NIST Electrical Engineer Honored For Work On International Temperature Scale

George W. Burns, a resident of DAMASCUS, Md., and an electrical engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, today received the institute's Edward Bennett Rosa Award for helping industry make accurate temperature measurements--a critical factor in many manufacturing processes.

Burns is being recognized for his lead role in developing the American Society for Testing and Materials Manual on Thermocouples and NIST Monograph 175. Industrial engineers rely heavily on both of these volumes to control the temperature of processes, materials, instruments and machinery.

As a charter member of the ASTM Committee E20 on Temperature Measurements, Burns has contributed significantly to standards on thermocouples, a temperature-sensing device commonly used in industry.

According to industry estimates, each year up to 100 million new thermocouples are placed in service in the United States alone. They are used in venues as disparate as metallurgical furnaces, residential kitchen ovens, food processing vats, jet engines, chemical plants, medical clinics and fabrication chambers for microelectronics.

The Rosa Award honors scientists for outstanding achievements in developing and advancing measurement standards. The Rosa Award was established in 1964 and is given annually to recognize outstanding achievements in the development of meaningful and significant standards of practice in measurements.

As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department’s Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.