“This has raised the bar for us,” Crocker said. Among them is having a single understanding of what the acoustic Pascal, a fundamental measurement of sound pressure, is in water. This designation brings a host of benefits, according to Crocker. “We’ve made these kinds of measurements in water at USRD for 40 or 50 years, but the metrological foundation and the traceability that goes along with that for every other measurement in the country - voltage, mass, length - has never existed for sound in water. Steven Crocker, USRD chief metrologist, said. “The end result of this effort is that for the first time the United States has national measurement standards for sound in water. One of the requirements for becoming a DI, ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation governs the general requirements for competence of testing and calibration laboratories.ĭivision Newport’s USRD is the first DI to be recognized by NIST and the effects of such accreditation are wide reaching. In July 2018, it received ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation through the NIST National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) in July 2018. The process of becoming officially accredited ramped up in January 2017 when USRD formally launched its quality management system. USRD has been a national asset in the area of underwater sound for many decades.”Īccording to Évora, USRD has supported NIST at International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) meetings since the early 1990s, but never had the “proverbial stamp of approval” by NIST. It’s quite an accomplishment and, for sure, it was a team effort,” Évora said. “I’m just so proud of the USRD team for all its efforts. Victor Évora echoed many of the same sentiments and was effusive in his praise of all those who over the years helped to realize this goal.

When we participate at international metrology standards meetings we represent the United States. “The team has been working on this for years, overcoming a number of technical hurdles in order to complete this initiative.

“This will formally designate NUWC Division Newport’s Underwater Sound Reference Division as the NIST measurement facility for underwater metrology,” Technical Director Ron Vien said. Now, that degree of knowledge has been made official.ĭivision Newport’s Underwater Sound Reference Division (USRD) recently was named an official Designated Institute (DI) for “Acoustics: Sound in Water” by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). For nearly 80 years, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and its predecessor organizations have been known for their expertise in the area of underwater sound.

Navy underwater sound reference lab