Director of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures

When data is produced by measurement, its quality and meaning can be guaranteed as long as those measurements are demonstrably traceable to internationally accepted references. However, capturing and communicating this concept in the digital world requires us to harmonize first our language and conceptual understanding of measurement and then establish digital references, formats for data exchange, and knowledge modelling approaches. The need to exchange unambiguous measurement data between machines is pushing forward the digital transformation in metrology. I will talk about progress so far, and where the challenges still lie.

Annette Koo began her metrology career as a research scientist in the Measurement Standards Laboratory of New Zealand developing expertise in the measurement of light and human perception. She was responsible for ensuring the reliability of photometry and radiometry measurements and represented NZ in international forums such as CIE, CCPR, and APMP. Between 2021 and 2025 she was the Chief Metrologist and Director of the laboratory. In September 2025, Annette moved to Paris and has been the Director of the BIPM since January 2026.