Expansion of networking activities in the scientific community

The cooperation between PTB and TU Braunschweig within the scope of the Metrology Initiative Braunschweig (MIB) forms the foundation of intensive joint research and joint university study courses in the field of metrology. The collaboration efforts range from joint research projects and research centers to jointly administered courses of study and graduate schools, and even to appointing lecturers who are attached to both institutions. To date, the following undertakings have been established within the MIB: the “Metrology and Analytics” course of studies; the Braunschweig International Graduate School of Metrology (B-IGSM); the “Metrology for Complex Nanosystems” research training group (NanoMet); and the “Laboratory of Emerging Nanometrology” research center (LENA).

One initiative launched by PTB and B-IGSM was the 2015 Metrology Summer School, sponsored by the Helmholtz-Fonds e. V. (Helmholtz Association), which was attended by 70 doctoral candidates from 18 different countries. Six participants were from transitional and developing countries; their attendance was sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The event focused on the redefinition of the units and their practical realization, as well as on the communication of core metrological concepts with the goal of training young scientists from STEM fields.

An additional important component of PTB’s networking activities in the science community is the cooperation with the Hannover Institute of Technology (HITec). There, for the first time in Europe, basic and applied research and technology development on quantum physics and geodesy have been united under one roof. The partner organizations involved in this cooperation project are: Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH); the Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V. (LZH); the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics/Albert Einstein Institute (AEI); and the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM). The groundbreaking ceremony for the new HITec research building took place on January 27, 2015.

Furthermore, on the initiative of PTB, the quantum metrology and nanometrology research area (QUANOMET) was successfully established as part of the master plan for the scientific alliance between TU Braunschweig and Leibniz Universität Hannover. The establishment of QUANOMET has made this topic, which is part of PTB’s core competence, a major focal point of research in Lower Saxony, along with life sciences, which also receive funding, and mobility. The cooperation agreement for this research area was signed on September 28, 2015.