Tina G. Butcher (Fed)

Tina G. Butcher is a Physical Scientist and Training Specialist in the NIST Office of Weights and Measures (OWM), Physical Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Tina retired in August 2023 from full-time federal service as a Supervisory Physical Scientist in OWM, where she served as Leader of the Legal Metrology Devices Program. During her time at NIST, Tina also completed two professional details, one in the NIST Program Office and one in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program. Tina returned to NIST in November 2023 to work in a part-time capacity, focusing primarily on the development of training and learning resources and putting her formal education on instructional design into practice.

Throughout her 35-year tenure at the National Bureau of Standards/National Institute of Standards and Technology, Tina has been a leader in the development of U.S. legal metrology standards, test procedures, and guidance documents. She served as chairman of the NIST U.S. National Work Group (USNWG) on Electric Vehicle Refueling and Submetering and as technical advisor to its Electric Watthour Meter Subgroup. Tina also served as a technical advisor to numerous legal metrology technical committees, work groups, and task forces, at NIST and in the National Conference (now Council) on Weights and Measures (NCWM) (Specifications & Tolerances Committee, Liaison Committee, Energy Allocation, and Safety). Tina managed the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP) from 1994 until its transition to the NCWM in 2000 and also served as a technical advisor to a range of NTEP’s technical sectors (weighing, measuring, grain analyzer, and belt-conveyor scale systems). Tina was active in the initial development of the U.S.-Canada Mutual Recognition Program for Type Evaluation, including measuring instruments and multiple-dimension measuring devices.  Tina served as co-chair for NIST’s USNWG on Field Reference Meters, including the formation of the USNWG and development of NIST’s test standards. In addition to authoring a variety of technical news articles and work group reports, Tina was an editor of NIST Handbook 44, Specifications, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices, leading this work until her retirement in 2023.

During her time at NIST, Tina developed and presented numerous training seminars and presentations on a variety of topics pertaining to weights and measures administration and field inspection and actively mentored and collaborated with other trainers to promote and encourage the professional development of others in the weights and measures community.  Tina also remains an active member of the NCWM and currently serves as OWM’s liaison to the NCWM’s Professional Development Committee.  In 2024, she was recognized by the NCWM with its highest award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of her outstanding service to NCWM and its mission of equity and of her many years as a technical advisor and as as talented and knowledgeable trainer.

Prior to joining NIST, Tina worked for five years as a weights and measures field inspector for the State of Maryland where she inspected and tested a wide range of weighing and measuring devices (high precision scales, medium capacity scales, motor-fuel dispensers, vehicle tank-meters, grain moisture meters, LPG meters) and prepackaged commodities, responded to consumer complaints, and assisted in training new inspectors.

PROJECTS/PROGRAMS

• NIST OWM – NCWM: An Enduring Partnership for Over 100 Years

• U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award, December 1993 for developing national policy and type evaluation criteria for new applications and use of new technology for liquid-volume and mass flow meters.
• National Conference (now Council) on Weights and Measures Lifetime Achievement Award, July 2024, for her outstanding service to its mission of equity in the marketplace and of her many years as a technical advisor on standing committees, NTEP technical sectors, and countless tasks groups and as as talented and knowledgeable trainer.
• National Conference on Weights and Measures Distinguished Service Award, July 2012, for her long-term commitment of service and leadership to the NCWM.
• U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award, December 2020 for developing national policy, standards, and test procedures and promoting their adoption to support the legal metrology infrastructure and facilitate the commercialization of electric vehicle fueling and to establish recommended national standards for other electric submetering applications.
• Cash-In-A-Flash Awards: 1998 for contributions to the NCWM Annual Meeting success; 1999 for Instructor Training; 2000 for NCWM Relationship and Annual Meeting success; 2000 for Privatization of NTEP Program; TS Lab Tour 2003