The Standard for Everything: Leadership and Long-Term Impact at the National Physical Laboratory

So on its website, NPL characterizes itself as the UK's National Metrology Institute.

So what is metrology and what role does it play in society? It's a great question.

And I'll start

with what it's not.

because it's not meteorology, which sounds very similar and is spelt very similarly as well.

So we're not about forecasting the weather or thinking about climate, although some of our work does relate to that.

Meteorology is the science of measurement.

Whilst that might sound a little obscure, if you think in your own life about how many times you measure things in order to get things done, whether that's measuring the distance to put a couple of nails in a wall to put a shelf up or measuring your own weight or your latest sort of cycling feet on an app.

The uncertainty in that measurement is what leads to, you know, less accuracy, less efficiency.

So that's the way to think about it, the science of measurement.

It's all about the uncertainty in measurement.

And whilst those are very simple examples, it's really important in terms of how the planet itself kind of operates effectively.

So I kind of get that.

I mean, there is a piece of me that sort of thinks measuring things.

Haven't we figured that all out? To me, science is all about trying to figure out things we don't know yet.

And don't we know everything? I'm sure that's not the case.

But where does NPL come into all of this? Can you give us a picture of what it's there to do, what its purpose is?

Yes, I will.

I'll just throw in quantum technology just on this.

You're right.

We've figured out how to measure lots of things and we understand the uncertainty.

But when new phenomena, how we're using quantum technologies for quantum computing, for example, come

along,

then you have to figure out how we're going to measure that and how do we understand the uncertainty of the phenomena within quantum systems and technologies.

For the second part of your

So on its website, NPL characterizes itself as the UK's National Metrology Institute.

So what is metrology and what role does it play in society? It's a great question.

And I'll start

with what it's not.

because it's not meteorology, which sounds very similar and is spelt very similarly as well.

So we're not about forecasting the weather or thinking about climate, although some of our work does relate to that.

Meteorology is the science of measurement.

Whilst that might sound a little obscure, if you think in your own life about how many times you measure things in order to get things done, whether that's measuring the distance to put a couple of nails in a wall to put a shelf up or measuring your own weight or your latest sort of cycling feet on an app.

The uncertainty in that measurement is what leads to, you know, less accuracy, less efficiency.

So that's the way to think about it, the science of measurement.

It's all about the uncertainty in measurement.

And whilst those are very simple examples, it's really important in terms of how the planet itself kind of operates effectively.

So I kind of get that.

I mean, there is a piece of me that sort of thinks measuring things.

Haven't we figured that all out? To me, science is all about trying to figure out things we don't know yet.

And don't we know everything? I'm sure that's not the case.

But where does NPL come into all of this? Can you give us a picture of what it's there to do, what its purpose is?

Yes, I will.

I'll just throw in quantum technology just on this.

You're right.

We've figured out how to measure lots of things and we understand the uncertainty.

But when new phenomena, how we're using quantum technologies for quantum computing, for example, come

along,

then you have to figure out how we're going to measure that and how do we understand the uncertainty of the phenomena within quantum systems and technologies.

For the second part of your