current financial status, and the President’s Award. The proposed budget and plans for the coming year were discussed in depth, including dates of future meetings, student membership involvement, and scholarships. An online platform for holding future meetings was discussed. Thibodeau explained the platforms that were used during the Section Leaders Conference organized by ASNT. A committee to select the meeting platform and a committee to select a scholarship will be formed. Guest speakers, the ASNT speaker link, and presentations for upcoming meetings were discussed.
Greater Houston
Houston, Texas
The Greater Houston Section kicked off the 2020–2021 program year by holding a virtual meeting on 9 September. Section Chair Zachary (Zac) Wayne Sebren opened the meeting and introduced the expert technical speaker for the evening, Antionette (Toni) Y. Bailey, who presented on aerospace NDT.
The Section would like to thank Vanessa Gauthier and Section Vice Chair Zeki Cosku Gokce for helping coordinate the logistics of the virtual meeting. The Section would like to also thank Eddyfi Technologies for sponsoring the meeting and providing the online platform. There were 15 attendees.
Greater Houston Section Chair Zachary (Zac) Wayne Sebren opened the Section’s 9 September virtual meeting.
India
Chennia, India
The board of directors of the India Section conducted its first meeting of the program year on 4 July. The directors discussed various matters on the agenda for 2020–2021, and the board formed and approved various committees.
The India Section conducted its first board meeting on 4 July.
Kuwait
Kuwait City, Kuwait
The Kuwait Section organized its first technical presentation for the 2020–2021 program year on 26 August. Sangili Gunasekaran of HEISCO presented on “Basics of NDT Methods Importance, SNT-TC-1A/ASNT CP-189:2020 and ASME Section – V Code 2019 Changes.”
Section Treasurer Shanmugom S. Murugan welcomed the participants. Section Vice Chair Abdul Wahab Al-Ahmad presented the Section’s news and activities to the audience. The technical presentation prompted members to share their experiences, and it was very useful for NDE professionals gaining knowledge. Section Secretary Dhananjaya Mani Tripathi presented a vote of thanks. About 22 professionals attended the virtual meeting.
Sangili Gunasekaran of HEISCO presented at the Kuwait Section’s virtual meeting in August.
Miami Valley
Cincinnati, Ohio
The Miami Valley Section met on 9 September for a “Lunch and Learn” presentation, utilizing an online meeting platform. Eleven members and guests attended. The presentation was on “Aging Aircraft NDT” by Russell A. Davis of the North Texas Section. The Section had an exceptionally good discussion following the presentation and felt particularly good about the interaction available through teleconferencing. The Section plans on holding virtual meetings for the next few months and will be trying out different times of day to see what works best for its members.
North Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
The North Alabama Section held a virtual meeting on 18 September with six members and guests in attendance. The guest speaker was Matt Skinner of Advanced OEM Solutions, who presented on “A Review (and Introduction) of Advanced Ultrasonic Techniques.” Section Chair Willie G. Finney, Jr., introduced Richard Elvin Mitchell II as the new vice chair and Jose Rivera as the secretary for the Section. The Section won a bronze-level President’s Award for the 2019–2020 program year. The Section had a great meeting and is adjusting to comply with social distancing and CDC guidelines.
The North Alabama Section held a virtual meeting on 18 September and learned about advanced ultrasonic techniques.
North Texas
Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas
The North Texas Section met on 15 September at Ernie’s Seafood in North Richland Hills, Texas. The guest speaker for the evening was Walter (Buddy) R. Jeter, Jr., NDT instructor for the new Tarrant County College (TCC) NDT program. After networking and dinner, Jeter presented a slideshow about the TCC NDT facility. The presentation was well received and generated a number of questions. The TCC NDT program is located north of Fort Worth at Alliance Airport in the Erma C. Johnson Hadley Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation, and Logistics. The Section is very excited to hear of the progress being made at TCC and looks forward to working closely with the program in the future.
North Texas Section Secretary Larry (Dale) D. Norwood (left) thanked Walter (Buddy) R. Jeter, Jr., for his presentation at the Section’s September meeting.
Northern New England
Newington, New Hampshire
The Northern New England Section held a technical meeting on 6 August with 13 members and guests in attendance. Regional Director, Region 1, Lawrence (Larry) E. Mullins, Sr., presented on “Ultrasonic Development, and Codes, and Standards for Weld Inspection.” The presentation was very well received. This was the Section’s second technical session using an online meeting platform. The Section continues to improve its handling of these remote meetings, and attendance is rising.
Rockford Stateline
Rockford, Illinois
The Rockford Stateline Section held a technical meeting on 8 September at the Thunder Bay Grille in Rockford, Illinois. The guest speaker for the evening was Jeffrey (Jeff) S. Monks of Equipcon Group. Monks spoke on the subject, “Advancements and Automation for Fluorescent Magnetic Particle and Fluorescent Penetrant Testing.” He first gave a historical review of the development of the two methods, and then highlighted some of the new advancements that have been made in automation, including robotics, automatic part recognition, programmed controlled processing, and automatic defect recognition. Several new handheld UVA LED lights with onboard cameras and measurement capabilities were demonstrated to the attendees. The meeting was also presented via an online meeting platform.
Guest speaker Jeffrey (Jeff) S. Monks of Equipcon Group (right) received a plaque of appreciation from Rockford Stateline Section Chair Joel A. Mohnacky of Collins Aerospace.
Saudi Arabian
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian Section held its first meeting for the program year 2020–2021 on 28 July. The virtual meeting was attended by 46 members. Past Section Chair Fathi E. Al-Qadeeb, Section Chair Abdullah Mohammed Al Khalifah, and Section Vice Chair Mohammed A. AbuFour inaugurated the meeting with a warm welcome to all members. The meeting was also attended by Regional Director, Region 19, Marwan F. Basrawi. Abdullah announced the Section won a gold-level President’s Award for 2019–2020. Al-Qadeeb emphasized the details of the next MENDT Conference scheduled for 5–8 September 2021 and encouraged Section members to participate. AbuFour delivered a presentation on the ASNT Industry Sector Qualification (ISQ) program. At the end of the meeting, there was a question and answer session. The virtual meeting was organized by Al Khalifah and Liju Mathew.
Southern Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
The South Africa Section held its first online committee meeting on 24 August. There were some technical difficulties, but many topics were successfully discussed, including plans for the remainder of meetings for 2020. Plans were made for the first technical evening of the program year on the topic of “Blended Learning for NDT.”
Susquehanna Valley
York, Pennsylvania
On 13 August, the Susquehanna Valley Section held its first-ever virtual meeting. It was hosted and organized by Section sponsor Olympus America. Curtis James Dickinson, a senior applications specialist at Olympus, shared a presentation on phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) as it relates to the recent publication of the AWS D1.1 Structural Welding Code. Dickinson covered the basic requirements and application of PAUT, including equipment, setup, certification, and evaluation. He also performed a live demonstration of common techniques per AWS D1.1. The meeting concluded with an interactive question and answer session, allowing participants to video chat with Dickinson directly.
The Susquehanna Valley Section held its first virtual meeting on 13 August.
Section Highlight
The Saudi Arabian Section held its first meeting for the program year 2020–2021 virtually on 28 July with Regional Director, Region 19, Marwan F. Basrawi in attendance. Attendees listened to a presentation on the ASNT Industry Sector Qualification (ISQ) program.
The Saudi Arabian Section held its first meeting of the program year virtually on 28 July.