workforce development, assist in
upskilling personnel, and elevate the
quality and education of NDT personnel
in Saudi Arabia,” said Paul Lang, ASNT
Chief Global Strategy Officer.
Through the partnership, ASNT will
enable ITQAN to offer a wide range of
ASNT educational and training content at
their facility, including in-person and online
options. Once ITQAN achieves ASNT
Authorized Examination Center status, it will
also administer ASNT certification exams.
“This strategic alliance empowers
Saudi talent with globally recognized
skills and certifications—enabling them
to thrive in high-demand sectors and
contribute meaningfully to the Kingdom’s
industrial transformation,” said Tariq
Alamer, Managing Director of ITQAN
Institute. “Together with ASNT, we are
shaping a future where ITQAN graduates
are not just [ASNT] certified, but trusted,
valued, and ready to lead across the
Kingdom’s most vital industries.”
This collaboration will promote and
deliver ASNT courses to ITQAN’s student
body and the public. The courses will
cover general and advanced NDT
knowledge as well as specific training to
support the ASNT 9712 and ASNT NDT
certification programs.
BIDEN-ERA PIPELINE
INSPECTION RULE
RESCINDED
The US Department of Transportation’s
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA) has withdrawn
a Biden-era advisory bulletin tied to the
2020 PIPES Act, citing federal overreach
and excessive regulatory burdens on the
pipeline industry.
The bulletin, originally intended
to guide operators in implementing
Section 114 of the PIPES Act, had been
criticized for extending beyond the
law’s scope and introducing costly new
requirements. In a notice transmitted to
the Federal Register, PHMSA formally
rescinded the guidance.
Pipeline operators are now instructed
to follow the original language of
Section 114 and Section 60108(a) of the
Pipeline Safety Act in drafting inspection
and maintenance plans. Regulators will
use those standards during future audits
and inspections.
VAST SPACE USING
FLEXIBLE DIGITAL X-RAY
DETECTORS ON SPACE
STATION PROJECT
NASA’s International Space Station (ISS)
has dominated low Earth orbit for more
than 25 years, serving as a microgravity
laboratory and home to rotating crews
of astronauts. But with the ISS nearing the
end of its operational life, NASA is looking
for a replacement. One contender is
Vast Space, a California-based aerospace
startup founded by former crypto entre-
preneur Jed McCaleb, which recently
unveiled plans for a successor to the ISS as
part of a broader push to commercialize
low Earth orbit.
Vast has revealed the design of
Haven-2, a private space station it
hopes to launch as part of the second
phase of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth
Orbit Destinations (CLD) program.
According to the company, the first
module of Haven-2 could launch as
early as 2028. Before that, Vast plans
to launch Haven-1—a smaller, single-
module station—in 2026. The company
says Haven-1 will support short-term
missions for up to four astronauts at
a time. But even before its first space
station launches, Vast is eyeing the
NASA contract to build another one as a
commercial successor to the ISS.
To support fabrication and inspection
of its space station components, Vast
has adopted digital radiography (DR)
systems from Dürr NDT. Dan Guerrero at
Willick Engineering, a Pinnacle company,
collaborated closely with John Stewart,
founder of ATAA and Radiation Safety
Officer/Responsible Level 3 at VAST,
to implement the use of Dürr NDT’s
D-DR 1025B NDT and D-DR 1043B NDT
flexible panels. Vast is also using the
19 µm DR 7 NDT panel for applications
requiring very high resolution. The panels
and Dürr’s D-Tect X software are being
used to inspect welds on the exterior of
Haven’s structural components.
PENN STATE
ESTABLISHES CENTER
FOR DIRECTED
ENERGY RESEARCH
AND WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT
Pennsylvania State University has
launched the Center of Excellence in
Directed Energy (CEDE), a university-
wide initiative focused on advancing
basic research in focused energy tech-
nologies—such as lasers and micro-
waves—to drive new applications and
cultivate a skilled workforce in directed
SCANNER
|
INDUSTRYNEWS
A vision for the future of low Earth orbit: Vast Space’s Haven-1 station and the inspection
technology helping bring it to life.
10
M AT E R I A L S E V A L U AT I O N • A U G U S T 2 0 2 5
CREDIT:
VAST
SPACE

energy (DE) science and systems
development.
This new interdisciplinary hub brings
together faculty and researchers from
Penn State’s College of Engineering,
Applied Research Lab (ARL), and
Materials Research Institute (MRI). The
announcement was made at a kickoff
meeting in April, where the news and
the CEDE leadership team’s vision
was shared with the larger research
community.
To support the center, Penn State has
invested in facilities for directed energy
fabrication and testing, 4D material
characterization, and high-performance
computing. The university also plans to
make strategic faculty hires and graduate
fellowships in DE-focused disciplines. The
center will occupy new lab space within
the Engineering Collaborative Research
and Education (ECoRE) building, shared
with the Computational Electromagnetics
and Antennas Research Lab (CEARL).
Additional resources will be provided by
ARL and MRI partners.
The center’s leadership includes CEDE
Director Douglas Werner—who is also
Penn State’s John L. and Genevieve H.
McCain Chair Professor of Electrical
Engineering—with Kristoffer Greenert,
division head of advanced science and
technology at ARL, and Bed Poudel,
research professor of materials science
and engineering, serving as associate
directors.
The center aligns with the mission
of Penn State’s new National Security
Institute, which is aimed at enhancing
scientific contributions to defense and
national security, as well as the university’s
broader research mission, including part-
nerships with government and industry
stakeholders.
GIATEC PARTNERS
WITH SIKA TO
SUPPORT GLOBAL
CONSTRUCTION
DIGITALIZATION
On 4 June, Ottawa-based Giatec
(Ontario, Canada), a global provider of
digital concrete technology platforms,
announced a strategic minority invest-
ment from Sika AG, a specialty chemicals
company with a global presence in the
construction sector.
The partnership supports Giatec’s
mission to revolutionize concrete
construction through smart testing
technologies and real-time collection
and analysis of concrete data—from
production to placement. The invest-
ment is expected to help expand the
use of Giatec’s digital solutions, aimed
at improving concrete quality, durability,
and sustainability.
“With Sika’s global reach and deep
industry expertise, this partnership
will enable us to expand further into
European and international markets,
Penn State PhD students in the school’s Center of Excellence in Directed Energy (CEDE) discuss
simulation results while holding a prototype.
ASNT 2025
OPENING KEYNOTE
ANNOUNCED
Lisa Ryan will be the opening keynote
presenter for this year’s Annual
Conference. Before speaking on stages
across the country, Ryan spent 13 years
in industrial sales, including seven years
in the welding industry. She knows
firsthand what it’s like to work in high-
stakes, hands-on environments—and she
brings that real-world experience to the
strategies she shares today.
Her keynote, sponsored by
Carestream NDT and titled “Unlocking
a Workforce That Stays, Performs, and
Believes,” will deliver proven retention
strategies rooted in her background in
the welding and industrial sectors. Ryan
believes that as the industry evolves
and depopulation accelerates, the
challenge isn’t just hiring—it’s building
a culture that makes the next genera-
tion want to stay. She will share a blend
of research-backed retention strategies
and practical tools to help strengthen
workplace culture and leadership across
technical and industrial teams.
ASNT 2025 will take place at
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in
Orlando, Florida, from 6–9 October.
Learn more and register at asnt.org/
events.
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SOCIETYNOTES
A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 • M AT E R I A L S E V A L U AT I O N 11
CREDIT:
GALESTAN
MACKERTICH-SENGERDY/PENN
STATE