1980 Helmholtz-Prize

The "Helmholtz Prize" was originally created by the German "Helmholtz Fonds" in honor of Hermann von Helmholtz, first President of the "Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PRT)," the predecessor of the "Physikalisch- Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)." Supported by industrial firms and scientific institutions, the object of this award is to promote "research and development in precision measuring technique." On the occasion of its 60th anniversary the award was presented for the first time in 1974. It consists of a certificate and 5000DM. It may be awarded every two years for an outstanding contribution to the field of precision metrology. This year is the fourth event of its kind and is a special grant to mark the occasion of CPEM '80. In view of the international character of the CPEM Conference, an exception was made for the 1980 Helmholtz Award and the restriction removed that the work should have been carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany (including West Berlin). It was agreed that the research work should constitute a scientific contribution to the CPEM, should represent an original effort, and be completed and unpublished at the time of submission. Of the many papers submitted to the Conference, 22 were specifically entered for the Helmholtz competition. In the preselection phase by an international jury, and with the help of appropriate members of the CPEM Program Committee, the number was reduced to 7. The final decision was made by an independent jury of three experts from German universities. They decided that the special "Helmholtz Prize 1980" should be given to Dr. David J. E. Knight, Dr. Gordon J. Edwards, Peter R. Pearce, and Nigel R. Cross all with the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, England, for their paper "A 3-Parts in 10¹¹ Measurement of the Frequency of the Methane-Stabilized Helium-Neon Laser at 88 THz."