Size matters a tous les temps, a tous les peuples

Dr. Martyn Sene is Deputy CEO of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), here, he gives an introduction to the importance of measurement and metrology (the science of measurement). NPL is the UK's National Metrology Institute and is a world-leading centre of excellence in developing and applying the most accurate measurement standards, science and technology available. He is a member of the NPL Management Ltd. Board and also a member of the CIPM (Comite International des Poids et Mesures), established under the Metre Convention to promote world-wide uniformity in units of measurement and oversee the headquarters of the International Measurement System (BIPM) in Paris. This talk will provide an introduction to the importance of measurement and metrology (the science of measurement), how we ensure confidence in measurement and how measurement today requires and relies on leading edge (including Nobel prize winning) science and technology. It will also highlight why 2019 is such an important year for the International Measurement System - the year in which the SI units are redefined in a way that locks them to unchanging properties of the universe. The culmination of a project that traces its origins to the French Revolution - a measurement system 'a tous les temps, a tous les peuples'.