Courtesy of NPL ©

Crown copyright 2004

ERA-NET2008

‘We are facing a real dilemma in Europe. The demand for ever more precise measurement over ever increasing ranges grows year by year.’

The European dimension

of the science of measurement

There are certain things we take for

granted, such as purchasing a litre of milk.

But how do we know that what we are

purchasing actually weighs what we think

it does, and what makes ‘a litre’ a litre

anyway? This is where metrology – the

science of measurement – comes into play.

But iMERA-Plus (Implementing Metrology

in the European Research Area Plus),

an ERA-NET Plus action on metrology,

is concerned with far more important

things than our groceries. It is answering

fundamental questions that will impact

the sciences, and our very own health and

safety, as well as enable our industries to

innovate and create wealth.

People throughout history have concerned themselves with the science of measuring, and the punishments for not following them were severe. As far back as ancient Egypt, those who neglected their duty to calibrate the standard unit of length at each full moon would face the death penalty. Thanks to their dedication to the science of measurement, however, the royal architects of the pharaoh were able to build the pyramids.

Nowadays, all around the world people benefit from metrology in their day-to-day lives. Coffee and tea are bought by their weight, the water that flows through our pipes and the electric-ity that runs through our wires are all metered and have an immediate impact on our lifestyle and personal budgets. From police radars that monitor our speed on the road, to the surgeon’s laser in the operating room, all these and more exist thanks to metrology.

Metrology-related research – ranging from standardisation and reference materials to in-struments, measurement standards, techniques and procedures – is conducted across Europe by National Metrology Institutes (NMIs). The work of NMIs aims to address some of the ma-jor socioeconomic issues impacting the EU.

Metrology on the move

EU Member States recognise that operating national research programmes in isolation does not enable strategic issues at European level to

be adequately addressed. As a consequence of concerted efforts by several countries willing to integrate aspects of their metrology pro-grammes, the European Commission is currently preparing a legislative proposal to support a Euro-pean Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) via an Article 1691 of the EU Treaty. Established in 2007, the European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) is responsible for EMRP’s elaboration and execution. In all, 32 European countries have joined EURAMET, and a majority of these countries are also expected to participate in the potential Article 169.

EURAMET is also responsible for facilitating iMERA-Plus. This ERA-NET Plus action will further boost measures to take metrology research and development (R&D) from a purely national activity to a pan-European one. Specifically, iMERA-Plus aims to deliver a series of Joint Research Projects (JRPs). These projects will run for a maximum of three years and will deliver their final reports by 2011.

As with all ERA-NET Plus actions, these pro- jects will be jointly funded, with two-thirds coming from national sources, while the re-maining one-third of funding will come from the European Commission. The projects select-ed to receive funding will tackle four key areas,

Implementing Metrology in the European Research Area Plus

iMERA-Plus

1 Article 169 provides a legal basis for the European Community

to support the integration of national research programmes by

means of participation in R&D programmes undertaken by several

EU Member States.

Gentle Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry

Strontium end cap ion trapCourtesy of N

PL © Crow

n copyright 2005

Directorate-General for Research: Coordination of Research Activitieswww.cordis.europa.eu/fp7/coordination

Further information n Andy HensonNational Physical Laboratory Hampton Road, Teddington, TW11 OLW, United Kingdomn andy.henson@npl.co.ukn EC funding: ca. EUR 21 million n Member States funding: ca. EUR 43.5 millionn Total budget of iMERA-Plus action: ca. EUR 64.5 million n Duration: 60 monthsn www.euramet.eu

Project reference: 217257Theme: Cooperation specific programme:Horizontal activities

Research field

Metrology

Coordinator

EURAMET e.V. (Germany)■n

Partners

NPL Management Limited (United Kingdom)■n

Bundesamt für Eich- und Vermessungswesen (Austria)■n

FPS Economy, SMEs, Self-employed and Energy - ■n

Metrology division (Belgium)

Czech Metrology Institute (Czech Republic)■n

Danish Fundamental Metrology Ltd (Denmark)■n

Central Office of Metrology, AS Metrosert (Estonia)■n

Centre for Metrology and Accreditation (Finland)■n

Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d'Essais (France)■n

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Germany)■n

Instituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (Italy)■n

Justervesenet (Norway)■n

Instituto Portuês da Qualidade (Portugal)■n

Slovak Institute of Metrology (Republic of Slovakia)■n

National Institute of Metrology (Romania)■n

Metrology Institute of the Republic of Slovenia ■n

(Slovenia)

Centro Español de Metrología (Spain)■n

SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden (Sweden)■n

Swiss Federal Office of Metrology (Switzerland)■n

NMi Van Swinden Laboratorium B.V. (Netherlands)■n

Ulusal Metroloji Enstit■n ūsū (Turkey)

Special Status: The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) will also participate in this action an Associate with EUROMET according to the EUROMET bylaws.

‘Through the ERA-NET and ERA-NET Plus actions the metrology research community has, and continues to, “up its game” by working together.’

urgently needed if further development is to occur; this is why the third area under iMERA-Plus funds research in length and dimensions. R&D is needed in this field for the development of measurement techniques and sensors that will be capable of performing measurements in the micro and nanometre range.

Research will also be conducted on dimensional measurement capabilities over larger ranges. These measurements are essential for satellite navigation and earth observation. New methods, instruments and modelling in core length metrology will go a long way towards expanding our horizons in space. JRPs already selected for this third area include NANOTRACE (new traceability routes for nanometrology) and NIMTech (metrology for new industrial measurement technologies).

The final area focuses on research in electro-magnetic metrology, which underpins many areas of industry and science. R&D will target the measurement capabilities for the assess-ment of the quality and efficiency of electrical apparatus, as well as establishing traceable specific radio frequency absorption rate do-simetry, and electromagnetic field-strength measurements. Projects already underway include NanoSpin (Nanomagnetism and spin-tronics) and ULQHE (Development of ultimate metrological QHE devices).

The bold steps in place for Europe’s future me-trology research, and the subsequent benefits, represent the essence of effective European co-operation to achieve common aims.

which EURAMET has identified as those in need of most urgent attention. The call for proposals took place in 2007, with more planned under Article 169.

A measured presence

The first research area targeted under iMERA-Plus invited proposals supporting the possible redefinition of the International System of Units known as SI (Le Système International d’Unités), and associated work on the funda-mental constants. In practical terms, R&D in this area will focus on the need to improve and fix the definitions of some of the key funda-mental constants and improve the realisation of the base SI units. Projects selected in the call for this targeted area include e-MASS (the watt balance route towards a new definition of the kilogramme) and OCS (optical clocks for a new definition of the second).

The second area focuses on R&D from across the various metrology disciplines to support the health sector. JRPs range from those improving our ability to accurately measure ionising ra-diation in both external beam therapy and the rapidly expanding area of implanted sources (brachytherapy) to JRPs such as Regenmed, focusing on metrology on a cellular scale for regenerative medicine.

The need for precise dimensional measurement – ranging from the nanoscale to long distances – is burgeoning, with applications spanning health to military fields. Metrology research is

iMERA-PlusERA-NET Plus Action

© European Communities, 2008 - Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.