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67th Meeting of the Kuratorium (Advisory Board)

31.03.2017

The annual meeting of the Kuratorium (Advisory Board) of PTB took place this year in Braunschweig on 12-13 May. Following a tour of the laboratories after the official introductory greeting by the President, three lectures were given by junior scientists on their most recent work. Dr. Friederike Stein gave a report on “Validation of quantized single-electron current sources at sub-ppm level”, a subject that is significant in relation to the realization of the new ampere. Following this, Dr. Janine Noordmann presented a subject with immediate social relevance in her lecture titled “Toxic heavy metals in pharmaceutical products – SI-traceable calibration solutions, a PTB cooperation project with EDQM and BAM”. The event was brought to a close by Dr. Ingo Kröger in his presentation titled “High-precision laserbased measurements on reference solar cells”.

Members of the Kuratorium (Advisory Board) visit one of seven terminals worldwide that are set to be used within the scope of preparations for the “Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space” (ACES), an ESA mission; ACES is designed to compare atomic clocks on the Earth and in the International Space Station (ISS). Here, the terminal’s rotating antenna, which is aimed towards the sky, can be seen on the roof of PTB’s Meitner Building.

Members of the Kuratorium (Advisory Board) visit one of seven terminals worldwide that are set to be used within the scope of preparations for the “Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space” (ACES), an ESA mission; ACES is designed to compare atomic clocks on the Earth and in the International Space Station (ISS). Here, the terminal’s rotating antenna, which is aimed towards the sky, can be seen on the roof of PTB’s Meitner Building.

Participants at the 2016 Kuratorium meeting

Participants at the 2016 Kuratorium meeting

On the morning of Day 2 of the meeting, Stefan Schnorr, the President of the Kuratorium, opened the meeting session proper. He greeted the newly appointed members of the Kuratorium, which now consists of over 40 % women. In his report, Mr. Schnorr addressed political developments relevant to the fields of activity pursued at PTB, mentioning the digital transformation of the economy as an especially significant topic.

In his report as President of PTB, Dr. Joachim Ullrich presented several highlights of the work done over the past year, including projects in connection with the redefinition of the International System of Units. Here, the goals that have been set for new possibilities for realizing the second, the ampere and the kilogram either have already been reached or will be reached by the end of the time envisaged. On the subject of metrological services, Dr. Ullrich spoke about the completed reorganization of the Measures and Verification Act. He also mentioned activities in the field of technology transfer, in particular the relaunched TransMeT promotion program that supports cooperation projects with SMEs. Further discussion focused on the intensified collaboration with TU Braunschweig, within the scope of MIB (Metrology Initiative Braunschweig), and with the Laboratory for Emerging Nanotechnology (LENA) research center, construction of which began this year. The cooperation project with Leibniz Universität Hannover was enhanced by means of the “Designed Quantum States of Matter” (DQ-mat) collaborative research center (CRC), under the direction of the QUEST Institute; PTB has four sub-projects in this research center. Together with both universities, PTB is also active in the QUANOMET research association, which encompasses the fields of quantum technologies, nanotechnologies and metrology. Dr. Ullrich drew attention to the property concept that was developed by PTB in order to continue to ensure the infrastructure necessary for high-precision metrology; this concept was met with the distinct approval of the Kuratorium. Overall, the Kuratorium was satisfied with the services of PTB and with the strategy presented; the members endorsed a resolute continuation on the same path.

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