Ralph A. Richter (Fed)

Ralph Richter is multi-disciplinary professional engineer with over 35 years of Federal service and a leader, facilitator, and developer of international standards for measuring instruments and systems and legal metrology regulations. He has over two decades of legal metrology experience in the NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) in coordinating work on normative standards, developing guidelines for technical engineering projects, establishing and leading project teams and international committees, strategic planning, handling significant technical contract oversight, and representing NIST and the US Government in national and international forums.

Mr. Richter currently serves as the U.S. representative and Secretariat on dozens of international technical committees of the treaty organization International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML), working to develop international consensus standards for measuring instruments including, but not limited to, gas/liquid flow measurement systems, static liquid measurement systems, mass measurement instruments/systems, pressure instruments, and length measurement instruments. He also has extensive experience with national and international codes, regulations, specifications, standards, technical manuals, and testing procedures.

International Committee Leadership/Representation

• Convener, OIML R117 Measuring systems for liquids other than water
• Convener, OIML R95 Ships' tanks
• Convener, OIML R71 Fixed storage tanks. General requirements
• Convener, OIML R85 Automatic level gauges for measuring the level of liquid in stationary storage tanks
• Convener, OIML R125 Measuring systems for the mass of liquids in tanks
• Convener OIML R81 Dynamic measuring devices and systems for cryogenic liquids
• Special OIML Liaison Member, WELMEC WG10 Measuring systems for liquids other than water
• International Secretariat, OIML TC8/SC3 Dynamic Volume and Mass Measurement (liquids other than water)
• International Secretariat, OIML TC7/SC4 Measuring Instruments for Road Traffic
• International Secretariat, OIML TC8/SC1 Static Volume and Mass Measurement
• International Secretariat, OIML TC8/SC5 Measurement of cryogenic liquids
• International Secretariat, OIML TC10 Instruments for measuring pressure, force and associated quantities
• International Secretariat, OIML TC10/SC4 Material Testing Machines
• International Secretariat, OIML TC9 Instruments for measuring mass and density
• US representative, OIML TC8/SC5 Water Meters
• US representative, OIML TC5/SC1 Environmental Conditions and OIML D11 General requirements for measuring instruments - Environmental conditions
• US representative, OIML TC8/SC7 Gas Metering
• US representative, OIML R60 Metrological regulation for load cells
• US representative, OIML R76 Non-automatic weighing instruments
• US representative, OIML R134 Automatic instruments for weighing road vehicles in motion and measuring axle loads
• US representative, OIML R65 Force measuring system of uniaxial material testing machines
• US representative, SIM Legal Metrology Working Group (LMWG)

Domestic Committee Leadership and Representation

• Vice Chair of the Committee (2010-2021), ANSI B109 Gas Meters and Team Leader, ANSI Gas Meter Standard work group
• Member, American Gas Association (AGA), Distribution Measurement Committee
• Member, American Gas Association (AGA), Transmission Measurement Committee
• Member, American Petroleum Institute (API), Committee on Petroleum Measurement
• Member, American Water Works Association (AWWA), Committee on Water Meters and 4 Water Measurement Subcommittees
• Member, National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM), Weighing Sector and Measuring Sector

PROJECTS/PROGRAMS

• National Metrology Systems: A Framework for Global Trade

• 2020 OIML Letter of Appreciation – Ralph Richter
• 2016 Bronze Medal Award
• 2023 B. Stephen Carpenter Award