Elizabeth Benham (Fed)

Ms. Benham serves as the nation's leading advocate for the voluntary adoption of the International System of Units (SI), commonly referred to as the metric system. In her role as NIST Metric Program Leader, she offers invaluable guidance and support to Federal, State, and Local weights and measures officials, businesses, educational institutions, educators, and the public. She is focused on fostering a deeper understanding and wider adoption of the SI measurement system in trade, commerce, and daily life. The NIST Metric Program is the cornerstone of the national policy to establish the SI as the preferred system of weights and measures for U.S. trade and commerce. Ms. Benham underscores the SI's importance for U.S. industry's competitiveness in the global marketplace by championing its integration into product design, manufacturing, labeling, and marketing.

Under her direction, the NIST Metric Program offers a series SI focused professional development and training courses. Ms. Benham is deeply committed to advancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and outreach. She actively collaborates with K-12 educators, helping them seamlessly integrate metric system and measurement science principles into their curricula, enriching the learning experience for all students. Ms. Benham is dedicated to elevating professional standards in metrology through the analysis of training needs, designing, and developing tailored training to ensure the ongoing impact and effectiveness of OWM program area. To enhance your skills and knowledge, stay update-to-date with the OWM learning events schedule.

Ms. Benham plays a pivotal role in several crucial programs and projects:

• Metric Program
• U.S. Survey Foot Retirement
• U.S. Metrication
• Metric Transition Policy and Federal Agency Progress Reporting
• Expand Labeling Options to Benefit U.S. Exports - A Proposal to Amend the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA)
• Uniform Unit Pricing: Tools for Consumers to Fight Shrinkflation

For inquiries or more information, reach Ms. Benham at TheSI [at] nist.gov (TheSI[at]nist[dot]gov).
 

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)