2016 Judson C. French Award

The team is recognized for full-scale restoration of the NIST 4.45 meganewton (1,000,000 lbf) force standard machine, built in 1965 and never disassembled until now.  The painstaking and labor-intensive operation required coordination of many disciplines including safety, plant, shops, professional riggers, tribology, mass calibrations, administration, and finance.  From disassembly and damage assessment, to refurbishing and calibration of masses, to full reassembly and testing, the job stretched from December 2014 to April 2016.  The team diligently and perfectly orchestrated the work with no injuries or damage to property, and now one of NIST’s and the world’s metrology treasures is ready to serve customers and carry on the NIST mission.