Equipment manufacturer Isotech and instrumentation company Metrosol are celebrating winning a Queen’s Award for the co-development of an innovative thermometry bridge containing NPL technology.
Picture: Courtesy of Isotech
The product, called the ‘microK’, is used to establish and disseminate the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) and relies in part on a novel analogue-to-digital converter technology developed by NPL in collaboration with Metron Designs and licensed to Isotech. The microK, which achieves accuracies better than 20 parts per billion due to its new measurement technique, 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.
John Tavener, founder and Managing Director of Isotech, said: “We are delighted that Her Majesty the Queen has approved the Prime Minister’s recommendation that Isotech should receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category this year. Winning [this award], the highest honour that can be bestowed on a UK company, is a real cause for celebration for everyone at Isotech.”
Paul Bramley, founder and Managing Director of Metrosol, said: “We feel honoured – this must be the most prestigious business accolade and is attributable to the skills, hard work and diligence of the Metrosol team, as well as all the collaborators, suppliers and sub-contractors with whom we work, and I would like to thank them all for their contribution to the success of the company.”
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of innovation, international trade, sustainable development and promoting opportunity through social mobility. The Awards are given annually and announced each year on 21 April, Her Majesty The Queen’s birthday.
Find out more about NPL’s Temperature research