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Tobias Herman (Fed)

Physicist

Tobias Herman is a physicist in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Weights and Measures (OWM), working in the Laboratory Metrology Program. OWM is responsible for ensuring the traceability of state weights and measures standards to the SI and develops device test procedures and conducts training for weights and measures inspectors, state laboratory metrologists and weights and measures officials. State legal metrology laboratories are custodians at the state level of measurement standards that serve as the basis for ensuring equity in the marketplace and as reference standards for calibration services for US industry. As part of its program to encourage a high degree of technical and professional competence in such activities, OWM has developed performance standards and formalized procedures for recognition of state legal metrology laboratories on a voluntary basis. Certificates of Metrological Traceability are issued upon evaluation of the laboratory's ability to make reliable metrological measurements (principally mass, volume, length, and temperature). Currently Tobias’ focus is on the development and delivery of training in metrology, for state legal metrologists, for industry and for NIST metrology staff.

Tobias’ research background straddles the boundary between physical chemistry and condensed matter physics, and he originally joined NIST in 2010 as a member of the Condensed Matter Science Group at the NIST Center for Neutron Research. He joined the Thermodynamic Metrology Group in 2016, working in temperature metrology, where he was responsible for realizing, maintaining, and disseminating the International Temperature Scale of 1990 from the Ar TP (83.8 K) to the Ag FP (1234.9 K), before moving to OWM in 2025. He remains active in research through collaborations with the Fundamental Thermodynamics Group in the Sensor Science Division.

Research Projects

Awards

  • Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award (2021)
  • Colleagues Choice Award (2020): For outstanding leadership in thermometry and humidity calibration services and successful management of the photonic thermometry CRADA project.
  • Measurement Services Award (2018): Commitment to, and leadership of, temperature calibration laboratories and services including significant efforts to revitalize and modernize.

News

OWM Welcomes Undergraduate Researchers

The Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) welcomes Yoon Thwel, a spring Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) intern and Matthew Kenzinger, a visiting

Publications

ITS-90 SPRT Calibration from the Ar TP to the Zn FP

Author(s)
Michal J. Chojnacky, Tobias Herman, Ken Hill, Steffen Rudtsch, Inseok Yang, Petrus Paulus Maria Steur, Roberto Dematteis, Lopardo Lopardo, Fernando Sparasci, Catherine Martin, Lara Risegari, Januarius Widiatmo, Tohru Nakano, Ikuhiko Saito, Klaus Natorf Quelhas, Patricia Giorgio, Jianping Sun, Jintao Zhang, Jonathan Pearce, Jayne Gray
This is a report to the Consultative Committee for Thermometry (CCT) on the key comparison 9 of SPRT calibration on the International Temperature Scale of 1990

Patents (2018-Present)

Photonic Thermometer Module Assembly And Performing Photonic Thermometry

NIST Inventors
Nikolai Klimov , Tobias Herman and Zeeshan Ahmed
A photonic thermometer module assembly includes: a sheath; a sheath bottom plug; a sheath top flange; a top sealing flange; a heat exchanger; a photonic thermometer disposed on the heat exchanger such that the photonic thermometer determines a temperature of the sheath; and an optical fiber array in

Photonic Quantum Dew Point Sensor

NIST Inventors
Tobias Herman , Nikolai Klimov and Thomas Purdy
A photonic quantum dew point sensor determines a dew point of an analyte and includes a common substrate; a photonic dew sensor on the common substrate and exposed for direct contact with the analyte; a photonic temperature sensor on the common substrate; an optomechanical temperature sensor on the
Created September 24, 2019, Updated March 7, 2025