ECIA’s Ed Mikoski Presents Awards at World Standards Day

Atlanta, GA –The US Celebration of World Standards Day dinner took place in Washington, DC on October 18. Ed Mikoski, ECIA Vice President of Standards and Technology, presented the awards for the World Standards Day paper competition, sponsored by The Society for Standards Professionals (SES). Ed is the current President of SES. This year’s winners were Stephen C. Lowell, First Place for “Standards & Innovation – There Ain’t No Fleas on This Dog”. Second place winner was Sandy Ressler, for “Standards, the Glue for Innovation.”

The U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day is an event that recognizes the critical role of various stakeholders across the standards community, including business leaders, industry, academia, and government.

The event included the presentation of the 2018 Ronald H. Brown Standards Leadership award, which is named after the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce and honors an individual who has effectively promoted standardization as a key tool in the elimination of global trade barriers.

World Standards Day was initially launched in 1970, and is now recognized and celebrated by nations around the globe. U.S. activities are organized annually by a planning committee consisting of representatives from the standards and conformity assessment community. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) served as the event’s 2018 administrating organization in celebration of ANSI’s 100th anniversary.

“This year’s theme for the US Celebration of World Standards Day – Innovation Nation –emphasizes the significant role that standards play in setting the stage for our nation’s technological innovations,” noted Ed Mikoski. “It is my privilege to honor these two distinguished paper contest winners.  Their award-winning papers each provide a wealth of justification in support of tonight’s theme and demonstrate the authors’ knowledgeable insights regarding the significance of standards in fostering today’s accelerating innovation in all aspects of evolving technologies.”

From far-reaching progress in artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and virtual and augmented reality, to specific advancements in areas such as smart health, e-commerce and digital transactions, 3D printing, and autonomous vehicles, an ever-expanding array of technical innovations is changing the way Americans work and live every day. Voluntary standards and conformity assessment are fueling that transformation, enabling innovators across nearly every industry to build on established technologies and deploy cutting-edge advancements with safety, efficiency, and reliability.

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