(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- “Accurate measurement is at the heart of physics, and in my experience, new physics begins at the next decimal place,” Steven Chu, now the U.S. Secretary of Energy, said at the 125th anniversary of the Metre Convention in 2000. Those sentiments are echoed daily at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

On May 20, NIST will hold its fourth-annual celebration of World Metrology Day commemorating the signing of the Metre Convention, the treaty that created international organizations to maintain metric standards. A NIST symposium in Gaithersburg, Maryland, at the Green Auditorium in Building 1, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT, will feature talks that focus upon this year’s worldwide theme, “Measurements in Science and Technology… a Bridge to Innovation.” 

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