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JOHN CHEN ONE KBR Tech Fellow, KBR ASNT President (2023–2024) HOUSTON, TX HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INVOLVED IN NDT? I started my graduate research project in 1995. It had to do with ultrasonic testing. Since then, I have been more or less working in NDT, mostly within the materials engineering field. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CERTIFICATION AND TRAINING? I have six ASNT NDT Level III certif- icates, a CWI from AWS, and a Professional Engineer license from six states. Every job I’ve had has provided training opportunities for me, on average a full week (maybe more) of away-from-your-job- type training each year for the past 20 years. A lot of this training has been directly in NDT tech- niques others are attending seminars to learn new things. WHAT’S YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND? I received a BE in 1995, a PhD in 1999, and another PhD in 2005. They are all in materials engi- neering and welding engineering. I grew up in an atmosphere where my mother and father had always emphasized the necessity of college and graduate studies. So, I always thought a college degree is a must-have for all. IS YOUR WORK FOCUSED ON A PARTICULAR FIELD? My day-to-day work focuses on routine NDT methods and proce- dures that have already matured and need be codified into industry standards. I review a lot of NDT procedures. The part of KBR I’m involved in encompasses engineering, procurement, and construction work. The company bids on large projects and after winning the projects—usually whole industry plants—the plants get designed and built. When the equipment, pressure vessels, piping, and so on, are being built in the shop and erected in the field, I make sure that the NDT procedures used meet construc- tion code requirements. DESCRIBE YOUR WORKING ENVIRONMENT. I work in an office most of time but there are occa- sions I need to visit shops or construction sites. Sometimes I work alone other times I am a member of a larger team. ARE YOU INVOLVED IN YOUR SECTION? I’ve served in officer, director, committee chair, and committee member positions for the Greater Houston Section. I’ve been serving at the national level for ASNT for awhile. I have served in officer, director, committee member, and committee chair positions (including Technical Editor of Materials Evaluation), and I start my term as President this July. I have come to know many, many individ- uals in the industry, who I would have never come to know if I had not been volunteering for ASNT. HOW HAS NDT CHANGED DURING YOUR CAREER? WHAT TRENDS DO YOU SEE? Digitalization. This will continue and is an enabling technology for artificial intelligence. WHAT’S BEEN YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE ON THIS JOURNEY? There are so many things to learn, at the same time new technolo- gies are constantly coming out. It is overwhelming at times to keep pace with the new developments and frustrating at times to realize that I have never really understood anything. One of the challenges is to get used to that, yet not give up learning. WOULD YOU SHARE WITH US A PERSONAL OR PROFESSIONAL BUCKET LIST ITEM? Once I had a wish to get a Level III in all the methods that ASNT offers a Level III certificate. Now I know how hard it really is to be truly qualified and certified in all methods. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE THAT INSPIRES YOUR WORK OR PERSONAL LIFE? Treat everyone the same way you want them to treat you. SCOPE |ATWORK 96 M A T E R I A L S E V A L U A T I O N • J U L Y 2 0 2 3 2307 ME July dup.indd 96 6/19/23 3:41 PM