As the director of the university's Center for Precision Metrology, Hocken leads a research group that is establishing itself as the biggest player in an arena of infinite smallness.
Metrology is the science of measurement.
The Center for Precision Metrology, located in the C.C. Cameron Applied Research Center, specializes in the measurement of physical dimensions, achieving resolution and accuracy at one billionth of a meter. Some consider the center to be the finest metrology research and development facility in the world. I work with researchers around the world, and Hocken and the group in Charlotte are certainly among the top. The value they provide companies like Caterpillar is outstanding. The Center for Precision Metrology consists of 16 faculty members and several graduate and undergraduate students from multiple university departments, including mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, physics, chemistry and business administration.