World Standards Day Paper Competition Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 World Standards Day Paper Competition, Daniela Freeman, Senior Manager of Standards and Certification, Building Performance Institute and Darlene Welch, National Technical Director, Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI)! 

2025

• 1^st place – Daniela Freeman, Senior Manager of Standards and Certification Programs, Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) and Darlene Welch, National Technical Director, Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI)  - Home Performance Standards: The Building Blocks of Healthy, Safe, and Energy-Efficient Homes.

2024

• 1^st place – Joe Bocchiaro, Harvard University GSD & Retired from NV5 Engineering & Technology -  From Ideas to Laws: Standards Driving the Sustainable Buildings Movement.

2023

• 1^st place – Muhammad Ali, Hewlett Packard Inc.- Strategically Advancing the Sustainable Standards Model.

2022

• 1^st place – Andrew Bank, XSB / SWISS - Next Generation of Industry Standards.

• 2nd  place – Purva Gupta, University of Pennsylvania -  Student Perspective: Sustaining US Standards Model. 

• 3rd place – Tiffany Guess, The Boeing Company -  Flying to Success: How Standards Contribute to the Success of the Aerospace Industry.

2021

• 1^st place – Joseph Bocchiaro III, NV5 Engineering & Technology - Sustainable ICT: Mitigating the Carbon Footprint of the Digital Economy Through Standards.

• 2nd  place – Joshua Baca, American Chemistry Council, AND Hideaki Makino, Japanese Chemical Industry Association - Advanced Recycling Standards: A Critical Step on the Path Towards a Global Circular Economy for Plastics.

• 3rd place – Derek DiGiacomo, Chris Bastian, and Mary Heenan of SCTE - Energy Standards: Powering Cable’s Success.

2020

This award was not offered this year.

2019

• 1st place – Casandra Robinson, National Institute of Standards and Technology – Building a Better Combat Boot and a Framework for Successful Standards Development.

2018

• 1st place – Steve Lowell, Department of Defense (retired) - There Ain't No Fleas on This Dog.
• 2nd place - Sandy Ressler, National Institute of Standards and Technology – The Glue for Innovation.

2017

• 1st place - Paul Witherell, Sudarsan Rachuri, and Anantha Narayanan, National Institute of Standards and Technology - The FACTS of Information Systems: An Informatics Approach to Standards.

2016

• 1st place - Julie M. Kapp and Debra Parker Oliver, University of Missouri – The Pursuit of Longevity Fuels the Need for International Life Expectancy Standards.
• 2nd place - Maria Iafano and Christopher James, Underwriters Laboratories Inc. - Innovation in Standards Development, Lifejacket Marking, Labeling and Point of Sale Information – Facilitating Harmonization to Save Lives.
• 3rd place - Paul W. Witherell and Yan Lu, National Institute of Standards and Technology Building Connections through Standards Landscaping.

2015

• 1st place - Jorge Contreras of the University of Utah, and Andrew Updegrove of Gesmer Updegrove - A Practical Guide to Patent Policies of Standards Development Organizations.
• 2nd place - Michelle Tham and Michael Bergman, both from the Consumer Electronics Association - A Genealogy of Standards: Thirty Years of Advancing Connectivity.
•  3rd place - Dawn Marie Bailey of NIST - The Metrology of Organizational Performance: How Baldrige Standards Have Become the Common Language for Organizational Excellence Around the World. 

2013 - Standards in a World of Work and Play

• 1st place - Ann Brigida of InfoComm International - At Work and Play and Everything in Between: Standards Keep the Ball Rolling
• 2nd place - Amelia Acker of UCLA - The Global System for Mobile Communication: The Hidden Influence of Standards in Text Messaging and Wireless Communication
• 3rd place - Joe Bocchiaro III of InfoComm International - Slopes, Skis and Standards - Having Fun Skiing Safely, Responsibly and Sustainably  

2012 - Standards Increase Efficiency

There were no winning entries in 2012. 

2011 - Advancing Safety and Sustainability Standards Worldwide

• First place - Toward a Rational Framework for Sustainable Building Materials Standards by Jorge L. Contreras, Meghan Lewis, and Hannah Roth
• Second place - Curtains Up! Let’s Put On a Sustainable Show Using Standards by: Joseph Bocchiaro III, Ph.D., CStd, CTS-D, CTS-I, ISF-C
  Ann Brigida, Astd, CTS
• Third place - What the World Needs Now:A Bold Plan for New Standards (Based on a Big Idea Capable of Lighting Creative Fires in the Imaginations of Millions) by
  William P. Fisher, Jr.

2010 - Standards for Accessibility

• First place - International Standards Efforts Towards Safe Accessibility Technology for Persons with Disabilities:  Cross-Industry Activities  by Roger V. Bostelman (695 kb)
• Second place - Audio Technology Standards Support Accessibility:  Societal Inclusion, Emergency Preparedness, and Protection from Harm by Joseph Bocchiaro III (402 kb) 

2009 - Standards for Environmental Stewardship

• First place -Facilitating Environmental Stewardshipby Denis Leonard (276 kb)
• Second place - Democracy, Standards, and Behaviors to Sustain Our Earth by Greg Monty (484 kb)

2008 - Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings

• First place - Quality and Sustainability Standards Defining a Young Industry by Joseph Bocchiaro III (323 kb)
• Second place - Ethics and the Smart Exoskeleton by Jay J. Iorio (37 kb)

2007 - Standards and the Global Village

• First place - Mitigating Global Climate Change through Equipment Standards by Elizabeth H. Kujan (152 kb)

2006 - Standards Build Partnerships

• First place - Industrial Legislatures: The American System of Standardization, by Andrew L. Russell (79 kb)

2005 - Improving Safety and Security through Standards

There were no winning entries in 2005.

2004 - Standards Connect the World

• First place - Securely Connecting the World with Cyber Security Standards, by Alicia Clay and Michael D. Hogan  (238 kb)
• Second place - We Need Better Information Connections for Welding Manufacturing, by William Rippey  (173 kb)
• Third place - Making the Confidence Connection: Conformity Assessment System Design, by Gordon Gillerman  (64.4 kb)

2003 - Building Global Security

There were no winning entries in 2003.

2002 - Standards Mean Business

• First place - Standards During Times of Change: Aerospace Strategies for Keeping Standards and Business Linked, by Laura E. Hitchcock  (68.4 kb)
• Second place - New York State: Building a Case for Standards, by Robert C. Thompson  (66.9 kb)
• Third place - The Standards Distribution Market: Serving Customers Between "All" and "Nothing", by Andrew Bank  (40.4 kb)

2001 - The Environment and Standards, Close Together

• First place - Recycled-Plastic Lumber Standards: From Waste Plastics to Markets for Plastic Lumber Bridges, by Dr. Prabhat Krishnaswamy and Richard Lampo  (156 kb)

2000 - International Standards for Peace and Prosperity

• First place - Microsoft Anti-Trust Litigation - The Case for Standards, by Ken Krechmer and Elaine Baskin  (30.6 kb)
• Second place - The Changing Standards World: Government Did It, Even Though They Didn't Mean To, by Stephen Oksala  (44.0 kb)
• Third place - Adoption of Uniform Standards in Testing Plastics for Global Competitiveness, by Dr. Ranganath K. Shastri  (51.7 kb)

1999 - Standards in the Construction Industry:  Building on Standards

• First place - The Yin and Yang of Standards Development, by Stephen C. Lowell  (70.4 kb)
• Second place - What Price Speed?, by Albert L. Batik  (58.7 kb)
• Third place - Standards-Setters as Innovators, by Rae McQuade  (56.5 kb)

1998 - Standards in Daily Life

• First place - The Myth of Free Standards: Giving Away the Farm, by Andrew Bank  (21.5 kb)
• Second place - The Principles of Open Standards, by Kenneth Krechmer  (47.1 kb)
• Third place - The Case For New Economic Models To Support Standardization Efforts, by Clifford Lynch  (28.7 kb)

1997 - World Trade Needs Worldwide Standards

• First place - The Modern Day Archimedes: Using International Standards to Leverage World Markets, by Stephen C. Lowell  (168 kb)
• Second place - Standards: Today's Trade Barriers Are Tomorrow's Global Markets, by Andrew Grebe  (27.7 kb)

World Standards Day papers are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). A free reader is available from Adobe.