ANSI International Guest Researcher Program
The IGRP welcomes participants from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds and offers a unique opportunity for non-U.S. citizens to work in the United States.
While participants in the IGRP have typically had a strong background in standards and conformity assessment, the program encourages professionals with experience in regulatory
and trade policy to apply as well.
Please find below sample profiles of guest researchers.
Sangme Han, Ph.D. (Korea)
Currently a guest researcher in the IGRP, is Senior Researcher, Biotech and Environmental Standards Division for the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS). She works in the field of environmental standardization, participating primarily on KATS technical committees: TC146 (Air Quality), TC207(Environmental Management), TC158 and TC 193 (Analysis of gases and natural gases), TC131/SC6 (contamination control) and TC209 (Clean rooms and associated controlled environments).
In this capacity, she has been focusing on environmental problems in greenhouse gas management and indoor gas. She also acts as a coordinator and intermediary between KATS and external stakeholders since the results or byproducts of KATS efforts are usually used by policymakers and business leaders when they create new national policies or business decisions. She participates as Korea's representative to ISO activities and as coordinator to Korean ISO mirror committees.
In the field of conformity assessment, Dr. Han has had the chance to work with the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme where she supported assessment for the calibration laboratory MRA in the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC). She has also had the opportunity to act as leader in accrediting Korean calibration laboratories such as Samsung Corning, Hyundai Calibration Technology institutions, etc. through the Korean Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS). In the area of consumer product safety, she has coordinated and consulted with South Korea’s industrial manufacturing sector to adopt Korean Standards into technical regulations.
She has also successfully developed a standardization roadmap in the field of Elderly-Friendly Industry at the Culture and Service Standards Division and was referenced for this work in an article of the Elderly-Friendly Industry Support Act. Dr. Han has been awarded the MKE (Ministry of Knowledge Economy) Prize for this work.
Dr. Han has received a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at Seoul Women’s University and wrote her thesis on "The study of the organic-inorganic nano-composites in functional organic molecules and layered double hydroxide."
Wiro Lee, Ph.D. (Korea)
Currently a guest researcher in the IGRP, is Deputy Director in the International Standards Cooperation Division of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS). His main job is to provide and support Korean experts with information and assist them in participating in international standardization activities. Wi-Ro is also responsible for establishing the network for standardization in the northeast Asian region by exchanging information with countries such as Japan.
Previously, Dr. Lee was in charge of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in Korea and played an active role in the IEC’s general meetings in Paris 2007. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Lee was main coordinator for certifying new technology and products and assisted companies in meeting the Korean government’s required standards.
Mr. Lee received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chonbuk National University, Korea, in 1993 and 1995, respectively. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Kyung Hee University, Korea in 2003. His decision to pursue studies in engineering was encouraged by growing up in the countryside where electricity, transportation vehicles, and farming machines were not common. Through the IGRP, Dr. Lee wishes to establish active ties between ANSI and KATS and assist in coordinating international standardization efforts to benefit further international development.
Shujuan Xie (China)
A guest researcher from July 2007 – June 2008, was awarded a scholarship by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) to participate in the IGRP in cooperation with four other standardization organizations in the greater Washington, DC area: ASTM International, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), and Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
Ms. Xie currently works for the Shandong Provincial Institute for Standardization, a branch of the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technology Supervision under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China (AQSIQ). She is responsible for TBT notification, standards research in the service field, and research in standards strategy of Shandong Province at the Shandong World Trade Organization/Technical Barriers to Trade Inquiry Center.
With 15 years’ experience within the institute, Ms. Xie began her career collecting and translating standards from foreign countries as well as for responding to questions about foreign standards for the Shandong province in its standards information service center.
Bogdan Yakymiuk (Ukraine)
A guest researcher from June - August 2008, is currently Spokesman and Head of the Media and Public Relations Section of the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine.
Dae Ja Kim (Korea)
A guest researcher in 2005, was the Deputy Director - International Standards Division for the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), under the Ministry of
Commerce, Industry & Energy (MOCIE).
Eduardo Campos de Sao Tiago (Brazil)
A guest researcher in 2001, worked as a Technical Assessor for the Associacao Brasileira de Normas Tecnicas (ABNT), the Brazilian national standards body.
Back to ANSI International Trade Resources
