integrated metrology community.
Maria Luisa Rastello is EURAMET's Vice-Chairperson (GA)
Dr Maria Luisa Rastello from INRIM (Italy) was elected as EURAMET Vice-Chairperson (GA) at the General Assembly held in Oslo,Norway in May 2016. "On behalf of EURAMET I would like to congratulate Maria Luisa on her election. My colleagues and I at the Board of Directors wish her all the best for her new role", said Beat Jeckelmann, EURAMET Chairperson, when announcing the results of the election.
Maria Luisa joined INRIM, the Italian National Metrology Institute, in 1979 where she started working in photometry and radiometry. Maria Luisa pioneered the metrology for Quantum Communications by weak laser beams and the photon counting techniques for absolute radiometry. Additionally, she introduced the concept of photon-number resolving detectors for space applications and contributed to its realisation. In 2001 Maria Luisa became Head of the Department of Photometry and Radiometry. Six years later she took over the Division of Optics and since 2014, has been the Scientific Director of INRIM.
Maria Luisa has been part of the EURAMET community for more than 15 years, starting as Contact Person and later as Chair for EUROMET's Technical Committee for Photometry and Radiometry. Meanwhile she is the Italian Delegate for EURAMET (since 2010) and in 2013 she took over responsibility for the whole association by joining the Board of Directors. Maria Luisa is deeply involved in EURAMET's research programmes (EMRP and EMPIR) as coordinator of several EMRP joint research projects and as EMPIR Committee Deputy. On an international level Maria Luisa is also well experienced thanks to various roles such as peer reviewer and visiting professor.
Maria Luisa, congratulations to your election. What are you most excited about and looking forward to in your term?
I am excited about contributing to the further development of EURAMET in many different ways. I have already had the chance to contribute to the shaping oft he association as member of the Board of Directors, but being Vice-Chairperson (GA) brings even more possibilities. I am also looking forward to collaborating with all the highly committed people behind the organisation.
Which tasks will you focus on as Vice-Chairperson (GA)?
There are of course many tasks which I would like to conduct. One example is the simplification towards an even more trustworthy and sustainable Mutual Recognition Agreement. I have already contributed to the position paper prepared by the ad-hoc Working Group dealing with that task and as Vice-Chairperson (GA) I will follow this subject closely. Additionally, I would also like to take up a task of my predecessor Janko Drnovšek: the better integration of Designated Institutes within EURAMET.
What is your vision for EURAMET during your three years term and what are the challenges?
In the next three years it is important to pave the way for a strategy which will guarantee EURAMET's sustainability beyond its research programmes (EMRP and EMPIR). As Vice-Chairperson (GA) I will take a leading role in that together with my colleagues from the Board of Directors. To compliment this, I also think it is necessary to focus on the development of a more coherent European metrology infrastructure. These two topics are major challenges for the next years.
What skills and experience from your role as Scientific Director at INRIM will support you in your new role as Vice-Chairperson?
My various positions and tasks have and continue to span many disciplines. Over the last few decades I have been able to gain a broad insight into different needs in different fields of metrology, in both management and scientific work. Additionally, I am always trying to take into account the needs and positions of the people involved in tasks and decisions to find good agreements. I think this knowledge and experience can be very helpful for my term as Vice-Chairperson.