May, 2002, Miami Florida
CMH-HDBK-17 is pleased to recognize Tom Bitzer for his distinguished service to CMH-HDBK-17, and to the composites community as a whole. Tom, in addition to other CMH-HDBK-17 technical contributions, was the initial leader of the MIL-HDBK-17 activity to revitalize the old MIL-HDBK-23 Sandwich Structures Handbook, which had been cancelled by the US DoD. Tom organized a new Working Group within CMH-HDBK-17, solicited participation, and organized the work to re-write and update the old MIL-HDBK-23 as a new volume of CMH-HDBK-17. Tom then organized a change in leadership such that the work continued following his retirement, and the new CMH-HDBK-17 volume on Sandwich Structures is well on its way to publication.
Outside of CMH-HDBK-17, Tom supported ASTM core/sandwich test method standardization as well as SAE core material specification standardization - doing much of the work himself in addition to directing the efforts of others.
Tom's knowledge, experience, patience, and good humor are already sorely missed by all three standards activities, and none more so than CMH-HDBK-17.
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