Created in 2009, the LNE Research Award recognizes researchers who have contributed to the success and scientific reputation of the French metrology network it manages, as well as its own research activities. This seventh edition, on Tuesday December 8, will honor a researcher whose work is complex and international in scope.
Laurent Pitre, PhD in physics, is honored for his research into the construction of the new international system of units.
He began his career in 1995 at CNAM, where he wrote his thesis on the design, production and characterization of a new type of thermometer below 1 K (-272°C): the second-sound thermometer. In 2003, he joined NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology - metrology laboratory in the USA) as a visiting scientist. During this period, he designed a new type of spherical resonator for which he received an award in 2005. On his return, he adapted this type of spherical resonator for thermometry (from -269°C to 30°C) and for experiments relating to the determination of the Boltzmann constant, with the aim of making measurements traceable over more than 50 years; this in the context of a new redefinition of the kelvin. The three major publications on the determination of the Boltzmann constant place LNE-LCM's work at the level of 50 % in the calculation of uncertainty for the codata on this constant.
His involvement in seven European projects (ULT, ULT2, Boltzmann, INK, NOTED, MeteoMet and MeteoMet2), as well as his numerous publications, testify to the international recognition of his work.
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