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Brazil expresses its thanks for scientific cooperation

"Science and Technology Award of the State of Sao Paulo" for Ernst Otto Göbel (PTB)

19.03.2001

[ptb]In Brazil, too, there is a lack of engineers, and the Brazilian metrology institute is also still in need. The Instituto Nacional de Metrología, Normalizaçao e Qualidade Industrial - briefly referred to as INMETRO - was founded in Xérem (near Rio de Janeiro) in 1968 with German support. At that time, the cooperation with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt was already three years old. INMETRO employees came to Germany for training purposes; support was granted for the planning of the laboratories; equipment was made available; and two German specialists provided several years of local assistance. The INMETRO project for which the German partner provided more than nine million DM was officially terminated in 1994 after 26 years. At a meeting in Sao Paulo in December 2000, Terry Quinn (President of BIPM) and Ernst Otto Göbel (President of PTB) received the medals as an acknowledgment for their support.

In the meantime, INMETRO has become the leading metrology institute of South America and is an important partner for Brazil's industry and economy. Various projects in which INMETRO is involved as a leading partner support the economic development of the country. One successful initiative served to establish a training system for quality managers based on the German model. Another project, still underway, aims to qualify and accredit test and calibration laboratories in the North-East of Brazil so that linked-up measurement standards and other services can be offered to the industry of this structurally weak region.

Not only Brazil but all states of South America and many countries in Asia are assisted by PTB projects in setting up technical infrastructures for metrology, standardization, testing, quality, accreditation and certification. The commissioning party is the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation. At present, the Technical Cooperation Section of the PTB handles more than 30 projects in 20 countries for which between seven and ten million DM is spent every year. All activities aim at increasing the competitiveness of the countries involved and their integration into world economy.

Author: Birgit Ehlbeck