June 2009
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Space Dreams: A
Visit to NASA Glenn Research and Plum Brook
Facilities
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 When
i was a chubby lad back in the 1960s, one of my
favorite things to spend my allowance on was
something called Space Food Sticks®: “Good nutrition
and lasting energy in a chewy tasty snack.” You see,
these exotic neo-candy bars were allegedly developed
for the astronauts. They must have had some kind of
magic if they were the ambrosia of space pioneers
and we Air Force brats coveted them wildly.
Read More >>
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Overseas Business Development Opportunities
for Independent Test Labs
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The development of laboratory opportunities follows
the development of economies, markets and
ultimately, technology. Economic development
proceeds from an agrarian-based society to a low
tech manufacturing to more sophisticated forms of
manufacturing to R&D and, finally, to test and
evaluation of the newly-developed products. The
expansion of Asian economies, viewing as far back as
post World War II Japan, tracks this development.
With China now a firmly-established innovation
center, the question is: where are the next
opportunities for independent laboratories?
Read More >>
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WLL Supports Local Green Development Effort
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Building Green in Virginia
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Style
AND sustainability? If you hear a buzz in McLean,
Virginia it’s probably just the summer yellow jackets.
But if the whine is a saw on Calder road (two and a half
blocks east of Three Pigs Barbecue) you may have
stumbled onto the
Greenhouse project.
The goal is to create an environmentally
responsible home that integrates into the
close-in McLean community in which it is being
built. Deconstructed brick-by-brick to reduce
landfill loading, the new house is becoming a
demonstration project and showcase for
sustainable, elegant design. Under a unique
cooperative agreement, CharityWorks and
West*Group are developing the first
carbon-neutral house in the ‘burbs around DC.
Our friends at McLean PR Group are producing a
documentary on the development, capturing the
motivations and inspiration for the techniques
and elements of this unique piece of work. For a
sneak preview, visit
iGoToVideo for A Conversation With
Barry Dixon: Green, Responsibility and
Sustainability. We are a proud
supporter of McLean PR Group and their vision
for the future. It’s all about what we leave
behind, after all.
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Forum Focuses on Vietnam Environmental
Challenges and Opportunities
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WASHINGTON DC. Vietnam’s environmental issues were
the focus of a forum at the Ronald Reagan Building
International Trade Center on May 28th, 2009
sponsored Washington Laboratories and AmericanTCB.
Certainly, meeting the
needs of an environmentally-sensitive country such
as Vietnam will need to draw on an array of
expertise and require the implantation of multiple
strategies. The May 28th Forum was a step towards
connecting solutions to the challenges...Read
More>>
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Conformity Assessment Program Rolled Out at
IEEE Conference
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The IEEE hosted a
program on Certification and Conformity Assessment
at the IEEE Headquarters in Piscataway, NJ on June
1-2, 2009. The event featured speakers from
industry, associations, accrediting bodies and the
federal government and focused on CA processes,
standards, trends and lessons-learned. Of particular
interest is an initiative of the IEEE Industry
Standards and Technology Organization (ISTO),
affiliated with the IEEE Standards Association. The
formation of the IEEE Conformity Assessment Program
(ICAP) is a first for the membership organization
and broadens its purview to other-than standards and
member services.
The objective and offering of the ISTO is to be a
"Trusted Zone" administrator providing development
of Process Documentation (legal support, copyright,
finance strategies, etc.) and other Interoperability
and Certification Services, including working with
3rd party labs to coordinate testing activities. To
the extent that they can, they will offer services
fortesting and certification authorities, but claim
to not be entering the test business.
The IEEE-ISTO fills a gap between the standards
development and the users of the standards, which
may be an excellent resource for ACIL members
involved with implementation of methods to test to
IEEE standards. The reach of the ISTO is not
confined to ACIL CAS matters, but branches to other
standards related to protocols and interoperability.
The objective of the organization is to be an
ombudsman of standards and Conformity Assessment
programs. The ISTO is a non-profit (501(c)(6)
corporation that has the stated vision 'To be the
premier trusted partner of the global technology
community for the development, adoption, and
certification of industry standards.' Additional
information regarding the ISTO can be found at:
http://www.ieee-isto.org
The conference’s objective was to bring to some
light to many different types of certification
andconformity assessment programs and survey the
landscape forlessons-learned in setting up the
structure and function of future programs.
The conference included speakers from WiMAX, CTIA,
NIST, A2LA, ANSI,Omniair and Verizon. Presentations
covered experiences from batterycertification to
wireless technology certifications.
The forum is important because of the rapid
expansion of standards; astechnology has expanded so
has the growth of standards and the need tohave a
central conversation about Conformity Assessment
processes.
Certification as a way of ensuring product
conformity and safety has experienced rapid growth
over the past 20 years in many different industry
sectors, from food to cell phones. A number of
government and private industry certification
programs have sprung up to address these demands.
The need to have dispassionate (and private-sector)
authorities certifying aspects of product from
product regulatory compliance to is both helpful for
the promulgation of products (based on shorter lead
times) and the tightening of product standards
(through the transparent give and take of competing
groups and technology adopters).
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