From National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)

This year’s winner, Andy Henson, started his career with a degree in mechanical engineering and following specialist qualifications gained in the USA worked as a chartered Engineer on the certification of nuclear reactors and systems before joining the Joint European Torus (JET) thermonuclear fusion project in Culham, UK during the period when JET was setting new world records. In 1997 Andy joined the European Commission managing a portfolio of some of the first collaborative projects on measurement standards and had his first contact with NIST in his additional role as a technical advisor in the EU – US trade negotiations.

His coordination and leadership skills were spotted by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK who recruited Andy in 2000 as the first full-time staff member in their International Liaison Office. It was from this office at NPL that Andy conceived the first proposal for pan-European research on measurement standards and took the leadership of a series of projects that culminated in the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP). He led the core team of NMI Directors gaining the support of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, and the European Commission, and negotiating the contract for the EMRP on behalf of the (then) 22 NMIs. This programme revolutionized the way that metrology research was organized in Europe. Together with its successor programmes, it brought more than 1 billion dollars of income to the metrology community. It has provided a platform for leading-edge research that has led to a greater emphasis on quantifying the impact of all metrology activities, on collaboration with stakeholders from an early stage, and on inclusive involvement.

In 2010, Andy moved to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Sevres as the first Director of International Liaison and Communication. His first task was to organize the expansion of the work of the BIPM through the incorporation of new Member and Associate States. He travelled through all the regions of the world as an advocate for the benefit for multi-lateral cooperation on measurement standards and metrology. He supported many NMIs in finding new ways to promote their work to governments and to build the case for acceding to the Metre Convention. His efforts have contributed to a 25% increase in the number of States who have signed the Metre Convention now reaching 64.

Another substantial achievement of his with impact internationally has been his work to raise the level of recognition for metrology as an essential pillar in the international quality infrastructure. He represented the BIPM as a founder member of the International Network for Quality infrastructure (INETQI) which now coordinates QI amongst 14 International Organizations addressing trade and development. He further raised the voice of measurement science as one of the most influential participants in the development of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by ISO-CASCO, and he became the first official observer for the BIPM at the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

His work is driven by his passion for spreading the message about the role of metrology widely around the world. In 2016, he launched the BIPM’s Capacity Building and Knowledge Transfer programme which has now involved more than 2700 participants from 102 countries. On realizing the possible impact of the global pandemic, he re-focused the BIPM’s CBKT activities under the umbrella of “BIPM e-learning” to provide a professional training and education platform open not only to the BIPM but also open to all Regional Metrology Organizations (RMOs). He is a regular lecturer on all of BIPM’s outreach activities, and his talks are consistently rated as amongst the most useful by participants.

Andy is immensely well-known and popular amongst metrologists world-wide. He has been the BIPM representative to the NCSLI Board for more than 10 years where he has done much to build links between the two organizations and has encouraged many NMIs to become affiliated to the NCSLI. Prior to joining BIPM he represented EURAMET at the NCSLI Board for several years. He has been a regular participant at NCSL International conferences where he has used his networking skills in efforts to build support for metrology amongst industrial and government users. All the RMOs have at some time or other, sought his advice and benefitted from his deep understanding of how metrology can be presented and developed. He brings great energy and creativity to all his interactions and is a true pioneer in promoting metrology at the international level. His leadership has inspired many NMIs in the search for new ways to increase their impact nationally and internationally.

Hauled up to London to be made redundant in 82, I decided to do a degree, dovetailed straight into a BSc Honours in Mechanical Engineering at Plymouth Polly (I did my Phase 1 in Plymouth some years earlier ..73 to 75, at the School of Maritime Studies). A four year degree but as I had prior experience I did it in three, graduating in 1985 with a 2:1.

I joined LR as a surveyor, but my wife Karen was heavily pregnant so while the other guys joining went out to Japan and Korea it was 'Bristol Outport'  for me. The office was actually in Portishead. Mix of ship work on Avonmouth and the Southwest ports and a bit of industrial work, cranes and nuclear stuff for the Heysham and Torness AGRs.

I then did a stint in LR HQ, 71 Fenchurch Street, control engineering and then got 'loaned' to the industrial services Division and did an extended stint in ' Plans'  in Croydon...doing boiler and pressure vessel code work and later a bit of finite element analysis.

I then joined LRs team certifying the nuclear steam supply system for the Sizewell B PWR. This involved qualifying as an Authorized Nuclear Inspector in the USA. The first step needed to enter the nuclear programme was a State qualification as a boiler and pressure vessel inspector which I sat in Dover Delaware. Then following more training in the Boston suburbs I to passed the ANI exams in Columbus Ohio. I then worked as a junior member of the LR certification team, again out of Croydon.

I also did short stints doing technical auditing and nuclear pile cap supervision. Looking forward to promotion on the next PWR I was disappointed when the follow on stations were cancelled.

One door closes,  another opens. Still with LR I joined the team at JET, the Joint European Torus thermonuclear experimental reactor at Culham in Oxfordshire. Great years on state of the art science and engineering. After almost seven years at JET I needed a change, and briefly helped LR set up an offshoot consultancy before accepting a new job on a fix term three year contract in Brussels with the European Commission, in what was then DG12, later DG Research. I worked in the Standards Measurement and Testing Unit running a portfolio of research projects, and additionally acting as a technical advisor on the transatlantic trade negotiations. It was fun shuttling to Washington DC and as part of the team negotiating what was then called the Transatlantic Economic Partnership, in the various meetings.

As my time drew to a close in Brussels, as the new millennium began, I was invited to join the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington UK to set up an international programme.

I had the idea there to get the National Metrology Laboratories around Europe to work together on an integrated research programme. It wasn't the only thing I did but it took up a good portion of my time, and lead to the established of the European Metrology Research Programme, which reached around half a billion Euros under my leadership and continued after I moved on and has now surpassed a billion Euros.

I also spent some months embedded with the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland working with the people who had once been the other side of the negotiating table.

With the EMRP programme well established I felt the need for a new challenge and in 2010 I joined the International Bureau of Weights and Measures  in Paris (or the Bureau international des poids et mesures as we know it in French), the intergovernmental organization that is custodian of the International system of Units (the SI) and which establishes UTC, the world time scale.

I spent most of my 13 years at BIPM as a Departmental Director, in which role I traveled extensively and was able to contribute to the strategy of the organization and to support the International Committee on Weights and Measures, the CIPM.

I need to mention my wife Karen and our children, that got dragged from pillar to post as my career took one turn then another.

When it came to retirement in early 2023 it was Karen's turn to chose the location and we returned to her hometown Exeter. We still travel and enjoy the proximity of the coast and Dartmoor. I've also taken up painting, which is fun even without much skill.