ASTM International Wood Committee Names David Kretschmann as New Chairman
David E. Kretschmann, research general engineer in the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, has been elected chairman of ASTM International Committee D07, a 300-member committee that oversee 89 standards related to forests, timber, wood, modified wood, veneer and more that are published in the Annual Book of ASTM Standards.
In addition to serving as chair of the main D07 committee, Kretschmann leads the terminology and editorial subcommittee (D07.91) as well as the group on solid sawn timber. He has been a member of ASTM International since 1988. In 2005, D07 honored him with the L.J. Markwardt Award for his contributions of outstanding merit to the committee.
Kretschmann has worked for the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in the area of in-grade testing, juvenile wood research and fundamental property relationships since 1987. He is a registered professional engineer in the engineering properties of wood, wood-based materials and structuresresearch work unit at the lab. He has been lead or co-author of more than 70 articles in his field and he has received two George G. Marra Awards for excellence in writing and research from the Society of Wood Science and Technology.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis., where he earned both a B.S. and his M.S. in engineering mechanics, Kretschmann is a member of the Society of Wood Science and Technology and the Forest Products Society in addition to ASTM International. He also serves as the USDA technical representative to the American Lumber Standard Committee, where he is technical advisor for the ALSC Board of Review.
David E. Kretschmann, research general engineer in the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, has been elected chairman of ASTM International