Annual Review

2017/2018
 CREATING
IMPACT FROM
SCIENCE,
ENGINEERING
AND
TECHNOLOGY
Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04
Advanced manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09
Digital and quantum technologies. . . . . . . 13
Energy and environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Life sciences & health.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Place.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Instruments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Training. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Consultancy.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Measurement services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Our people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Introduction

I believe that the last year will be seen as

a significant moment in NPL’s illustrious
history, the year when we relaunched our
vision and mission to better address global
challenges and accelerate UK industry.
We have used our heritage and wealth of
expertise as a springboard to renew and
reinvigorate NPL to cultivate growth across
areas the UK will most benefit from in the
future: advanced manufacturing, digital,
energy and environment, and life sciences
and health. We will draw on over a century
of expertise and world-class facilities to
develop new technologies, standards
and skills in industries of the future, from
Industry 4.0 to the hydrogen economy.
NPL continues to fast-track UK advanced
manufacturing by helping to apply the latest
advances in measurement science, engineering
and technology, and providing industry with a
competitive edge on the global stage. Examples
include: NPL’s thermometry work with Metrosol,
which helped them win a Queen’s Award for
innovation; and our world-first, non-destructive,
quality control method for 2D materials, which is
helping Oxford Instruments commercialise wafer-
scale fabrication.
October 2017 was the 50th anniversary of the
redefinition of the second, brought about by NPL
creating the first working caesium atomic clock.
We are continuing our ground‑breaking work in
the digital arena, participating in a collaboration to
develop one of the first quantum‑based products,
a miniaturised caesium atomic clock. Our quantum
work is set to expand rapidly, as groundworks for
our new Advanced Quantum Metrology Laboratory
has already commenced. This will provide industry
with access to world-leading test and validation
facilities to accelerate their commercialisation. NPL
continues to be at the forefront of international
standardisation, being instrumental in publishing

04
the world’s first graphene standard. This is helping to
provide consistency across the emerging worldwide
graphene industry and to increase commercialisation
of graphene.
Energy and Environment is an area where we have
a strong track record in helping the UK get more
value from renewables and low-carbon technology,
and increasing our understanding of emissions and
pollution. This tradition continues with research into
failure mechanism in lithium-ion batteries, which
won The Engineer’s 2017 Collaborate to Innovate
award. We continue to help pave the way to a
hydrogen economy and have brought together key
players from the UK’s hydrogen industry to highlight
and prioritise the current measurement challenges
facing the industry.
In the Life Sciences and Health area we are leading
the improvement of diagnosis and treatment
for a broad range of big diseases such as cancer,
heart disease, dementia and diabetes, through
the use of better imaging technology. Last year
we were awarded an investment of £9M from the
government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to
continue to develop medical imaging techniques.
This builds on the success of being awarded
CRUK funding to create a ‘Google Earth’ tumour
map, which uses the revolutionary 3D OrbiSIMS
instrument, conceived and designed at NPL. We are
also a partner in the £7M Centre for Engineering
Biology, Metrology and Standards, a new virtual
laboratory to help the UK synthetic biology industry.
We also launched the UK Measurement Strategy.
This brings together the views of over 2,500
measurement users and provides a blueprint for
how highly accurate measurement will help the UK’s
future industrial success. This measurement strategy
provided input to the UK government’s Industrial
Strategy; and building on this work, we contributed
to a review of how National Laboratories support
regional economies. We are already taking the lead
in this, with well-established hubs in Huddersfield,
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Strathclyde and Surrey, and a new centre opening at
the Cambridge University’s Maxwell Centre.
We are proud of our role as the UK leaders in
developing the measurement skills of a range of
audiences, from apprentices to the 200+ students in
our Postgraduate Institute and the 200 engineers we
train face to face each year.
Of course, none of this would be possible if it wasn’t
for the amazing people who make NPL the world-
leading facility that it is, and the breadth and depth
of our scientific publications demonstrate the impact
of our current research. All of this means that we
have a fantastic opportunity in the future as we
work towards our vision to be an exemplary National
Laboratory that undertakes excellent science and
engineering and uses this to deliver extraordinary
impact for the UK.
NPL is emblematic of the way research can drive
economic and social progress. The impact of the
science and engineering that we deliver is felt
by everyone, everywhere. After a century as the
silent partner to industry, helping to deliver now-
ubiquitous innovations and advances, the next 100
years will see us continue this crucial role, but in the
foreground, delivering even greater impact to the UK.
Dr Peter Thompson
Chief Executive Officer
Advanced
manufacturing

06
NPL is growing the economic impact and
competitiveness of big and small UK manufacturers
by promoting best measurement practice and
helping to harness the potential of a digitally-
enabled supply chain. With this understanding
and knowledge, businesses can take advantage of
new materials and processes, such as composites
and additive manufacturing, to become more
responsive, sustainable and efficient.
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National Physical Laboratory | Annual Review 2017/2018

Advanced manufacturing

NPL technology helps UK firms win Queen’s Award for Innovation

Equipment manufacturer, Isotech, and instrumentation company, Metrosol, are
celebrating winning a Queen’s Award for the co-development of ‘microK’, an innovative
thermometry bridge, which relies on NPL analogue-to-digital converter technology.

The microK is used to establish and disseminate the International Temperature Scale
of 1990 (ITS-90). It achieves accuracies better than 20 parts per billion due to its new
measurement technique, and is now in use in the world’s leading National Metrology
Institutes (NMIs) alongside primary standards. Outside of NMIs, the microK is used in
applications including oceanography, aerospace, medicine and astrophysics.

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are awarded for outstanding achievement by UK
businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development
and promoting opportunity through social mobility.

Tipping points and their early warning signals

A team of researchers from NPL and the University of Strathclyde have carried out
research that will help move existing reactive structural health monitoring systems
towards a preventive model. The research demonstrates that the analysis of strain data
can provide early indicators of cracking and structural transitions in reinforced concrete
systems. The method provides a clear indication of when a concrete beam under gradual
bending progresses from a linear to a nonlinear strain response, and can also provide an
early warning signal of the appearance of cracks. With over 10,000 road bridges in the UK,
their structural integrity must be effectively and efficiently monitored to ensure safety,
prevent accidents and improve maintenance.

Protecting engineering materials from water impact

NPL has designed and manufactured a rotating arm test system to assess and
reduce erosion from water impact. Erosion caused by the impact of water droplets
on component surfaces can lead to failures in key technological applications like
steam generating plants or wind turbine rotor blades. The test system evaluates the
effectiveness of new materials manufactured to address erosion issues. The system
has already been used in a project looking at new coatings for steam turbine blade
applications, with the lifetime of some candidate coatings being ten times that of the
uncoated steel.

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 npl.co.uk/focus

New production method for 2D materials could lead to smarter devices

A world-first, non-destructive, quality control method from NPL has enabled Oxford
Instruments to commercialise wafer-scale fabrication technology for 2D material, single-
layer molybdenum disulphide (MoS2).

2D materials have attracted attention in recent years due to their unique electrical and
mechanical properties and atomically-thin dimensions. Among these materials, MoS2,
a semiconducting 2D material, is generating a lot of interest due to its technologically
exploitable electronic and optical properties, which could pave the way for the next
generation of electronics and optoelectronics devices.

NPL’s work on MoS2 provided Oxford Instruments with the methodology they needed to
develop their own quality control process, which characterises the 2D MoS2 layers without
having a destructive impact on the material’s structure.

New graphene allergen sensor

NPL, working alongside Unilever, Prognomics (a spin-out of Swansea University) and the
University of Cambridge, has developed an in situ graphene allergen sensor to solve the
issue of trace quantities of allergens, such as milk, being found in food processing plants.
The detection mechanism works by using chemically-modified graphene that includes
antibodies specific to the allergen being detected. This simple, yet effective, field setup is
capable of detecting binding events down to the parts-per-million level and doing so in
real-time on the factory floor, provides a quick, comprehensive and accurate indication
of even a small quantity of allergen residue in production plants. NPL provided unique
access to state-of-the art facilities for the project, to monitor the microstructure and
electrical properties of the various sensor prototypes to identify the industrial promise
and effectiveness of them.

NPL supporting UK’s Made Smarter Review

NPL’s Digitally Enabled Supply Chain (DESC) programme is supporting the industry-led
Made Smarter Review, which sets out the UK vision for industrial digitalisation and how
the manufacturing sector can maximise benefits from increasing adoption of digital
technology.

NPL’s DESC programme provides the catalyst to enable data confidence throughout
supply chains and addresses data challenges through a focus on data collection, data
validation, data uncertainty and trust of data as it passes through process and systems,
and between organisations.

NPL enables data-confident approaches to technology insertion across manufacturing

applications and sectors. It will accelerate the capability of the UK supply chain base,
particularly SMEs, through regionally-based access to NPL and delivery partners that
provide digitally-relevant skills support.

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Digital and
quantum
technologies

10
NPL is unlocking new digital opportunities. We
are testing and validating new technologies,
such as quantum devices and 5G, to protect
consumers, provide a competitive edge to industry,
and transform the way we collect, connect and
comprehend data. In the future, new devices based
on quantum physics will have the potential to
transform the modern world.
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National Physical Laboratory | Annual Review 2017/2018

Digital and quantum technologies

Miniature caesium atomic clock

The Quantum Metrology Institute (QMI) is a leading centre that delivers world-class
research and brings together all of NPL’s leading-edge quantum science and metrology
research. The Institute provides the measurement expertise and facilities needed to
test, validate and ultimately commercialise new quantum research and technologies,
and underpins the UK’s National Quantum Technologies Programme, in which the
government has invested £270M.

The QMI, in partnership with Teledyne e2v, the Compound Semiconductor Centre, and
Compound Semiconductor Technologies Global, is an Innovate UK project to develop
a miniature caesium atomic clock (MINAC). This discrete and portable timing reference
will provide precise synchronisation for a wide range of applications in sectors, including
defence and security, space and aerospace, oil and gas sensing, and energy distribution.

First graphene ISO standard published to boost commercialisation

The world’s first ISO (International Organisation for Standardization) graphene standard
has been published. The standard will provide consistency across the emerging world-
wide graphene industry and accelerate the commercial capacity of the 2D material.

The new international standard, led by NPL, defines the terminology used to describe
the many different forms of graphene and related 2D materials, supporting companies
in the testing and validation of the ‘wonder material’. This will provide clarity among
manufacturers, suppliers, NGOs and academia, helping to unlock new applications, drive
down manufacturing costs and open up industrial-scale use of graphene for applications
from next-generation computer chips to smart sensors in clothing.

Graphene sensor to improve hepatitis diagnosis

A UK–China collaborative project is developing a sensor to provide an easy, low-cost
method of diagnosing hepatitis on the spot using graphene – an advanced 2D material
known for its high electrical conductivity.

Hepatitis is a huge global health problem, with nearly 400 million people worldwide
affected. Blood tests are used as the diagnostic method for hepatitis, but results can take
five to seven days, during which patients are still contagious and therefore a risk to the
non-infected.

The project, supported by the UK’s Newton Fund and led by Biovici, will bring together
NPL, the University of Chongqing, Swansea University, and industry partner CTN, to
develop this new diagnostic technology. The two-year project will develop a prototype,
and establish the reliability, stability and sensitivity of the sensor in preparation for its
commercialisation. It is estimated that if the sensor is produced in large quantities, each
device could cost as little as £1, and provide on‑the‑spot diagnosis.

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AQML
Work has commenced on building an Advanced Quantum Metrology Laboratory (AQML)
at NPL, Teddington. Construction will extend the existing Darwin Building to provide
laboratory facilities, as well as office and meeting accommodation, which will provide a
unique scientific environment to house NPL’s expanding quantum research. The AQML
will provide a centre for industry engineers, academic researchers and NPL scientists, and
as a highly‑collaborative environment will play an essential role in the creation of a UK
industry based on quantum technologies.

Optical clocks perform new test of special relativity

NPL has worked with international colleagues, SYRTE (France) and PTB (Germany) to
perform the most accurate test yet of time dilation predicted by special relativity, using
optical atomic clocks.

Using two optical fibre links between London and Paris, and Paris and Braunschweig,
the tick rates of optical clocks at NPL, SYRTE and PTB were compared to calculate a
parameter called ‘alpha’, which should be zero if the theory of special relativity is correct.

The results showed that alpha is less than 10 –8 – a result twice as accurate as the best
previous limit, and two orders of magnitude better than that calculated from past
experiments using caesium clocks. This work is the first of a new generation of tests of
fundamental physics using optical clocks and fibre links. Researchers expect that these
tests will improve by orders of magnitude in the near future.

Digitally Enabled Supply Chain (DESC) programme

NPL’s Digitally Enabled Supply Chain (DESC) programme will provide the catalyst
to enable data confidence throughout supply chains and establish a world-leading
position for the UK. This programme is closely aligned with the government’s Made
Smarter Review. This industry-led review explores how UK manufacturing can maximise
benefits from increasing adoption of digital technology through a strong industry and
government partnership. The DESC programme has been designed to address data
challenges through a focus on data collection, data validation, data uncertainty and trust
in data as it passes through processes and systems, and between organisations.

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Energy and
environment

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NPL is paving the way to a cleaner future by
supporting the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
We will help to transition our energy system so that it
is smart, clean and resilient. NPL validates innovative
clean technologies and provides confidence in
collection of data relating to the climate, greenhouse
gas emissions and air pollution.
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National Physical Laboratory | Annual Review 2017/2018

Energy and environment

Battery research wins 2017 Collaborate to Innovate Award

NPL research into failure mechanisms in lithium-ion batteries, carried out in collaboration
with UCL, NASA, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the European
Synchrotron Research Facility (ESRF), has won The Engineer’s 2017 Collaborate to Innovate
Award in the Safety & Security category.

Judged by a panel of leading UK engineers from organisations including BAE Systems,

Rolls-Royce and the University of Cambridge, entrants had to demonstrate that they were
innovative, collaborative and likely to have an impact in their field of application.

Thermal runaway of high energy density batteries, a situation where an increase in

temperature causes a further increase in temperature, often leads to a destructive result.
This is of increasing concern to manufacturers and end users. As the energy density of
such cells increases to cater for emerging markets, such as automotive propulsion and
grid storage, the effectiveness of battery safety features become ever more critical.

These points are exemplified by the recent fires involving Samsung mobile phones, and
the grounding of the Boeing Dreamliner fleet.

Identifying measurement challenges in the hydrogen industry

The use of hydrogen as an energy carrier in the UK is beginning to shift from hypothetical
debates to practical demonstration projects, but has yet to have wide commercial uptake.
To accelerate the shift towards a hydrogen economy in the UK, NPL has published a
report, ‘Energy transition: Measurement needs within the hydrogen industry’, which
highlights and prioritises the current measurement challenges facing the industry.

These challenges were identified through an industry-wide workshop and in-depth

interviews and consultation with key stakeholders within the hydrogen industry, and
include: materials development for fuel cells and electrolysers; measurement of the
combustion properties of hydrogen; and validated techniques for hydrogen storage.

Understanding these challenges fully is an important step towards addressing them and
will pave the way for hydrogen to play a significant role as we move to a decarbonised
energy system.

NPL helps assess ESA’s solar array drive mechanism

The European Space Agency (ESA) has used a microvibration platform, designed and built
by NPL, to assess the performance of a solar array drive mechanism for the forthcoming
Meteosat Third Generation satellites.

The NPL microvibration platform can measure vibrations made by subsystems to an

unprecedented degree of accuracy – so sensitive it can measure the force of a single
dropped feather. Following installation at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre last year, the platform’s
first task was to ensure the correct performance of a solar array drive mechanism, built
by RUAG Space in Switzerland, which will align the solar wings powering Europe’s latest
weather satellite.

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New projects launched to address challenges in energy and environment

NPL is leading eight new pan-European projects as part of the European Metrology
Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR). The new three-year projects will see NPL
addressing challenges from the uptake of hydrogen cars and development of thin-film
technologies to the improvement of air pollution monitoring and assurance of climate
data from Earth observation satellites.

In addition to the eight NPL-led projects, NPL is a partner in eight further energy and
environment projects, as well as four projects which aim to develop measurement
methods and techniques required for standardisation.

EMPIR funds collaborative research projects to address grand challenges in areas such as
health, industry, energy and environment, and to progress fundamental measurement
science throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

Understanding the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Every year, BEIS compiles a Greenhouse Gas Inventory which quantifies the UK’s total
annual emissions and sinks of greenhouse gases. This is used to track progress against
emission reduction policies, including international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol.

NPL has produced a report assessing how the inventory is calculated and the implications
of uncertainty. It provides an overview of greenhouse gas estimates and associated
uncertainties across each sector, highlighting time-series trends and revisions over time.
It draws out key insights around issues such as robustness, reliability and uncertainty of
the inventory data and what these imply for both setting carbon budgets and monitoring
progress.

As well as helping the Committee on Climate Change to understand the implications for
its own work in the future, the report also informs funders and researchers about where
to focus their efforts to have the biggest impact on the reduction of uncertainties in the
inventory.

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Life sciences
and health

18
NPL is working to tackle some of the world’s biggest
health challenges by standardising and improving
diagnosis and treatment techniques, such as helping
all UK NHS hospitals provide world-class cancer care
by 2020. NPL is also working at reducing attrition
rates in drug development and investigating new
therapies, such as novel antibiotics, to get them to
patients more quickly.
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National Physical Laboratory | Annual Review 2017/2018

Life sciences & health

Creating a ‘Google Earth’ of cancer

NPL is leading a multi‑disciplinary consortium to build a ‘Google Earth’ of cancer. The
project, which won one of the biggest funding grants ever awarded by Cancer Research
UK, will work to create a reproducible and standardised map to understand different
tumours in unprecedented detail.

A variety of mass spectrometry imaging techniques will be brought together as part of

this ambitious programme, to study and map the entire molecular make-up of tumours,
right down to sub-cellular measurements, to find out how tumours survive and why they
keep growing.

The multi‑disciplinary consortium, led by NPL, is built up of a collective force of physicists,

chemists and biologists, and includes researchers from Imperial College London, the
Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, AstraZeneca, the Francis Crick Institute, the Institute
of Cancer Research, Barts Cancer Institute and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge
Institute.

Their work could lead to the development of new ways to diagnose and treat cancer, and
could also help inform and improve the testing of existing treatments and potentially
improve them. Ultimately, it could help more people survive cancer for longer.

Virtual lab launched to establish UK Centre for Engineering Biology,

Metrology and Standards
NPL and SynbiCITE, at Imperial College London, have announced the establishment of a
new £7 million virtual laboratory. This exciting venture will underpin the joint Centre for
Engineering Biology, Metrology and Standards to help the UK synthetic biology industry
to improve the manufacturing and adoption of new products, in partnership with LGC
and the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control.

The virtual laboratory is a new collaboration between institutes undertaking world-

leading research in biological measurements, and will aim to position the UK as a global
leader in the industrialisation of synthetic biology. The lab will develop reference materials
and methods in the form of a toolbox to improve the reproducibility of research results to
convert innovation in synthetic biology into valuable products and services.

The lab is part of £17 million of new government funding announced by the Chancellor of
the Exchequer to help translate the UK’s scientific expertise into real life treatments, and
will focus on accelerating the application of synthetic biology in life sciences.

BEIS Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund Medical Imaging project

NPL received over £9 million from the BEIS Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to carry
out research into Medical Imaging. The programme runs from 2017–2021 and over this
period, NPL will work with UK industry to identify and carry out new metrology research,
which is needed to help companies overcome barriers throughout the supply chain of
medical imaging products, aiming to improve UK competitiveness. Areas of focus extend
from magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and nuclear medicine to system software,
image and data analysis and test phantoms.

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New paradigm launched for antibiotic discovery and production

A team of scientists from NPL, Ingenza and Plymouth University have joined efforts
to develop a discovery and production platform for a new family of antibiotics. The
three-year project, co-funded by Innovate UK, will focus on epidermicins, a class of
bacteriocins (naturally-occurring toxins produced by bacteria to kill other, closely-related
strains) recently discovered by researchers at Plymouth University and the University of
Manchester.

The team will use artificial intelligence tools, developed in collaboration with IBM and the
Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre, with experimental validation
by NPL, to enhance the performance of selected bacteriocins, focusing on their range of
action, stability and potency.

Within the same project, the team will also apply and further enhance Ingenza’s
highly-efficient manufacturing platform to scale up production of each promising new
antimicrobial candidate for further testing and clinical trials.

3D OrbiSIMS
NPL revealed the revolutionary 3D OrbiSIMS instrument, conceived by NPL to address one
of the pharmaceutical industry’s main challenges. The 3D OrbiSIMS can identify where
drugs go at the cellular level to help answer long-standing questions about whether drug
concentrations are high enough in the right places to have a therapeutic effect, or if the
medicine is lodging within cellular components and causing toxicity.

There is a growing realisation that cells, even of the same type, have tremendous
variability. The 3D OrbiSIMS allows drug molecules and exogenous and endogenous
metabolites to be visualised in 3D with sub-cellular resolution and such a high-
performance is essential to reveal the biomolecular complexity in a cell.

If anomalies are spotted earlier it might help to explain toxicities or lack of efficacy of
a medicine and reduce costly late-stage failures. The instrument will also enable new
drugs and medicines research. This work is beginning to reveal a surprisingly large
heterogeneity of single-cell drug uptake and the effects of the drug on metabolites.

The concept was created at NPL, who led the multidisciplinary team with experts in drug
discovery at GlaxoSmithKline and pharmaceutical science at the University of Nottingham,
and leading mass spectrometry companies, IONTOF GmbH and Thermo Fisher Scientific –
who designed and integrated their technologies into a single platform.

NPL and NHS England announce Knowledge Transfer Partnership winners

NHS England, in partnership with NPL and other National Measurement System (NMS)
laboratories, has announced the winners of its first Chief Scientific Officer’s Knowledge
Transfer Partnership Programme. The bespoke 12-month development programme
gives clinical leaders in healthcare science the opportunity to create, test and implement
innovative ideas to improve patient care and identify new approaches to measurement
and outcomes. The three successful applicants working with NPL are focusing on:
advancing radiotherapy through enhanced imaging, treatment verification and outcome
prediction; development of a harmonisation policy for medical imaging equipment;
and reducing the burden of measurements in the commissioning of medical linear
accelerators.

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Place

22
NPL is linking in with the government’s focus on
‘place’, by co-locating and creating capability
in centres across the UK; creating new jobs and
supporting the growth of new and innovative SMEs.
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Place

NPL has four centres, at the University of Strathclyde (NPL Scotland), the University of
Huddersfield (NPL North of England) and the University of Surrey (NPL South of England).
A centre was opened at the University of Cambridge (NPL East of England). Our ambition
is to have seven centres within five years which will provide a nationwide network
supporting regions and nations. Our economic estimates predict £58M of productivity
growth and an additional 3,250 employees in high technology or innovative companies
per year.

NPL Scotland
The centre based at the University of Strathclyde supports smart grids, continuous manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and
advanced manufacturing. The team has been working with one of the global leaders in beverage alcohol, to develop a
new barrel filling system, helping to increase their confidence in the performance and prove to the manufacturer that
their return on investment would be as predicted.

NPL North of England

NPL North of England, established in partnership with the University of Huddersfield, was designed with the aim
of supporting regional manufacturing SMEs to help them to achieve their full potential. With a focus on advanced
manufacturing, the centre recently helped Cimpol, a local SME, with their new system to coat flexible substrates with
a very thin polymer layer. NPL North of England used a number of different methods to measure the coating enabling
Cimpol to quickly go to market and find new international customers, helping to prove the product’s reliability, determine
its position in the market and secure the future trajectory for Cimpol’s business.

NPL South of England

The centre based at the University of Surrey currently focuses on Future Communications needs. It provides a path to
provide significant benefit to UK industry and especially SMEs. One of the main strategies is to develop joint laboratories
where scientists, engineers and academics can work closely together. To date there are two joint laboratories, the
n3m‑labs and Hyper Terahertz Facility, and the new 5G lab is due to launch in 2018.

NPL East of England

NPL’s newest hub is located at the University of Cambridge’s Maxwell Centre, has resulted in deeper engagement with
the strategic research initiatives and networks in data science, agritech and life sciences. The centre has substantially
increased the number and variety of opportunities to interact with new academic and industrial partners. It also offers the
opportunity to work closely with the local enterprise partnership.

NPL’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Peter Thompson, said: “The NPL East of England base in the Maxwell Centre is enabling
local industry to benefit from the National Measurement System. NPL partnerships enhance our regional offering,
through initiatives such as the recent NPL Data Science workshop held in Cambridge which attracted 100 UK academic
and industrial delegates. The collaborative projects discussed at the event helped us to ensure that the most relevant
research and innovation solutions are developed to encourage growth across the country.”

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 Scotland
Technology Innovation Centre,
University of Strathclyde
Digital enabled supply in energy, advanced
and pharmaceutical manufacturing, life
sciences

North of England
3M Innovation Centre, University of
Huddersfield
Advanced manufacturing, optical for
aerospace, automotive and medical

East of England
Maxwell Centre, University of Cambridge
Agriculture technology, data science & life
sciences

South of England
University of Surrey
Future communications technology (5G) &
medical physics for the telecommunications,
space, life sciences and health sectors

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Products &
services

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NPL’s products and services are built on 100 years
of leadership in accuracy, innovation and scientific
research. They are focused on delivering: higher
productivity; more export and trade; confidence in
new technologies, leading to accelerated innovation
and better solutions for societal challenges.

Instruments
Training
Consultancy
Measurement Services
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Instruments

NPL provides confidence through traceability by developing highly‑accurate measurement

instruments, sensors and artefacts. The range of instruments we can provide extends
from bespoke systems, designed to meet specific measurement requirements, to standard
artefacts and complete metrology systems, based on those operated at NPL.

www.npl.co.uk/instruments

Next generation Kibble balance

NPL scientists have designed and built an instrument to demonstrate new concepts for a next-generation Kibble balance,
which will be used for the routine realisation of the kilogram, the SI unit of mass. NPL’s work in this area aims to measure
a one kilogram mass to an uncertainty of better than 10 micrograms. NPL is also looking at the development of micro-
Kibble balances to realise very small masses and forces.

A redefinition of the SI units will be deliberated at the General Conference on Weights and Measures, from
13–16 November 2018. If a redefinition is approved, the NPL Kibble balance could form the template for the practical
resolution of the kilogram around the world.

Copies of the demonstrator are being used as part of NPL’s outreach programme to colleges, universities and industry to
inform them about the implications of the new SI.

Gauge block interferometer and training delivered in Qatar

The Qatar Armed Forces Calibration Centre (QAFCC) in Doha has recently taken delivery of a gauge block interferometer
designed by NPL and manufactured under licence by Hexagon Metrology UK. The NPL gauge block interferometer was
designed and licensed to Hexagon Metrology nearly 30 years ago and several iterations and variations of the basic design
have been produced. The latest version of the instrument uses a phase-stepping technique to measure the surface
topography of the gauge block, as well as a dual laser system to determine the absolute length. Uncertainties of around
20 to 30 nanometres can be achieved on gauge blocks up to 100 millimetres in length.

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Training

NPL sets the standards for metrology training in the UK, helping customers gain maximum
value from their measurement systems. NPL Training encourages learners to make a
difference within their workplaces, giving them the opportunity to generate a return on
investment for their employers while simultaneously improving corporate measurement
capability.

www.npl.co.uk/training

NPL Training reaches 10,000 learners milestone

NPL is celebrating its 10,000th learner to successfully complete NPL Training since its launch in 2006. NPL sets the standard
for measurement training in the UK, offering a range of class-based and e-Learning courses designed to help customers
gain maximum value from their measurement systems.

NPL launches curriculum to support Level 3 Metrology Standard

As part of the government’s ambitions to increase the number of quality apprenticeships in England, NPL has launched
a curriculum to support the trailblazer Level 3 Metrology Technician Apprenticeship Standard. The curriculum, which has
been developed in response to robust evidence of industry need, consists of 18 modules, and covers the breadth of the
occupational competences outlined in the Standard.

The new curriculum will ensure that apprenticeship training remains relevant and beneficial for the needs of
measurement in industry. It will also help to boost opportunities for people starting out in Metrology as an occupation
and support the growth of the workforce nationwide. NPL commenced training of a first cohort of Metrology Technician
apprentices in 2017 using this curriculum and will continue to recruit more cohorts in the future.

Trailblazer standards
The Department for Education has approved a new higher‑level apprenticeship standard for Senior Metrology
Technicians. The new Level 5 apprenticeship, in combination with NPL’s existing Level 3 apprenticeship, will promote a
progressive career pathway for industrial metrologists and enable them to move from entry level to more senior level
roles faster. The standards also ensure that the training provision is relevant and beneficial to the future of the metrology
industry, and will help to develop the next generation of skilled measurement specialists.

NPL Apprentice highly commended in the National Apprenticeship Awards

Becky King, apprentice Junior Scientist at NPL, was runner‑up in the National Advanced Apprentice of the Year Award
and has been recognised as one of the top three apprentices in the country. Becky was highly commended due to the
contribution she has made to NPL since joining as an apprentice in 2015.

During her apprenticeship, Becky has developed her own measurement service, earning her department income. She
has proven her competence and ability to work independently on projects, and has been key in supporting the senior
scientists with their research. She has also been heavily involved in Outreach, particularly reaching out to young girls in
STEM, as well as helping run and create a three day ‘Science camp’, LABTASTIC, for 30 school children.

29
Consultancy

NPL’s knowledge is regularly used by our global client base to help solve business critical
problems. We also provide responsive and affordable tailored consultancy solutions to
help identify measurement needs and issues within organisations.

www.npl.co.uk/consultancy

Engineering company to double its turnover due to Product Verification support

NPL’s Product Verification team worked with JJ Churchill’s engineers as part of the Sharing in Growth programme to
develop its measurement capability further. They helped the company to better understand how their own Coordinate
Measurement Machine capabilities could achieve the tight tolerances prescribed by their customer base. NPL’s work will
result in a reduction in downtime in the company, leading to increased production and cost reductions, and will help JJ
Churchill to achieve their ambitious growth objectives.

Analysis for Innovators

NPL partnered with Innovate UK on the Analysis for Innovators (A4I) funding programme to support companies with
productivity or product performance problems. The programme, which also involved STFC, NEL and LGC, allowed
companies to access both our technical experts and our unique facilities to solve a current measurement problem within
their business.

NPL gave technical advice to more than 40 companies and ended up in collaborative projects with 24 of these; helping
them to come up with innovative solutions to measurement issues acting as a block to productivity and competitiveness.
The problems spanned widely disparate technologies and sectors, for example, assistance was provided to AgPlus
Diagnostics Ltd, who found that around a third of the electrodes crucial to their medical test devices were arriving
defective and required a quick method of checking quality.

Product verification is key for the aerospace sector

NPL and the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), the voice of the UK’s aerospace technology community, have identified
opportunities for investment in product verification which could save a potential £2 billion per year for the aerospace
industry if better product verification practices are adopted. The finding have been published in a joint ATI–NPL paper,
entitled ‘Product Verification: Growing UK Productivity and Competitiveness’.

Product verification processes are used to assess whether a product meets the originally specified requirements. The
consultation investigated all parts of the aerospace industry to identify the critical metrology needs that will assure
performance and quality across the high-value manufacturing landscape and lead to a significant positive impact on
productivity, product performance and fuel efficiency.

The report recommends a focus on three areas of product verification, to realise potential savings: investment into
state‑of‑the‑art research; creation of demonstrators; and provision of skills.

30
Measurement services

NPL’s services are designed to meet the most challenging measurement requirements and
provide our customers with the technical edge needed to be truly world‑class.

www.npl.co.uk/measurement-services

Manufacturing stronger aircraft materials

In 2010, following the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, concerns over the hazardous impacts of ejected
ash on aircraft safety caused the largest grounding of aircraft since World War II. With an estimated cost of £1.1bn, it
quantified the knock-on impact particulate erosion can have on the aviation industry and highlighted the need to
better understand and limit its effects. A new high-temperature solid particle erosion (HTSPE) test facility established
at NPL is providing the aerospace industry with the tools needed to understand and ameliorate the effects of HTSPE.
The improved measurements will enhance material scientists’ understanding of material performance and mechanistic
modelling; driving innovation, improving system performance and enabling industry to develop better aircraft with
higher resistance to HTSPE damage.

New calibration service for underwater acoustic recorders

NPL has launched a brand new ‘Underwater Autonomous Acoustic Recorder Calibration Service’ to provide confidence in
underwater acoustic data.

This unique service provides calibration traceable back to international standards, combining NPL’s state-of-the-art,
independent validation and more than 40 years of world-leading expertise in marine acoustic monitoring.

The service now allows equipment manufacturers and consultancies to offer a more transparent and superior service to
their customers, enhancing data utility and giving them a competitive advantage. In line with European environmental
regulations and guidelines, the service works to accurately monitor underwater noise to understand the effect of human
activity on marine wildlife.

NPLTime® expands to meet demand ahead of MiFID II implementation

Sub- millisecond timestamping on market trades became a legal requirement on 3 January 2018; NPL has expanded
its precise timing network, NPLTime®, through distribution agreements with the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE),
Intergence, NexGen Networks and QuantHouse.

NPL also worked with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TMX) and Z/Yen timestamping financial stock trades with
Co‑ordinated Universal Time (UTC) generated from atomic clocks. By recording transactions directly on a distributed
ledger, NPL provided, for the first time, a benchmark to incorporate the concept of timing into financial asset price
discovery.

31
Our people

32
NPL’s reputation has always relied on great people
and exceptional scientists. For well over 100 years
we have employed physicists, mathematicians,
engineers, and more recently, chemists and
biologists working on measurement science and
research. As well as encouraging excellence in
science and engineering that has extraordinary
impact, NPL promotes improved employee diversity
and an inclusive environment and culture at all
levels of the organisation; enabling every employee
to feel valued and to excel in their chosen field.
33
Our people

Apprentices win Research and Development Award at F1 in Schools World Finals

A team of engineering apprentices, including two from NPL, have won the Research and Development Award and
placed 7th overall at the 2017 F1 in Schools World Finals in Malaysia. The team, known as ‘Tiro Racing’, all of whom are
jointly trained at Kingston College, are the first team of UK apprentices to ever reach the World Finals in the competition’s
14‑year history.

Over 20 million students from 50 different countries take part in the F1 in Schools competition, which challenges students
to design, manufacture, race and market a 21 cm-long scale model Formula 1 car powered by compressed air. Tiro Racing
were placed second overall at the UK Final at Silverstone in March, and were crowned England National Champions, as
well as winning the Best Engineered Car award.

Team Manager, Joshua Schofield of NPL, said: “We were absolutely thrilled when we finished second in the UK Finals, but
competing at a global level is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something we will never forget.”

From left to right: Josh, Hugh, Matt, Toby, Alisha, George (not pictured).

Distinguished Visitor Programme launched

NPL’s Distinguished Visitor Programme invites renowned experts and leaders from the business world, academia,
government and the third sector to work with NPL on a part-time basis. The Distinguished Visitors work closely with NPL
scientists to deliver specific projects and contribute to NPL’s culture of innovation. The Programme launched in 2016 and
NPL currently has four Distinguished Visitors: Professor Richard J Parker, Simon Devonshire, Sir Colin Dollery and Professor
Roy Sambles.

34
NPL Fellow in Electrochemistry
Dr Gareth Hinds has been appointed NPL Fellow in Electrochemistry, in recognition of the significant contribution
to scientific understanding and engineering impact of his cutting-edge research in corrosion, fuel cells, electrolysers
and batteries, and his inspirational scientific leadership at NPL and in the international community. NPL Fellowship is a
recognition of individual merit awarded to scientists who are making very significant contributions to NPL’s scientific
achievement and standing.

NPL Fellow elected President of Institute of Measurement and Control

Graham Machin, NPL Fellow in Temperature Measurement, has been unanimously elected as the next President of the
Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC), the professional body of the automation, instrumentation, control and
related industries.

The appointment, which is from January 2018 to December 2020, is partly ambassadorial and is in recognition of the
contributions Graham has made to the promotion of metrology within the UK and internationally. The Institute’s core
objectives and NPL’s mission are very closely aligned and, during his presidency, Graham will seek to exploit that synergy
to raise the profile of metrology throughout the UK.

Highest IET scholarship goes to Surrey/NPL PhD student

Greg Rigas, who is conducting research into printing techniques for advanced manufacturing of next generation
electronic devices, has won the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Postgraduate Scholarship for an
outstanding researcher – the highest scholarship to be awarded by the Institution.

The Scholarship, which is worth £10,000, is awarded to a doctoral researcher conducting outstanding work at a
university with an international reputation for research. It recognises Greg’s exceptional research in the field of printed
nanoelectronics. In collaboration with NPL, Greg has developed what is thought to be the world’s smallest ink-jet printed
nanowire transistor (an electric switch), less than the width of a human hair.
Senior NPL Fellow in Surface and Nanoanalysis
Professor Ian Gilmore has been appointed a Senior NPL Fellow for landmark achievements in measurement of the
location, identity and function of molecules at the nano- and micro-scales using mass spectrometry.

Ian founded the UK’s National Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry Imaging (NiCE-MSI) at NPL in 2012. His
research is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative. A key example is his work with GlaxoSmithKline, supporting the
pharmaceutical industry in its quest to reduce late-stage drug failure.

Ian has also conceived a new instrument for 3D imaging at the sub-cellular level, the NPL 3D OrbiSIMS, developed in
collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, IONTOF GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific and the University of Nottingham. The
instrument has a flagship role in the NPL-led Cancer Research UK Grand Challenge project and will have a major impact in
the life sciences, as well as in the study of 2D materials and buried interfaces.

NPL Fellow receives prestigious lectureship for transforming chemical measurement

Dr Richard Brown, NPL Fellow in Chemical Metrology, has been awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry’s LS Theobald
Lectureship. The prestigious lectureship was awarded in recognition of Richard’s significant contributions to the analytical
sciences, especially to the establishment of a comprehensive framework for quality assurance in chemical measurement.

The award recognises fundamental analytical chemistry contributions of high impact, usually over the course of an entire
career, so it is of particular note that the Royal Society of Chemistry have recognised Richard at this stage of his career.

35
Publications
The following NPL publications have been highlighted for their scientific contribution.
At time of publication NPL had published an estimated 367 papers in peer-reviewed
scientific journals.
Advanced manufacturing
Characterising thermal runaway by inducing and
monitoring internal short circuits within lithium-ion
cells
Energy and Environmental Science
Gareth Hinds (with University College London, NASA-
Johnson Space Center, National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, University of Warwick, Diamond Light Source
and ESRF
Simultaneous topographical, electrical and optical
microscopy of optoelectronic devices at the nanoscale
Nanoscale
Naresh Kumar, Alina Zoladek-Lemanczyk, Debdulal Roy
and Fernando Castro (with Imperial College London,
Hangzou Dianzi University, IEK-5 Photovoltaik, University of
Duisburg-Essen and King Abdullah University of Science and
Technology)
Digital & quantum technologies
Direct identification of dilute surface spins on Al2O3:
origin of flux noise in quantum circuits
Physical Review Letters
Sebastian de Graaf, Tobias Lindstrom and Alexander
Tzalenchuk (with Chalmers University of Technology,
University of Latvia and Royal Holloway, University of
London)
Symmetry breaking of counter-propagating light in a
nonlinear resonator
Scientific Reports
Leonardo Del Bino, Jonathan Silver, Sarah Stebbings and
Pascal Del’Haye
Test of special relativity using a fiber network of optical
clocks
Physical Review Letters
Ian Hill, Richard Hobson, William Bowden, Jochen Kronjaeger,
Giuseppe Marra, Antoine Rolland, Fred Baynes, Helen
Margolis and Patrick Gill (with SYRTE, LKB, LPL, KRISS and PTB)
36
Femtosecond spin current pulses generated by the
nonthermal spin-dependent seebeck effect and
interacting with ferromagnets in spin valves
Physical Review Letters
Ivan Rungger (with Fritz Haber Institute of the Max
Planck Society, University of Duisburg-Essen, University
of Goettingen, Trinity College Dublin and Martin Luther
University Halle-Wittenberg)
Coherent superpositions of three states for
phosphorous donors in silicon prepared using THz
radiation
Nature Communications
Mira Naftaly (with University of Surrey, Radboud University,
University College London, Heriot Watt University, ETH
Zurich, EPF Lausanne and Paul Scherrer Institut)
Metrology state-of-the-art and challenges in broadband
phase-sensitive terahertz measurements
Proceedings of the IEEE
Mira Naftaly, David Humphreys and Nick Ridler (with
University of Leeds)
Energy & environment
Radiometric inter-sensor cross-calibration uncertainty
using a traceable high accuracy reference hyperspectral
imager
ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
Javier Gorroño, Andrew Banks and Nigel Fox (with University
of Surrey)
Fixed volume sequential standard addition calibration:
Value assignment of impurities in zero gas
Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems
Richard Brown and Paul Brewer (with Hanyang University)
Interference-free determination of sub ng kg−1 levels of
long-lived 93Zr in the presence of high concentrations
(μg kg−1) of 93Mo and 93Nb using ICP-MS/MS
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry
Ben Russell (with LGC)
Life sciences & health On the traceability of gaseous reference materials
Metrologia
Temperature elevation measured in a tissue-mimicking
phantom for transvaginal ultrasound at clinical settings Richard Brown, Paul Brewer, Peter Harris and Stuart Davidson
(with VSL)
Ultrasound
Piero Miloro, Eleanor Martin and Adam Shaw A clearer approach for defining unit systems
Metrologia
DNA nanomapping using CRISPR-Cas9 as a
Paul Quincey and Richard Brown
programmable nanoparticle
Nature Communications
Contributions of precision engineering to the revision of
Freddie Russell-Pavier and Andrew Yacoot (with Virginia the SI
Commonwealth University, University of Bristol, UCLA and
New York University) CIRP Annals
Ian Robinson, Michael de Podesta and Paul Shore (with PTB,
Antimicrobial peptide capsids of de novo design NIST, INRiM and Cranfield University)
Nature Communications
Emiliana de Santis, Hasan Alkassem, Baptiste Lamarre, Nilofar
Faruqui, Angelo Bella, James Noble and Maxim Ryadnov
(with University College London, Università degli Studi di
Messina and University of Brighton)

The 3D OrbiSIMS-label-free metabolic imaging with

subcellular lateral resolution and high mass-resolving
power
Nature Methods
Melissa Passarelli, Rasmus Havelund and Ian Gilmore (with
IONTOF, Thermo Fisher Scientific, GlaxoSmithKline and
University of Nottingham)

Reviews and opinion articles

Metrology is key to reproducing results
Nature
Martyn Sené, Ian Gilmore and JT Janssen

Extra points for thermometry

Nature Physics
Jonathan Pearce

Maintaining and disseminating the kilogram following

its redefinition
Metrologia
Stuart Davidson (with BIPM, METAS and Measurement
Standards Laboratory of New Zealand)

37
38
 National Physical Laboratory
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UK’s National
Measurement Institute. At the heart of our mission is delivering
impact by disseminating research and measurement best practice
and traceability for the economic and social benefit of the nation.

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39
Disclaimer. Although every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this annual review is accurate and up-to-date,
NPL does not make any representations or warranties, whether express, implied by law or by statute, as to its accuracy, complete-
ness or reliability. NPL excludes all liabilities arising from the use of this annual review to the fullest extent permissible by law. NPL
reserves the right at any time to make changes to the material, or discontinue the annual review, without notice. The NPL name and
logo are owned by NPL Management Limited. Any use of any logos must be authorised in writing.

© NPL Management Ltd, 2018. 12140/WO/0718