Merton alumnus Dr Martin Milton awarded OBE for services to measurement science
Dr Martin Milton (1978, Physics) has been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List for his services to measurement science. He has been Director of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, BIPM) in Paris since 2013.
The BIPM is the the international organisation through which Member States act together on matters related to measurement science and measurement standards. It was founded when the Metre Convention was signed in Paris in 1875. It has grown to be supported by 64 Member States and 37 Associate States.
During Dr Milton’s term as Director of the BIPM, the organisation has led the adoption worldwide of a new technical basis for the ‘SI units’ that provides opportunities to exploit future quantum technologies. Dr Milton has also launched a programme of capacity-building amongst developing Member States and is setting a vision for the BIPM to become a universal organisation involving all States recognized by the United Nations.
Before he moved to the BIPM, Dr Milton worked at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, where he developed new methods for high-accuracy measurements of gases in the atmosphere. He has a PhD in Laser Physics from Southampton University, an MBA from the London Business School and is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
Dr Milton has been a visiting Professor at the University of York. He received a citation from the IPCC (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change) for contributing to their work that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Dr Milton said,
“It is a privilege to be the Director of one of the oldest international organisations in the world. In this period of international tension, it is notable that our work at the BIPM is a perfect example of international cooperation since all our Member States rely on global agreement on the International System of Units (SI) and the Universal Time Scale (UTC).”
