Upholding Integrity: Legal and Ethical Standards in the Welding Industry

James Gravley has 25 years of welding experience and 19 years of inspection experience. He has served in a number of positions in Pittsburgh, PA including Senior Steel Inspector at Bureau Veritas and at KTA Tator first as a Steel Inspector and currently as the inspection supervisor. His credentials and certifications include the AWS: Certified Welding Inspector with endorsements in D1.2 Structural Aluminum, D1.5 Bridge Welding, and D1.1 Structural Steel as well as the AWS Certified Welding Supervisor and Certified Radiographic Interpreter. He is an ICC Certified Structural Steel and Bolting Inspector and Structural Welding Inspector. He is a NACE CIP Level 2 Coating Inspector, a CWB Certified Welding Inspector, and an certified in ASNT Nondestructive testing. Mr. Gravley serves on a number of AWS Committees including:

• B1 Committee on Methods of Inspection
• 59 B1A Subcommittee on Nondestructive Examinations of Welds
• 60 B1B Subcommittee on Visual Examination of Welds
• 61 B1C Task Group on Welding Inspection Handbook
• 144 D1J Subcommittee on Bridge Welding (AWS/AASHTO)
• 145 D1K Subcommittee on Stainless Steel Welding
• 154 D1TG3 Task Group on Fabricatio

James R. Chiles, 70, graduated from Harvard College and the University of Texas Law School. He has published over 120 articles and columns on technology since 1979.

HarperCollins published his first book, Inviting Disaster: Lessons from the Edge of Technology. Bantam Dell published his second book,The God Machine: From Boomerangs to Black Hawks, a social history of helicopters. Chiles was the featured commentator for a four-part History Channel television series based on his disaster book. He also appeared in History's Life After People and Titanic at 100, and National Geographic Channel’s Seconds from Disaster series. He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, CBS-TV, the Science Channel, NHK Japan, Coast to Coast AM, Australian Broadcasting, and Voice of America. Chiles blogs at disaster-wise.blogspot.com.

Chiles's list of lecture venues include the National Transportation Safety Board; NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Pacific Gas & Electric, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Constellation Energy, Lockheed Martin Space Division, the Helicopter Association International, the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Shanen Aranmór, MS, CWI/CWE, is a passionate advocate for skilled trades with over a decade of experience in promoting American manufacturing and fabrication. After transitioning from a college wellness professor to a welding and industrial technology expert, she founded Weld Like A Girl™ in 2017, offering public classes, community welding projects, and welder qualification services. Shanen's work has earned her multiple accolades, including the 2023 Dalton E. Hamilton Memorial CWI of the Year Award and the US Small Business Association Arizona Women in Business Champion Award. She also plays a vital role in Project MFG, supported by the US Department of Defense, where she helps elevate the trades and inspire the next generation of skilled workers.

Involved in welding engineering applications and consulting for nearly 50 years, both domestic and internationally. Graduated from The Ohio State University in Welding Engineering and holds an International Welding Engineer diploma. A Professional Engineer in Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas plus Alberta, Canada. American Welding Society: Life Member & Counselor. Former Chair of AWS D10, Piping and Tubing; Member of D10C, Post Weld Heat Treat, Chair of AWS Conference Committee; Vice Chair AWS Technical Activities Committee; AWS Director at Large (2023) and Member on ISO/TC 44. Member on ASME Section IX – Welding and Brazing Qualifications, Former Chair of ASME SCII/IX Subgroup on Strength of Weldments, and member ASME SCII Working Group on Creep Strength-Enhanced Ferritic Steels. President of W. F. Newell & Associates, Inc., a firm that specializes in welding codes, application and processes; plus Co-Founder/Vice President – Engineering of Euroweld, Ltd. providing a variety of specialty welding consumables, training and consulting..

Richard L. Holdren was elected to serve as President, is senior welding engineer at ARC Specialties Technical Services, president/principal welding engineer at Welding Consultants, LLC, and owner of Holdren Engineering, LLC. He has served over 40 years as an AWS member and chair of numerous AWS certification, education, and technical committees. He also served as director-at-large. He is an AWS Counselor, Life Member, Senior CWI (SCWI), and Certified Welding Engineer (CWEng).