Elizabeth Benham (Fed)

Since 2005, Ms. Benham has served as the nation's focal point for voluntary conversion to the International System of Units (SI), commonly known as the metric system. As Metric Coordinator, she provides information and assistance to Federal, State and Local weights and measures officials, business, industry, educational institutions, and the public concerning the metric system (SI) and identifies opportunities for increasing the understanding and use of the SI measurement system in trade and commerce. Ms. Benham is actively involved in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and outreach activities. She collaborates with K-12 educators to integrate metric system and measurement science principles into the classroom.

Ms. Benham contributes to the successful implementation of these missions:

1. The NIST Metric Program helps implement the national policy to establish the SI as the preferred system of weights and measures for U.S. trade and commerce. SI use in product design, manufacturing, marketing, and labeling is essential for United States industry's success in the global marketplace. The NIST Metric Program encourages the use of the SI in all facets of education, including honing of worker skills. For more information, please contact TheSI [at] nist.gov (TheSI[at]nist[dot]gov).
2. The OWM Training Program analyzes weights and measures training needs, obtains input from the weights and measures community, designs and delivers training for laboratory metrologists and weights and measures officials, measures the impact and effectiveness of training to ensure ongoing continual improvement, and consults with the weights and measures community to ensure ongoing professional development. A variety of technical training and professional development courses are offered by the NIST Metric Program. A schedule of upcoming learning events is available.

professional activitieS

• Guest Researcher Mentor – NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and Montgomery College Professional Research Experience Program (PREP)
• US Metric Association, Technical Advisor, 2006 to Present
• IEEE Quantities, Units, and Symbols Standards Committee (QUSCom, formerly SCC 14), Member 2006 to Present
• NCSL International
  • Educator's Corner Committee, Member 2021 to Present
  • 164 Education Liaison and Outreach Committee, Chairperson 2009 to 2013
  • 163 Workplace and Professional Development Committee, Member 2006 to 2011
  • 181 Legal Metrology Committee, Member 2006 to 2012
• National Science Teaching Association, Member 2010 to Present
• Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE), Member 2022 to Present
• NIST Educational Outreach Working Group (EO-WG), NIST Educational STEM Resource Registry (NEST-R), Member 2020 to Present

BLOGS

• Top 10 Tips for Teaching the Metric System (2022)

• U.S. Weights and Measures Week: Measuring Up to the New Normal (2021)
• Busting Myths about the Metric System - NIST Taking Measure Blog (2020)

Special Publication

• NIST SP 1297 (2023) - SI Units Card Deck
• NIST SP 1290 (2023) - NIST Metric Recipes
• NIST SP 1038 (2006) - The International System of Units (SI) - Conversion Factors for General Use

• IEEE Outstanding Contribution Recognition for the development of IEEE Standard 280-2021, Letter Symbols for Quantities Used in Electrical Science and Electrical Engineering (2022)
• U.S. Metric Association (USMA) Fellows Award (2021)
• NCSLI Education and Training Award (2012)
• Arthur S. Flemming Award (2011)
• National Conference of Standards Laboratories International (NCSLI) Best Paper Award for Learning and Development (2011)
• Measurement Science Conference (MSC) Joe Simmons Best Developer Award (2010)
• NIST Bronze Medal for Superior Federal Service (2008)