ASME NEWS
Students Reach Beyond, ASME B31 Forever Medal
A roundup of recent Society events.
ASME Strategist Helps Students Reach for the Stars
Twelve students recently spoke live with an International Space Station astronaut. As Kimiya Yui passed over P-TECH high school in Paterson, N.J., he talked with the young people for eight minutes. The event was brought about by the school district and the Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club (FLARC) that works with NASA’s Amateur Radio on the Space Station program.
ASME Strategy Manager Robert “Sky” Marchini, an amateur (ham) radio operator who is FLARC’s youth outreach officer, helped make this out-of-this-world conversation possible. To make sure the project ran smoothly, being able to manage a lot of “moving parts” was essential, they explained. And while anything could go wrong on the day of the event, the real work began weeks before to deal with potential antenna, radio, and power issues. “We had to pull five separate runs of 200 feet of cabling through a drop ceiling and to a roof hatch,” Marchini explained, describing installing a huge roof-top antenna.
With a goal to bring science to life, Marchini joined fellow FLARC members in coordinating months of preparation with Carlos Miranda, who manages the school’s planetarium. “We wanted to bring something special to [these students], something you can’t buy, that very few people in the world can say they’ve done, to try and ignite an interest in science and engineering and show it’s open to everyone,” Marchini said. “We want to help these students, reach for the stars.”
> Students spoke live with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. Photo: Paterson Public Schools
Campbell Awarded the 2025 ASME B31 Forever Medal
During 2025 B31 Code Week B31 & Nonmetallic Pressure Piping Code Week in Houston, Richard Campbell received the 2025 ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping. He was presented with the medal by the B31 Standards Committee Vice Chair John Swezy. The ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping is a Committee Award that was established in 2010 that is awarded for distinguished contributions in the field of pressure piping including but not limited to leadership, technical, research and development, and publication efforts that have had a significant impact on the content, development, promulgation, and expansion of ASME B31 piping standards.
Richard Campbell is an ASME Fellow, AWS Fellow, and Bechtel Fellow Emeritus. He has more than 45 years of welding and metallurgical engineering experience. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in welding and mechanical engineering from LeTourneau University and a doctorate in materials engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was a past Chair of the Board on Conformity Assessment, Vice Chair of the B31.3 Process Piping Section Committee, Member of the Congress Steering Committee, Member of the Board on Council Operations, and officer or member of dozens of ASME committees and subcommittees (e.g., Section IX, BPE, B31, C-CAR).
< Richard Campbell received the 2025 ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping.
Now Accepting ECLIPSE Leadership Program Applications
Early career engineers who want to expand their networks, develop as leaders, and gain experience shaping global strategies are strongly encouraged to apply in the ASME ECLIPSE program. Applications for the 2026–2027 ECLIPSE program are now being accepted.
The ECLIPSE Early Career Leadership Program offers an exceptional opportunity for early career engineers to accelerate their professional growth while making a meaningful impact within ASME.
To be eligible, applicants must be a current ASME member, under the age of 35 with three to 10 years professional experience/post undergrad, and have some experience with ASME as a volunteer at some level. All 2026-2027 ECLIPSE applications are due Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Find all the details here.
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