Fred Parsons was presented with ASME’s Patrick J. Higgins medal on July 13, 2012 by former employer in Providence, RI. Parsons was recognized for his contributions in developing and promoting a range of consensus-based standards spanning dimensional metrology, surface metrology and engineering specification and for consensus building leadership in working to align national and international standards development in these areas.

Parsons has spent the last 38 years of his career in the precision engineering and metrology fields, where he has been responsible for the design and development of important precision measuring instruments in the field of dimensional metrology. He has been a vital asset to the standards industry and ASME for more than 30 years, aiding in the development and promotion of standards spanning dimensional metrology, surface metrology and engineering specification.

Parsons served as a member and the vice chairman of the B89 Committee on Dimensional Metrology from 1987 to June 2001 and was an active participant on various B89 committees. In addition, he served on two Y14 Subcommittees and the B4 Technical Committee of Standardization of Allowances and Tolerances for Manufactured Parts. Parsons also served as the Chair of the ASME US TAG to ISO/TC213 from 1996 to 2011 being a big contributor in coordinating ASME Y14.5 Geometric Tolorancing issues with ISO. Parsons was an active member of the ISO TC 213 committee on Dimensional and Geometrical Product Specifications and Verification and advisory groups and working groups. He typically served as the U.S. head of delegation and spoke for the US at the Plenary session.

The Patrick J. Higgins medal recognizes an individual for contributions to the enhancement of standardization through the development and promotion of ASME codes and standards or conformity assessment programs in specific areas. The medal was established by ASME’s Board on Standardization & Testing in 2007, in honor of Patrick J. Higgins who was the long-standing Chairman of the A112 Committee and a member of the Board on Standardization.