North Harris College student, Chau Hoang, was recently granted a United States Patent for a new and useful invention known as a shearing gate valve. Hoang is currently a student in the college’s Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) and Welding Metallurgy course, and an employee of ABB Vetco Gray, Inc.

In May 1975, Hoang, at 25 years of age, left his native Vietnam and moved to the United States. Having to remain behind was Hoang’s wife and son. Hoang was a first lieutenant army engineer in the South Vietnamese Army, and like thousands of other Vietnamese people, came to the United States to escape from North Vietnam's communist regime and to build a better life. It would be three years before his family could join him.

Because of his engineering and educational background, Hoang did find gainful employment first moving to North Dakota where he decided it was a little too cold. Then moving to Houston, Hoang worked with Brown and Root Marine Yard from 1976 to 1986 as a fitter, welder, and leadman. There he developed experience in various types of welding, fitting and layouts for offshore platforms, jackets and piping.

Since 1986, Hoang has been employed by ABB Vetco Gray in Houston as a welder-fitter, machinist, and, for the past 15 years, a Senior Quality Control Inspector. His work has encompassed various product lines, including both surface and subsea wellhead and drilling equipment. In his current position, Hoang works closely with the product engineering departments at ABB Vetco Gray.

ABB Vetco Gray is a substantial international supplier of products and systems for oil and gas production and offshore drilling technology. The company also ranks as one of the world's largest suppliers of subsea production systems for oil and gas. The business embraces more than 20 fabrication and service facilities in 11 nations, as well as sales offices in 20 countries. With its head office at Houston in the USA, ABB Vetco Gray has major production facilities in Houston, Singapore and Aberdeen in Scotland.

According to Mike King, a senior quality assurance engineer for the company, Hoang has submitted twenty product improvement ideas for ABB Vetco Gray products with his latest idea qualifying for a United States Patent.

The shearing gate valve, for which Hoang was awarded the U.S. Patent, was a collaborative effort among Hoang and ABB Vetco Gray engineers in Great Britain. The invention involves a Stellite® overlay design for a wireless shearing gate valve that can be utilized for emergency blow-out prevention during well production operations.

Hoang’s professional certifications include: American Welding Society (AWS), Certified Welding Educator, AWS Certified Senior Welding Inspector, Six Sigma Quality Green Belt, American Society for Quality (ASQ), Certified Quality Technician, ASQ Certified Mechanical Inspector, and Level II NDE Technician. In 1997, Hoang received the American Society for Quality International Inspector of the Year Award. Hoang is an active member of the American Society for Quality, the American Welding Society, and the Houston World Affairs Council.

Hoang first came to North Harris College in 1997 for an Ultrasonic Testing course to add to his already impressive welding and Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) experience. This fall, Hoang enrolled in NHC’s welding metallurgy course.

According to Ron Theiss, NHC’s welding and NDE professor, approximately 85 to 95 percent of his students are working professionals and craftsmen when they enroll in one of his specialized classes. North Harris College and San Jacinto College are the only two-year institutions in East Texas to offer a two-year associate of applied science degree with nondestructive testing specialty certificates.

“I have known Hoang for about 15 years,” says Theiss. “We are both