Dr. Douglas T. Smith, Supervisory Physicist, Ceramics Division, John A. Kramer, MEL, David B. Newell, EEEL, and John R. Pratt, MEL were awarded the Silver Medal for their technical innovation that revolutionized the realization of the unit of force at the micro- and nanoscales.  This team successfully extended force measurements down to the nano-Newton regime by developing a highly innovative null-force electromechanical balance that measures forces traceable to the SI international system of units at an unprecedented level of 10^-8 Newton.  The microbalance realizes the SI units of force from precision measurements of capacitance, voltage, and length and can eventually resolve 10^-12 Newton (molecular scale forces), yet support loads of 10^-5 Newton for comparison with accurate artifacts traceable to the internationally accepted standard kilograms.

Contact:  Dr. Douglas T. Smith