Abstract

The long-anticipated redefinition of the SI base units in 2018 will constitute a revolutionary and historic transformation in the world of metrology. But how will it affect the day-to-day work of standards labs and their personnel? Defining each base unit in terms of the fixed value of a physical constant not only removes the last artifact standard and provides a uniform conceptual basis for the entire system; it also makes scalable measurements readily achievable across orders of magnitude. But what changes will it require in the instruments and methodology we use, and the tests and evaluations we perform? It is likely that, as a practical matter, the new definitions will result in no, or extremely minimal, discernible impact on the results we deliver to customers, with expected differences in a few calibrations limited to the range of parts per million – well below the level of significance to most of industry and commerce. But how will the redefinition alter the ways in which we establish traceability, ensure quality control, and train the next generation of lab professionals? The 2018 NCSLI Annual Conference is the ideal forum to address these and related questions, learn how your peers are planning to deal with the impending changes, and suggest new procedures and techniques for success in the post-redefinition era. This year’s Workshop & Symposium, with the theme “Measurements of Tomorrow,” promises to be one of the most exciting and valuable – because tomorrow is here!