No.27
November 2003
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Report on APMP Award and IIZUKA
Prize
 Dr. Keith Jones
Chair, APMP Award Advisory
Committee
The APMP Award and the IIZUKA Prize
for young metrologists were first awarded in 2000. They both celebrate
significant achievements in metrology, each with a distinctly
different emphasis.
For the last three years it has been my privilege
to have been involved in the advisory working group that makes
the initial recommendations for both the award and the prize.
While it is always a pleasure to arrive at a final positive recommendation,
it can be difficult to choose between a number of worthy candidates
with a consensus amongst all five members of the working group.
The inaugural working group was chaired by Mr Prayoon Shiowattana
for the first two years and overall ten people have now been members.
I would like to share some observations on the process based on
the experience of the working group.
The APMP Award has a nomination form that specifies
the basic criteria of either having been chairperson for four
or more years or having taken part in APMP activities for eight
or more years. For the working group it is important that the
comments on the recommendation emphasise the special nature of
the candidateÕs contribution that warrants special recognition.
Even with the spread of representation on the working group, we
may have limited personal knowledge of the candidate or not fully
appreciate the significance of their personal contribution. Decisions
are easiest to make when the supporting information is clearly
presented and it is also reassuring when more than one economy
nominates the same person.
We are all grateful for Dr IizukaÕs generosity in
establishing the prize for young metrologists; this is an investment
in the future of metrology for the APMP. Once again from the point
of view of the working group it is extremely helpful for the nominating
NMI to present clear information on the candidate giving a full
account of their contribution to metrology. The broad criteria
are: that the candidateÕs contribution to the Metrology Standards
related research activity in the region is outstanding; and that
their contribution to the technical development and/or dissemination
related to Metrology Standards in the region is remarkable.
In the process of ranking the candidates we try and
include all the information provided, such as numbers of publications
and patents, or new services established, training courses presented
and so on. It is recognised that the nature of what can be achieved
by a young metrologist depends on the environment that they are
working in and should be judged by relevance to that environment.
It is important that all NMIs feel confident in nominating their
young high achievers, without concerns that the specific environment
in which the NMI operates might disadvantage them. It has also
been recognised that it takes a long time to train a metrologist
and Dr Iizuka has this year extended the age of eligibility to
40.
In conclusion I would like to thank everyone who has
contributed by either nominating candidates or helping with the
selection process and to encourage all member NMIs to continue
to participate by nominating worthy candidates.
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