Perhaps it speaks volumes that you don't know.
We have a tendency to keep information like that out of the hands of the uninitiated.   :)

3.2,
If you have nothing constructive to add to the forum please do not bother posting.
What was your question for - are you just trying to bait jon20013 ?

I have never met Walt but we have communicated via e-mail for over 5 years now.
Whenever I have had a battle with a client or contractor over their interpretations of ASME IX I just e-mail Walt and he has always taken the time to respond to my queries.
Got to the stage where I was threatening my Welding Engineer boss that I would contact my "Uncle Walt" to clarify our arguements.

Cannot think of a more worthy recipient of the chairmanship - Congratulations Walt and Best Wishes from New Zealand/Australia/Thailand. LOL !!

Regards,
Shane

3.2, here are just a very, very few of Walt's contributions (by the way, this listing was prepared in early 2007, so is far from current):

A prolific author, he’s published numerous technical articles in such periodicals as the AWS Welding Journal, The Fabricator, Practical Welding Today and Welding Design and Fabrication.  He also prepares and conducts training programs in piping, welding and metallurgy for the Center for Professional Advancement and the ASME.  Walter is the Technical Consultant to the National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau, a member of the Engineering Committee of the Pipe Fabrication Institute and is a Professional Engineer registered in the States of North Carolina, New Hampshire and Ohio.  He currently holds four US Patents for welding and brazing related products.

Walter began his ISO involvement in 1995 by attending CEN 121 SC1 meetings as an ISO observer.  His primary mission was to ensure ISO TR15608 would match the ASME material groupings.  Those efforts eventually lead to his involvement in other welding procedure qualification standards such as 15609 and 15614.  Ultimately, those activities migrated to ISO TC44 SC10 WG5, which is currently chaired by Mr. Sperko. 

In time, Walter became intimately involved in the development and revision of numerous International Organization for Standardization (ISO) welding standards, including a series of ISO standards on welder qualification; ISO 9606.  In 1999, he began attending TC44 SC11 on welder qualifications and after many debates regarding the potential negative impacts of ISO 9606, and in efforts to assure due consideration of US practices, an agreement to revise the standard was reached between ISO and CEN, the European Standards Development Organization.  The international welding community now stands to save millions of dollars in qualifying its welders, while at the same time permitting equitable global trade.

In 2005 and 2006, Walter assembled and coordinated a preliminary review by US experts of the now published ISO TR 20173 (Technical Report).  ISO TR 20173 provides an American grouping system for a vast array of international materials for welding purposes and these materials are classified in accordance with the grouping system of ISO/TR 15608.  ISO TR 20173 may also apply for other purposes, such as heat treatment, forming and non-destructive testing.  ISO TR 20173 will eventually be recognized as a very useful tool in comparing a vast array of international materials.

Walter is actively involved in dozens of volunteer committee activities and currently Chairs the International Standards Activities Committee (ISAC), US TAG for ISO/TC 44/SC 11, Approval Requirements for Welding and Allied Process Personnel and the D10 Subcommittee on Purging and Root Pass Welding.  He also serves as Vice Chair for the A5 Subcommittee on Consumable Inserts and the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Section IX, Welding and Brazing Qualifications.

Walter Sperko has proven himself a leader of the International Standards Activities Committee (ISAC) and will retain for many years to come, an effective voice in the International Welding Community.

My hat is off to Walt, obviously.