Another NCSLI conference is in the books. This year, the metrology faithful (and budget funded!) once again gathered to gain knowledge through tutorials and technical presentations, contribute to the industry through attendance of committee meetings, talk to vendors at the exhibition, network with some of the world’s experts in metrology and spend time with old friends. There were so many great things happening that I didn’t even have time to compose a single tweet!
As one of the industry leaders in metrology, Fluke was very active at the conference, contributing four tutorials, nine papers, and a whole lot of smoked salmon and adult beverages for the President’s reception!
The NCSLI conference is always both a ton of work and a great place to draw energy from the enthusiasm and passion for metrology that is shared by our fellow attendees. For me, this year was no exception. I began the week on Saturday attending the Board of Directors (BOD) meeting. If you are really interested in understanding the inner workings of NCSLI and the larger world of metrology, you really need to attend one of these meetings. They are always communicated in the schedule, and are open to all observers. Next, I taught a tutorial. This is often a good chance for me to meet people who are attending the conference for the first time. I learned how they apply metrology within NASA, the pharmaceutical and solar electrical power generation industries to name a few. Sunday evening at the exhibitor’s reception is a great time to meet with customers and friends alike.
The technical program was of extreme high quality once again. Some of the world’s leading research in metrology was presented at the conference. It is not often that you get a chance to listen and learn from experts of this caliber as well spend time chatting with them after the technical sessions. I was particularly pleased in presenting in the same session as Joe Petersen from Abbott Laboratories, who was one winners of the best paper competition. Just a small sample of the people I especially enjoyed seeing and hearing from this week was Kai Wendler from NRC Canada, Steve Sidney from NLA in South Africa, Trevor Thompson of UKAS, Chuck Ehrlich of NIST and Wanji Yang of the Taiwan Accreditation Foundation. I apologize for the brevity here, but If I named everyone I appreciated seeing and hearing from, it would resemble the entire attendance list!
NCSLI both as an organization and as a conference is very much something where the more you give, the more you receive. For next year, plan attend the conference (Nashville!), observe the NCSLI Board meeting, sign up for tutorials or present a tutorial, present research or share knowledge that you have attained in the form of a paper or panel discussion and make the most of networking opportunities. In the meantime, contact your local NCSLI section representative and volunteer your time and energy to organize local section meetings. I guarantee that the knowledge and friendships that you gain from contributing to your profession will benefit you and your employer greatly.
Information about conferences and exhibitions that Fluke Calibration is attending in the coming year, calibration software user group meetings, web seminar schedule, and calibration and metrology training course descriptions and schedules is available on our website.