SCOPE
|
ATWORK
CLYDE MAY
ASNT President (2024–2025)
Senior Director, Varex Imaging
HOUSTON, TX
HOW DID YOU BEGIN YOUR
CAREER IN NONDESTRUCTIVE
TESTING (NDT)?
Probably like most people who are
in NDT: by accident. I was in my
second year at Marshall University,
pursuing an accounting degree. I
ran into a friend from high school
who told me, “If you’re bored,
come see what we do.” I started
working for a company that did
in-house nondestructive evalua-
tion (NDE) for a company that built
power plants. That was 1978.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
THE WORK THAT YOU
CURRENTLY DO?
I work for a company
that manufactures
digital imaging
equipment and
X-ray machines, so
my main method
is radiographic
testing, and that’s
where I’ve been for
the last 16 years. I
spend a lot of time
face-to-
face
with customers, doing training,
applications development, and
helping with techniques and
procedures. I travel probably 40
weeks out of the year. I’ve been to
every continent except Antarctica,
and every state in the US. I’ve had
the opportunity to see so many
places.
HOW HAS THE NDT INDUSTRY
CHANGED THROUGHOUT
YOUR CAREER?
Until the mid ’90s, we were very
focused on construction and
equipment fabrication. But then
there was a big shift in what NDE
is primarily used for. Today it’s so
much more in-service NDE, since
assets are being required to last
longer. Bridges, airplanes—you pick
any industry, and the NDE focus is
on maintaining existing assets. We
still do construction, but not on the
same scale as we did 30–40 years
ago.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGES CURRENTLY
FACING THE INDUSTRY?
Getting people to know what
NDE is about and bringing them
into the profession. It’s such an
unknown field, but so important.
And, at least in the US, the
industry is so understaffed, very
similar to every skilled trade.
How do we get the word out
about NDE and its importance
in day-to-day life? I think that’s
our biggest challenge.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU
GIVE SOMEONE CONSIDERING
A CAREER IN NDE?
Learn as many different things
as you can. While it’s great to
be really good at one thing, it’s
also important to have a working
knowledge of everything in NDE,
because it changes, right? The
hot button of today may be gone
tomorrow, so the more you can
learn and get exposed to, the
better.
YOU’RE ABOUT TO START YOUR
TENURE AS ASNT PRESIDENT.
IS THERE ANYTHING IN
PARTICULAR THAT YOU’RE
EXCITED TO WORK ON?
I’m fortunate to be involved with
the ASNT Strategic Management
Committee, and we’ve got a lot of
things teed up. Certainly, drawing
more people into the industry is
very important. Also, reviewing
our legacy programs and models
for training and certification—they
work, but they’re 60 years old.
The industry and much of what
we do has changed. What is the
workforce of tomorrow, what are
the skills needed, and how do we
prepare people for it? That’s my
primary focus for the next couple
of years.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE
THAT INSPIRES YOUR LIFE?
Particularly in our business, you see
the catastrophes that can happen
if we fail to do NDE or fail to do
it correctly. My go-to saying is,
“There’s never a wrong time to do
the right thing.”
TO LISTEN TO THE EXPANDED
INTERVIEW, SCAN THE QR CODE
OR GO TO ASNT.ORG/PODCAST.
76
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 4
|
ATWORK
CLYDE MAY
ASNT President (2024–2025)
Senior Director, Varex Imaging
HOUSTON, TX
HOW DID YOU BEGIN YOUR
CAREER IN NONDESTRUCTIVE
TESTING (NDT)?
Probably like most people who are
in NDT: by accident. I was in my
second year at Marshall University,
pursuing an accounting degree. I
ran into a friend from high school
who told me, “If you’re bored,
come see what we do.” I started
working for a company that did
in-house nondestructive evalua-
tion (NDE) for a company that built
power plants. That was 1978.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
THE WORK THAT YOU
CURRENTLY DO?
I work for a company
that manufactures
digital imaging
equipment and
X-ray machines, so
my main method
is radiographic
testing, and that’s
where I’ve been for
the last 16 years. I
spend a lot of time
face-to-
face
with customers, doing training,
applications development, and
helping with techniques and
procedures. I travel probably 40
weeks out of the year. I’ve been to
every continent except Antarctica,
and every state in the US. I’ve had
the opportunity to see so many
places.
HOW HAS THE NDT INDUSTRY
CHANGED THROUGHOUT
YOUR CAREER?
Until the mid ’90s, we were very
focused on construction and
equipment fabrication. But then
there was a big shift in what NDE
is primarily used for. Today it’s so
much more in-service NDE, since
assets are being required to last
longer. Bridges, airplanes—you pick
any industry, and the NDE focus is
on maintaining existing assets. We
still do construction, but not on the
same scale as we did 30–40 years
ago.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST
CHALLENGES CURRENTLY
FACING THE INDUSTRY?
Getting people to know what
NDE is about and bringing them
into the profession. It’s such an
unknown field, but so important.
And, at least in the US, the
industry is so understaffed, very
similar to every skilled trade.
How do we get the word out
about NDE and its importance
in day-to-day life? I think that’s
our biggest challenge.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU
GIVE SOMEONE CONSIDERING
A CAREER IN NDE?
Learn as many different things
as you can. While it’s great to
be really good at one thing, it’s
also important to have a working
knowledge of everything in NDE,
because it changes, right? The
hot button of today may be gone
tomorrow, so the more you can
learn and get exposed to, the
better.
YOU’RE ABOUT TO START YOUR
TENURE AS ASNT PRESIDENT.
IS THERE ANYTHING IN
PARTICULAR THAT YOU’RE
EXCITED TO WORK ON?
I’m fortunate to be involved with
the ASNT Strategic Management
Committee, and we’ve got a lot of
things teed up. Certainly, drawing
more people into the industry is
very important. Also, reviewing
our legacy programs and models
for training and certification—they
work, but they’re 60 years old.
The industry and much of what
we do has changed. What is the
workforce of tomorrow, what are
the skills needed, and how do we
prepare people for it? That’s my
primary focus for the next couple
of years.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE
THAT INSPIRES YOUR LIFE?
Particularly in our business, you see
the catastrophes that can happen
if we fail to do NDE or fail to do
it correctly. My go-to saying is,
“There’s never a wrong time to do
the right thing.”
TO LISTEN TO THE EXPANDED
INTERVIEW, SCAN THE QR CODE
OR GO TO ASNT.ORG/PODCAST.
76
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 4
