Paulin and Rahoi Awarded the 2026 ASME B31 Forever Medals

During the 2026 B31 & Nonmetallic Pressure Piping Code Week in Mesa, Ariz., Tony Paulin and Dennis Rahoi were announced as the 2026 ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping recipients. Paulin was presented with the medal by the B31 Standards Committee Chair, Kristi Vilminot. Rahoi was unable to attend and received his medal separately.

Established in 2010, the ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping is a committee award recognizing distinguished contributions in the field of pressure piping. These contributions include, but are not limited to, leadership, technical, research and development, and publication efforts that have had a significant impact on the content, development, promulgation, and expansion of ASME B31 piping standards.

 

Tony Paulin

Piping Software and Design

Paulin is a long-standing member of the ASME B31 Mechanical Design Committee, a professional engineer in Texas, and a pioneer of engineering software for the PC. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M in 1979. 

In 1985, Paulin wrote the CAESAR II pipe stress program. Subsequent work includes design and development oversight of the FEPipe and NozzlePRO finite element programs and the build-out of the Markl Testing Lab at the Paulin Research Group (PRG) facility in Houston to perform burst, fatigue, cryogenic, and ratcheting tests on piping components. In 2014, he wrote the technical report STP-PT-073, which became the basis for the 2017 version of B31J. 

He currently works part-time for PRG, updates B31E and B31J standards, and is implementing the PODCOM.AI website to archive and share decades of laboratory data, references, and colleagues’ materials.

Paulin has authored or co-authored more than 15 papers and journal articles. In addition to this year’s ASME B31 Forever Medal, his honors include the South Texas ASME Herbert Allen Award for Outstanding Technical Achievement (1991).

 

Dennis Rahoi

Materials and Metallurgy

Rahoi, an ASME Fellow, is a specialized metallurgical engineer with more than 50 years of professional experience providing technical services across the United States and Europe. He is widely recognized for his deep expertise in nickel based alloys, stainless steels, and critical industrial materials.

His committee service includes the B31 Piping Standards Committee, B31.1 Power Piping Subcommittee, B31 SG Materials Technical Committee, B31.3 Process Piping Subcommittee, B31.3 SG D Materials Committee, and various B16 and BPV committees. His long-standing contributions to these groups have advanced the development, consistency, and reliability of ASME pressure-piping standards.

Rahoi is president of CCM 2000, a metallurgical engineering consultancy. The firm delivers high-level technical guidance grounded in extensive familiarity with ASME, AWS, and ASTM codes, standards, and best practices. CCM 2000 is authorized for private industry work and U.S. government contracting within designated technical areas.

Past Recipients of the ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping:

2025 Richard Campbell
2024 Pete Deubler 
2023 George Antaki
2022 Charles Becht IV
2022 Raymond Reamey
2021 Jimmy Meyer
2020 Michael Rosenfeld
2019 Robert Appleby
2018 Walter Sperko
2016 Ron Haupt
2015 Philip Flenner
2014 John Kiefner
2013 Mohinder Nayyar
2012 William Koves
2011 Don Frikken and Everett Rodabaugh
2010 Louis Hayden Jr

Learn more about the ASME B31 Forever Medal for Excellence in Piping through the B31.8 subcommittee’s resources.