ASNT Newsroom

(Columbus, OH) -- The recent collapse of a bridge in Pittsburgh illustrates the wisdom of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) which provides $1.2 trillion for improvements in America’s infrastructure. Major improvements to bridges, roads and mechanical systems are clearly needed.

Yet the new legislation continues the federal government practice of affording states wide latitude in how they prioritize projects. Too often, this results in an increased emphasis on new high-profile projects while maintenance of what is already in place is minimized.

If this is going to be the case, then even before new projects are undertaken, a significant commitment to enhanced testing and structural evaluation must be mounted to avoid failures similar to what occurred in Pittsburgh. New construction requires a great deal of time. Meanwhile, older structures remain in service perpetuating ongoing risks in the absence of thorough, sophisticated, yet readily available testing and evaluation.

A class of technologies referred to as Nondestructive Testing (NDT) provides an immediate option for structural assessment. NDT is a process of inspecting, testing, or evaluating materials, components, or assemblies – such as bridges - for discontinuities, or differences in characteristics without destroying the serviceability of the part or system. In other words, when NDT testing is performed, a clear and unambiguous assessment of the integrity of a structure is obtained.

It is unknown if the Pittsburgh bridge was evaluated using visual inspection, which is all that is required by law, but its failure demonstrates the need for similar structures to be evaluated using more advanced methods such as NDT. Additionally, certification using the type of definitive documentation extensively required in NDT protocols, are severely lacking in the in-service bridge inspection industry’s specifications and standards.

To better understand and clearly document the structural integrity of America’s bridges, a more urgent commitment to the application of nondestructive testing is required.

The American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) stands ready to assist government officials and others who will be assessing future preventative measures in their efforts to ensure similar failures can be avoided.

About ASNT

Serving more than 22 000 members and certificate holders worldwide, ASNT, based in Columbus, Ohio, is the largest technical society for NDT professionals. ASNT certification and standards programs, publications, conferences, education, membership, and professional development programs are the foundation for expanding awareness of advancements in NDT. Governed by a volunteer group of officers and directors, ASNT is organized by councils representing interests relating to certification, engineering, research, education, and section operations.

For questions about this statement, email ASNT Marketing and Communication Director Garra Liming at gliming@asnt.org.

The American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) announces that four leaders in the field of nondestructive testing (NDT) have been selected for the 2021 Class of Fellows. Induction of the new Fellows occurred during ASNT Celebrates at ASNT 2021: The Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on 17 November 2021. 

The selection of ASNT’s new Fellows follows a rigorous review of the individual’s contributions to the field of NDT. A Fellow of ASNT is an individual member of the Society who is of outstanding professional distinction, has made significant contributions to the advancement of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and NDT, and has demonstrated tangible impact to the Society and participation at the local and/or national level.

“I am very pleased to welcome ASNT’s 2021 class of Fellows,” said ASNT Executive Director Neal J. Couture, CAE. “The caliber of this year’s class of ASNT Fellows is outstanding and each of our distinguished fellows is recognized for their expertise in NDT.” 

Presenting the 2021 Class of Fellows:

1. David S. Forsyth

Mr. Forsyth is NDE Principal Scientist at Texas Research Institute Austin and has almost 30 years of experience in NDE, specializing in studying NDE reliability and risk assessment. He is a member of NASA’s Engineering Safety Center Technical Discipline Team for NDE. He’s been a member of ASNT since 2005 and has published five book chapters and 30 refereed journal articles, presented more than 130 conference papers, holds one patent, and has one patent pending. He currently serves as Chair of ASNT’s NDT Reliability Studies Committee and as a member of the Research Council. 

2. Stephen D. Holland, PhD

Dr. Holland is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) at Iowa State University. At CNDE, he serves as the research group leader for the thermal NDE program. Dr. Holland is internationally renowned for his work in the modeling of vibrothermography NDT and in model-based inversion for flash thermography. He is also pioneering “digital twin” methods for NDT data integration and holds a patent for leak detection using structure-borne noise. Dr. Holland has been an ASNT member for 12 years and serves as Vice Chair of the ASNT Iowa Section.

3. Victoria A. Kramb, PhD

Dr. Kramb is Senior Research Engineer at the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) where she serves as the Program Manager for UDRI’s research program “Damage and Materials Property Characterization for Materials State Awareness” and is the group leader for the NDE Engineering research group conducting nondestructive inspection and mechanical behavior studies of metallic and composite materials for industrial and government customers. Dr. Kramb’s current research efforts include NDE method development and high temperature mechanical testing for hypersonic materials. A member of ASNT for more than 20 years, Dr. Kramb has been an inspirational volunteer and mentor with the ASNT Miami Valley Section and frequent presenter at ASNT’s conferences and symposia.

4. C. Deal Moore

Mr. Moore is Vice President of NDT Seals Inc. in Houston, Texas. He is a successful entrepreneur in the NDT manufacturing sector with more than 26 years of innovation and service to the industry. His contributions to NDT include supporting and encouraging women to join the industry, coordination of the first NDT Engineer for a Day for the Duke TIP Academic Adventures program in Houston, coordination of the first NDT Mentoring Program at Aldine High School also in Houston, and participation with the Association of Plant Inspection Professionals in a Texas Workforce Commission–funded Texas Training Consortium supporting NDT education in local community colleges. He’s been an ASNT member for nearly 25 years and an active volunteer at the national level and at the Greater Houston Section, where he has sponsored and helped organize numerous events. He recently completed his term as director at large on the ASNT Board of Directors.

About ASNT

Serving more than 22 000 members and certificate holders worldwide, ASNT, based in Columbus, Ohio, is the largest technical society for NDT professionals. ASNT certification and standards programs, publications, conferences, education, membership, and professional development programs are the foundation for expanding awareness of advancements in NDT. Governed by a volunteer group of officers and directors, ASNT is organized by councils representing interests relating to certification, engineering, research, education, and section operations.