Samuel R Low

Areas of Expertise

Hardness and indentation testing, mechanical testing of metals, standards development, quality systems

Work History

Began work in the Mechanical Testing Group of the Metallurgy Division and worked on a variety of research and investigative projects including:

· Failure analyses of railroad tank-cars and railroad wheels

· Mechanical properties of solder

· Fracture testing of full thickness nuclear reactor pressure vessels

· Fracture testing of large scale aluminum sheet used in commercial airliners

· Fastener test methods pertaining to the Fastener Quality Act

1995 to present: Manager of the NIST hardness standardization project involved in:

· Development of U.S. national primary hardness reference standards

· Working with Standards Development Organizations to develop and improve international hardness test method standards

· Hardness measurement harmonization between the world’s National Metrology Institutes

2006 to present: Metallurgy Division Quality Manager

Standards Related Activities

ASTM-International (ASTM): Chair of Subcommittee E28.06 on Indentation Hardness Testing.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO): US head of delegation to the ISO Technical subcommittee TC164/SC3 on hardness testing.

International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM): Secretary of the Working Group on Hardness (WGH) of the Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities (CCM).

Inter-American Metrology System (SIM): Chair of sub-Working Group on Hardness of Working Group MWG 7 - Mass & Related Quantities.

International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO): US representative to IMEKO Technical Committee TC5 on Hardness

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP): Technical assessor for hardness calibration laboratories.