Katharine “Kathie” Morgan recently began serving as the new president of global standards development organization ASTM International (West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania).
In that role, Morgan will lead a team that supports thousands of members, customers, partners, and other stakeholders worldwide. She succeeds James A. Thomas, who served in the role for 25 years.
“I am thrilled and humbled to serve as president of an organization that has played such a foundational role in meeting societal needs for over a century,” says Morgan, who spoke in early February at the organization’s first major meeting of 2017 in Norfolk, Virginia.
“We will build on the legacy of Jim Thomas, attracting even more of the world’s top technical experts to our committees while also serving people and organizations that rely on our standards and services,” she adds.
Morgan was joined at the event by Thomas Marsh, CEO of materials group Centrotrade (Chesapeake, Virginia) and ASTM International’s 2017 chairman of the board.
“Kathie brings proven leadership skills, a deep understanding of the global standards community, a passion for ASTM International’s mission, and much more,” Marsh says. “ASTM International will continue to grow and thrive under her leadership.”
As part of the event in Norfolk, Morgan visited a nearby training facility of the Virginia Beach Fire Department (Virginia Beach, Virginia) to see demonstrations of emergency response robots and drones. Manufacturers, first responders, and others tested robot capabilities and operator proficiency using 50 test methods, many of which were developed through ASTM International’s Committee on Homeland Security Applications (E54).
Morgan is a 33-year veteran of ASTM International, having served as executive vice president for the past two years. Prior to that, she was vice president the operations technical committee, where she led a 50-member team that supported the volunteer work of ASTM International’s 30,000 worldwide members.