Presidents' Message

Salutations! As we gear up for the Annual Workshop and Symposium in Orlando, I’d like to share with you some of the new things we’re doing in keeping with the key initiatives for 2008. Under education and training, we are incorporating learning objectives into the conference for this year. I’ve listed them below so you can actively work towards accomplishing one or more of these objectives during the conference.

1. Learn best practices for laboratory management and accreditation.
2. Learn new ideas, approaches and procedures for realizing the SI units through a traceable calibration process.
3. Learn best practices and what’s new and innovative in calibration hardware, software, and calibration services.
4. Exchange ideas, measurement techniques, best practices, and innovations with others interested in metrology industry trends.
5. Identify and share opportunities and practices for learning, workplace development, and professional development of laboratory staff.
6. Build a network of peers to help resolve mutual metrology problems.
7. Identify new ideas and changing trends in the metrology industry.
8. Contribute to the development of industry-wide standards and practices through involvement in operating committees.

I invite you to attend at least one committee meeting while at the conference. After the conference, I encourage you to conduct a self-evaluation to compare your intended outcomes with actual knowledge gained. You may even want to use this to demonstrate the value of your attendance at this and future conferences.

In addition to the learning objectives, the learning and development committees have been busy developing outreach materials, selecting scholarship and award recipients, developing an education and training track for the conference, recruiting regional training instructors and soliciting grants.

Importantly, and for the first time, NCSL International will be listed in the Combined Federal Campaign, which is the federal government’s annual charitable giving drive. This means that federal employees will be able to donate to NCSLI’s learning and development fund at the office next year! With additional funding, the Learning and Development committees will be able to further their goals for 2009 and beyond.

At our board meeting in April, we began the process of categorizing and defining the relationship between NCSLI and other organizations. This is part of our international strategy – to develop strategic relationships with National Metrology Institutes, Regional Metrology Organizations and other associations. By August, we should have guidelines written for a number of these categories. Once we are finished with the project, an article will be published which describes the changes to make it clear to our membership.

Members of the NCSLI executive committee visited NIST earlier this spring, where we met with the NIST Deputy Director, Jim Turner, and a number of other NIST executives. The outcomes included continued collaboration between the organizations in a variety of ways. One jointly sponsored event is the NMI directors meeting held each year during the annual conference. NIST and NCSLI will be hosting a reception again in Orlando and expect at least 20 NMIs to be represented at this meeting. Another jointly sponsored event that recently concluded was the 2008 Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM) in Boulder, Colorado. This was the first time NCSLI cosponsored CPEM, and as a result of its success, NCSLI will be considering future sponsorship of this international conference.

As you can see, it has been a busy year for NCSL International, and I look forward to the second half being just as exciting. I hope to see you in Orlando, and in any case, have a great summer!

Carol Hockert
NCSLI President 2008