Women in Weights and Measures Article
Women in Metrology: Setting the Standard
Lisa Corn Texas Department of Agriculture
Ask a group of women how they found their way into weights and measures or metrology, and a surprising pattern emerges: very few of us planned it.
That was true for me, and it was true for nearly every woman featured in this article. Some of us came from biology, chemistry, animal science, or seed labs. Some were inspectors, restaurant managers, surveyors, or researchers. Many of us were simply looking for stable work, meaningful public service, or a better paying job with the state. What we found instead was a profession that quietly underpins commerce, science, and fairness itself. Georgia Harris (retired NIST, laboratory metrologist and longtime trainer) described her entry as accidental, but lasting. She was drawn in by hands on measurement and problem solving, and she stayed because metrology offered something rare: rigor with real world impact. Kate Smetana (Colorado) tells people that “you don’t search out metrology, metrology finds you,” a line that resonates with many of us who never heard the word metrologist until we already were one. What surprises most people isn’t just the technical depth of the work, it’s the scope. Metrology is the science behind all sciences. Every experiment, every transaction, every regulatory decision depends on reliable measurement. Legal metrology, in particular, plays a direct role in economic trust. From truck scales to deli scales, from fuel dispensers to shipping weights, the measurements we support shape how money moves to ensure equity in the marketplace.
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