BIPM - BIPM highlights

Job vacancy

Research fellow – Quantification of complex analytes for Laboratory Medicine – Closing date: 30 September 2010

Gérard Petit has been awarded the EFTF Award 2010

Gérard of the BIPM Time, Frequency and Gravimetry Department received this important award "for his outstanding contributions to the elaboration of time scales including the investigations of the influence of General Relativity to space-time references and primary frequency standards". He was presented with the award at the 24th European Frequency and Time Forum (Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 12-16 April 2010) – List of EFTF awards and winners

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 13 (June 2010) is now available – Click here

World Metrology Day (20 May 2010)

This year's theme is "Measurements in Science and Technology... a bridge to innovation". We invite you to read the message from the Director of the BIPM, and download the promotional products from our World Metrology Day website. – www.worldmetrologyday.org

New Associate of the CGPM: Bangladesh

As of 29 March 2010, the People's Republic of Bangladesh is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

New signatory of the CIPM MRA: WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has become the second intergovernmental organization to join the CIPM MRA. On behalf of the WMO, Michel Jarraud (WMO Secretary General) signed the CIPM MRA on 1 April 2010, during the WMO-BIPM Workshop on Measurement Challenges for Global Observation Systems for Climate Change Monitoring, a major event held in Geneva from 30 March to 1 April 2010. – See the full list of participants in the CIPM MRA

The French version of the document JCGM 100:2008 (GUM) is now available on the BIPM website

The French and English versions of JCGM 100:2008 "Evaluation of measurement data – Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement" (GUM 1995 with minor corrections) can be downloaded free of charge. – See www.bipm.org/fr/publications/guides/gum.html

Special issue of Metrologia on Materials Metrology

This special issue of Metrologia includes a summary of the findings and conclusions of the CIPM's ad hoc Working Group on Materials Metrology, with a further 14 papers covering the full range of properties of interest in science, engineering and standards making. In addition to mechanical properties, there are papers addressing issues associated with the measurement of electromagnetic, acoustic and optical properties as well as those arising from the specific structural features of many new materials.
Guest Editors: Seton Bennett and Joaquin Valdés (CIPM). – Browse Metrologia 47(2), 2010

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of the GSB (Ghana Standards Board, Ghana), Mr. Adu DARKWA signed the CIPM MRA on 24 February 2010. – See the updated list of participants in the CIPM MRA

New Member State: Kenya

The BIPM is pleased to announce that the Republic of Kenya, which has been an Associate of the CGPM since November 2002, acceded to the BIPM on 1 January 2010, bringing the number of Member States to 54. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 12 (December 2009) is now available – Click here

NCSLI William Wildhack Award 2009

Professor Andrew Wallard, Director of the BIPM, has received the 2009 William Wildhack Award from NCSL International. – Read the full story

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of INDECOPI (Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual, Peru), Prof. Jaime THORNE LEON signed the CIPM MRA on 17 November 2009. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of INTN (Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia y Normalizacion, Paraguay), M. Ruben Ricardo RAMIREZ signed the CIPM MRA on 27 October 2009. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

New Associate of the CGPM: Ghana

As of 17 September 2009, the Republic of Ghana is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Setting the standard for cancer therapy - Improving international consistency

An international initiative was launched by the BIPM this year to compare radiation doses from clinical accelerators at the National Metrology Institutes. To do this, the BIPM has developed a portable graphite calorimeter and the first comparison was made at the NRC (National Research Council Canada) in June 2009. – Read more about setting the standard for cancer therapy

Cécile Goyon of the BIPM Mass Section won the prize for best poster at the 14th International Congress of Metrology (Paris, 22-25 June 2009)

Cecile's poster described density determinations of prototypes and mass standards at the BIPM. The award ceremony was held on the final day of the Congress, 25 June 2009, by Mr A. Mazzei, President of the Collège Français de Métrologie, and Prof. J. Chavaudra, Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Congress. – Read more about the International Congress of Metrology 2009

Impact Factor of Metrologia up again

As released by ISI®, the 2008 Impact Factor for Metrologia is 1.780. – Access Metrologia on-line

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 11 (June 2009) is now available – Click here

New Associate of the CGPM – Peru

As of 28 May 2009, Peru is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

New Member State: Croatia

The BIPM is pleased to announce that the Republic of Croatia, which has been an Associate of the CGPM since September 2005, acceded to the BIPM on 23 December 2008, bringing the number of Member States to 53. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

World Metrology Day (20 May 2009)

To mark the ten-year anniversary of the CIPM MRA, this year's theme is "Measurements in Commerce". We invite you to read the message from the Director of the BIPM, and download the promotional products in a choice of languages. – Measurements in Commerce

New Associate of the CGPM: Paraguay

As of 6 May 2009, the Republic of Paraguay is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Special issue of Metrologia on Radiation Dosimetry

This special issue of Metrologia on radiation dosimetry is the second in a trilogy on the subject of ionizing radiation measurements, a field that is overseen by Sections I, II and III of the CCRI. The main interests of Section II, in radionuclide metrology, were covered in issue 44(4) published in 2007, with Drs Bruce Simpson and Steven Judge as Guest Editors. This dosimetry issue covers the main activities of Section I (x-rays and gamma rays, and charged particles), and Dr Peter Sharpe acted as Guest Editor. – Browse Metrologia 46(2), 2009

New Member State: Kazakhstan

The BIPM is pleased to announce that the Republic of Kazakhstan acceded to the BIPM on 31 December 2008, bringing the number of Member States to 52. Kazakhstan, which has been an Associate of the CGPM since September 2005, is the first Associate to become a Member State. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 10 is now available – Click here

VIM3, GUM, and Supplement 1 to the GUM now available for free download

The BIPM is proud to announce the publication of the 3rd edition of the International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM3), and Supplement 1 to the GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement) on its website – see JCGM 200:2008 (E/F) and JCGM 101:2008 (E).
– NEW: The GUM can also be downloaded free of charge

A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation has been signed between the BIPM, the OIML, and UNIDO

The purpose of this strategic partnership is to enhance the impact of industrial development on economic growth, to minimize technical barriers to trade, and to assist in the beneficial integration of developing countries and transition economies into the global economy. – MoU with UNIDO

An extra second in 2008

Following the announcement of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), a positive leap second was added to UTC at the end of 31 December 2008. From 1 January 2009 at 0 h UTC, and until further notice, the difference between UTC and TAI is UTC – TAI = –34 s. – More information can be obtained from the IERS site

Launch of a new working website for the CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants (TGFC)

Reflecting the close link between the SI units and the fundamental constants, the BIPM and CCU enjoy a close relationship with the CODATA Task Group on Fundamental Constants (TGFC). The BIPM is delighted to announce the creation of a new web portal for this CODATA Task Group: – Click here

A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation has been signed between the BIPM and VAMAS

The BIPM and the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) have agreed to collaborate to identify key metrological traceability issues affecting the comparability and accuracy of the measurement of materials properties. – Download the agreement (PDF)

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 9 is now available – Click here

New members of the CIPM

Following the retirements of Dr Chung, Prof. Moscati, and Dr Semerjian from the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM), three new members have been elected: Dr Kwang Hwa Chung (President of KRISS, Republic of Korea), Dr W.E. May (Director of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, NIST, United States) and Dr H.O. Nava-Jaimes (Director-General of CENAM, Mexico). Dr J.W. McLaren replaces Prof. Moscati as Vice-President of the CIPM, Dr K. Carneiro is the new President of the Consultative Committee for Ionizing Radiation (CCRI), and Dr A. Sacconi is the new President of the Consultative Committee for Length (CCL). – See the current membership of the CIPM

Impact Factor of Metrologia up again

As released by ISI®, the 2007 Impact Factor for Metrologia is 1.667. – Access Metrologia on-line

New signatory of the CIPM MRA: GEOSTM (Georgia)

On behalf of GEOSTM (Georgian National Agency for Standards, Technical Regulations and Metrology), Dr Nodar Khatiashvili signed the CIPM MRA on 17 June 2008. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

New signatory of the CIPM MRA: IBMETRO (Bolivia)

On behalf of IBMETRO (Instituto Boliviano de Metrologia, Bolivia), Miguel Campos Botello signed the CIPM MRA on 16 May 2008. – See photo

Message from the Director of the BIPM to celebrate World Metrology Day (20 May 2008)

No games without measurement

New Associate of the CGPM: Bolivia

As of 4 April 2008, the Republic of Bolivia is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Evolving Needs for Metrology in Trade, Industry and Society, and the Role of the BIPM

added March 2008
CIPM report (2007) for the governments of the Member States, prepared for the 23rd CGPM

New Associate of the CGPM: Georgia

As of 1 January 2008, Georgia is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Resolutions of the 23rd CGPM (2007)

Resolutions adopted by the 23rd CGPM (12–16 November 2007) (and earlier CGPMs) – See http://www.bipm.org/en/convention/cgpm/resolutions.html

BIPM Metrology Summer School 2008

The second BIPM Metrology Summer School will be held from 29 June to 11 July 2008 at the BIPM, with more than forty teachers from around the globe providing a broad review of the present state of metrology.
Invited Nobel laureates : Prof Sir Harry Kroto, Prof William Phillips, Prof Klaus von Klitzing.
Special guest : Mrs Dava Sobel, author of "Longitude", will lecture at the famous Cassini Room of the Paris Observatory. – More information and Programme

New signatories of the CIPM MRA

On 14 November 2007, during the Meeting of Directors held during the 23rd General Conference, the CIPM MRA was signed on behalf of four more institutes: by Mrs Sonja Mirakovska for the BOM (Bureau of Metrology, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia); by Mr Sergiu Baban for the INSM (National Institute of Standardization and Metrology of the Republic of Moldova); by Dr K.A. Gunasoma for the MUSSD (Measurement Units, Standards & Services Department, Sri Lanka); and by Mrs Saloua Ghedamsi for the LCAE (Laboratoire Central d'Analyses et d'Essais, Tunisia). – See the full list of signatories of the CIPM MRA

The collaboration between the BIPM and the OIML

As part of the increasing collaboration between the BIPM and the OIML, the BIPM is pleased to note the launch of a joint web-portal. – www.metrologyinfo.org

New Associate of the CGPM: Tunisia

As of 23 October 2007, the Republic of Tunisia is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

New signatory of the CIPM MRA: DPM (Albania)

On behalf of the DPM (General Directorate of Metrology, Albania), Mrs Myrvete Pazaj signed the CIPM MRA on 10 October 2007. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

FAQs about the international prototype

Background information to media stories

New Associate of the CGPM: Albania

As of 10 September 2007, the Republic of Albania is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

New member of the CIPM

Following the retirement of Prof. Leschiutta from the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM), a new member has been elected: Dr A. Sacconi (Science Director of INRIM, Italy). Mr L. Érard replaces Prof. Leschiutta as President of the Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency (CCTF). – See the current membership of the CIPM

New Associate of the CGPM: Sri Lanka

As of 3 August 2007, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Impact Factor of Metrologia continues to increase

As released by ISI®, the 2006 Impact Factor for Metrologia is 1.657 – Access Metrologia on-line

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 7 is now available – Click here

Message from the Director of the BIPM to celebrate World Metrology Day (20 May 2007)

Measurements in our environment

Cooperation Agreement signed with the International Commission on Illumination (CIE)

The Director of the BIPM, Professor Andrew Wallard, and Mr Wout van Bommel, the Chairman of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), have signed a cooperation Agreement. – Click here for details

New Associate of the CGPM: Republic of Moldova

As of 1 January 2007, the Republic of Moldova is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

KCDB Newsletter

Issue 6 is now available – Click here

New version of the JCTLM database

In response to the global requirement for the traceability of measurement results in laboratory medicine and in vitro diagnostics, and in line with the requirements of the European Directive on in vitro diagnostics, the Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM) publishes lists of available higher-order reference materials and reference measurement methods/procedures for IVD devices. – http://www.bipm.org/jctlm/

New Associate of the CGPM: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

As of 10 October 2006, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Impact Factor of Metrologia up again

As released by ISI®, the 2005 Impact Factor for Metrologia is 1.479. – Access Metrologia on-line

8th edition of the SI brochure

The International System of Units (SI) – available in PDF and HTML, completed by a four-page summary and a handy pocket version

World Metrology Day 2006

20 May 2006 – A world of metrology at the service of the world

Joint statement by the BIPM, OIML and ILAC on the relevance of various international agreements on metrology to trade, legislation and standardization

The aim of this statement is to draw attention to the various Mutual Recognition Arrangements for which these bodies are responsible and to show how they support each other. The three bodies strongly urge relevant users, which include governments, trade bodies and international or intergovernmental organizations, to promote and use these MRAs in support of their own work. – Click here for more details

Joint statement by the CIPM and ILAC on the roles and responsibilities of national metrology institutes and national recognized accreditation bodies

This addresses the need for national metrology institutes to collaborate closely with national accreditation bodies so as to improve the effectiveness of national and international measurement frameworks. NMIs, NABs and Governments are invited to consider the document and to apply the principles to their own activities. – Click here for more details

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

T. Momyshev, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Republic of Kazakhstan, signed the CIPM MRA on 6 January 2006, on behalf of the Kazakh Institute of Metrology. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

Now available: Issue 4 of the KCDB Newsletter

(December 2005) – Click here

New Associate of the CGPM: CARICOM

On behalf of 11 of its Member States, CARICOM has become an Associate of the CGPM. Mrs C. Rhone of the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) signed the CIPM MRA on 12 October 2005; click here for the updated list of signatories. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Impact Factor of Metrologia up 33 %

As released by ISI®, the 2004 Impact Factor for Metrologia is 1.314. – Access Metrologia on-line

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of DZM (Croatia), M. Andrasec signed the CIPM MRA on 30 September 2005. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

New Associate of the CGPM: Kazakhstan

As of 14 September 2005, Kazakhstan is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Year 2005 will last a second longer

The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) has announced the insertion of a positive leap second into UTC at the end of December 2005.
• UTC has been defined to assure that, on average over the years, the Sun is overhead within 0.9 s of 12:00:00 UTC on the meridian of Greenwich. To preserve this tolerance, leap seconds have been introduced in UTC since its adoption in 1972. No leap seconds have occurred since 31 December 1998.
• The next leap second will be introduced after the last second of 31 December 2005. Following that, and until further decision of the IERS, the difference between International Atomic Time (TAI) and UTC will amount to 33 s (TAI – UTC = 33 s). – More information can be obtained from the IERS site

New Associate of the CGPM: Croatia

As of 16 June 2005, Croatia is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Special issue of Metrologia to celebrate fifty years of atomic time-keeping

The summer of 2005 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the experiments of Essen and Parry at the NPL (Teddington, UK) which resulted in the first caesium beam atomic frequency standard, the first operational atomic clock. To mark this anniversary, a special issue of Metrologia has been published (Volume 42, number 3) with Dr Terry Quinn CBE FRS as Guest Editor. Dr Quinn has assembled a collection of papers that detail not only the original atomic clock of Essen and Parry but also many aspects of the development of atomic timekeeping over this last half century. – Browse

Message from the Director of the BIPM to celebrate World Metrology Day (20 May 2005)

Global confidence through SI traceability

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of AS METROSERT (Estonia), Dr A. Noormägi signed the CIPM MRA on 23 March 2005. The NMIs of all 17 Associates of the General Conference now participate in the Arrangement. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

Full Metrologia archive now available

The electronic version of Metrologia has been extended back to the very first issue, published in 1965. Subscribers to Metrologia will automatically have free access to a ten-year archive, making a subscription better value than ever. Access to older content is available through the IOP Journal Archive. – Click here to access Metrologia online

New Associate of the CGPM: Estonia

As of 27 January 2005, Estonia is an Associate of the CGPM. – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Now available: Director's Report 2003-2004

Director's Report on the Activity and Management of the BIPM (1 July 2003 – 30 June 2004) – Click here

Now available: Issue 2 of the KCDB Newsletter

(December 2004) – Click here

New measurement of the argon content of air

Scientists have discovered that the air in the atmosphere is slightly more dense than they had previously thought. Writing in the journal Metrologia, a team from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) and the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) report a new determination of the mole fraction of argon in air, the first new result since 1969. – Read more

BIPM Director leads international delegation in a meeting with Vice-Premier Wu, People's Republic of China

In a meeting with Vice-Premier Wu during the General Assembly of the APMP, Prof. Wallard outlined the aims and objectives of the Metre Convention, its work in reducing technical barriers to trade, and its activities in relation to traceable measurement. He highlighted the contribution of China to world metrology and, in response, Vice-Premier Wu stressed the commitment of the Chinese Government to metrology and international collaboration. Negotiations are in place to arrange the secondment of a Chinese metrology expert to the BIPM in the next year or so. – Read more

'Electrical charge' special issue in Metrologia: 41(5)

– part of a continuing series on the fundamental properties of matter. – Read more

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of LACOMET (Costa Rica), Dr B. Paniagua signed the CIPM MRA on 6 October 2004. The NMIs of all 16 Associates of the General Conference now participate in the Arrangement. – Read more about participating in the CIPM MRA

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of the VMI-STAMEQ (Viet Nam), Dr K.X. Vu signed the CIPM MRA on 16 September 2004. – See the full list of signatories

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of the BSJ (Jamaica), Dr O. Thomas signed the CIPM MRA on 21 July 2004. – See the full list of signatories

NMIJ/BIPM Joint Workshop on the Impact of Information Technology in Metrology

to be held at the NMIJ from 18-20 May 2005 in conjunction with a one-day workshop on the analysis of key comparison results (16 May 2005). – More details

Observer status at the Codex Alimentarius Commission

The BIPM now has official Observer status at meetings of the Codex Alimenarius Commission (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme). A CCQM Focus Group will meet at the BIPM on 13 September 2004 to discuss reference measurement systems in food analysis. – Read more about the BIPM's relations with other international organizations

JCTLM Database

In response to the requirements of the European Directive on in vitro diagnostic devices, the JCTLM has published a list of available higher order reference materials and reference measurement procedures for IVD devices – see http://www.bipm.org/en/committees/jc/jctlm/jctlm-db/

New signatory of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of the KIM-LIPI (Indonesia), Dr H.A. Akil signed the CIPM MRA on 2 June 2004. – See the full list of signatories

Transit of Venus across the solar disk

The next transit of Venus will occur on 8 June 2004 – Read more about this rare astronomical event

World Metrology Day

To celebrate the signing of the Metre Convention, the date of 20 May is known as World Metrology Day. – Read more: What is metrology?

Unprecedented precision in the measurement of an optical frequency

19 March 2004
Read more about an article just published in Science

New projects: BIPM watt balance and calculable capacitor

Interdisciplinary teams have been set up to work on two new projects at the BIPM: construction of a watt balance and a calculable capacitor – click here for more details

New Associate of the CGPM: Costa Rica

As of 29 January 2004, Costa Rica is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Motorized access to the BIPM via the Grille du Mail (12bis Grande Rue, Sèvres) is restored

The work on the Grille du Mail has now been completed – click here for directions

Change of Director

As of 1 January 2004, Prof. Andrew Wallard is Director of the BIPM. On his retirement, Dr T.J. Quinn becomes Director Emeritus – click here for more details

Resolutions of the 22nd CGPM (2003)

Resolutions adopted by the 22nd CGPM (13–17 October 2003) (and earlier CGPMs) – See http://www.bipm.org/en/convention/cgpm/resolutions.html

New Associate of the CGPM: Viet Nam

As of 10 October 2003, Viet Nam is an Associate of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

New signatories of the MRA: Belarus and Ukraine (14 October 2003) and Israel (16 October 2003)

The Directors of the NMIs of Belarus, Israel and the Ukraine have signed the MRA during the 22nd CGPM – See the full list of signatories

The benefits of participating in the BIPM

added August 2003
Open letter from the Director of the BIPM concerning the growing importance of metrology and the benefits of participation in the Metre Convention, notably the CIPM MRA

New Associates of the CGPM: Panama (3 August 2003) and Jamaica (15 September 2003)

Panama and Jamaica are now Associates of the CGPM – See the full list of Member States and Associates

Potential economic impact of the CIPM MRA

On behalf of the BIPM, a study was carried out by KPMG Consulting with three main goals:

to study the economics of central coordination of multilateral relationships between individual national metrology institutes (NMIs);

to study the MRA's potential impact on economic efficiency as a facilitator of reductions in technical barriers to trade; and

to present a set of arguments that might be useful in ensuring that potential economic benefits associated directly with the MRA are actually realized.

Potential Economic Impact of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement
KPMG Report, 2002, 125 pp.

– See http://www.bipm.org/utils/en/pdf/KPMG_report.pdf