Announcing the 2007 <i>Measurement Science and Technology</i> Outstanding Paper Awards (2008)

Since 1991, Measurement Science and Technology has awarded a Best Paper prize. The Editorial Board of this journal believes that such a prize is an opportunity to thank authors for submitting their work, and serves as an integral part of the on-going quality review of the journal. The current breadth of topical areas that are covered by MST has made it advisable to expand the recognition of excellent publications. Hence, since 2005 the Editorial Board have presented 'Outstanding Paper Awards' in four subject categories: Fluid Mechanics; Measurement Science; Precision Measurements; and Sensors and Sensing Systems. 2007 Award Winners—Fluid Mechanics An adaptive sampling and windowing interrogation method in PIV R Theunissen, F Scarano and M L Riethmuller von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Chaussee de Waterloo 72, 1640 Sint-Genesius Rode, Belgium and Department of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, PO Box 5058, 2600 GB Delft, The Netherlands The co-authored paper [1] has been selected as the Outstanding Paper in Fluid Mechanics for 2007. This paper provides a strategy whereby the placement and the size of the interrogation regions are adapted to the image signal strength (seeding density) and the spatial variations of the velocity magnitudes. Two, quite distinct, test cases demonstrate the efficacy of their method: a shockwave- boundary layer interaction and an aircraft vortex wake. The Selection Committee—Drs T Fansler, J Foss, I Marusic, S Morris, K Okamoto and M Wernet—selected this paper from a strongly competitive shortlist of four candidates. Their selection process was influenced by the perceived utility of the contribution to the numerous investigators who utilize PIV methods. 2007 Award Winners—Measurement Science Broadband single cell impedance spectroscopy using maximum length sequences: theoretical analysis and practical considerations Tao Sun, Shady Gawad, Catia Bernabini, Nicolas G Green and Hywel Morgan Nanoscale Systems Integration Group, School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK The paper [2] describes a novel impedance spectroscopic measurement method for applications in the identification of biological cells. The frequency-dependent impedance is obtained in the frequency domain by applying a fast M-sequence transform (FMT), and a fast Fourier transform (FFT) in the time domain response. Using FMT, the evaluation takes place within a short timescale of the order of milliseconds. This technique is used in a microfluidic impedance cytometer, for the analysis of single biological cells in suspension. The theory of the technique is analysed in depth. It is then applied to an experimental system that characterizes the impedance spectrum of red blood cells within the microfluidic system. Measured spectra show good agreement with simulations. The paper has a short but excellent introduction, supported by a solid reference list of about 55 papers describing related work. Most of these papers are citations from 2000 onwards. This is followed by a detailed analysis of maximum length sequences and theory used for predictions of spectra. It then continues with a useful description of a cytometer that was used to confirm theoretical predictions of spectra. Results are at an early stage. The system is still under development, since there are issues arising from the fact that the particle flows during the acquisition of data, and is not static in the electric field as assumed by the model. Nevertheless, the paper possesses good clarity of the motivation behind the work, of the measurement techniques developed and of the potential relevance to applications in the life sciences. 2007 Award Winners—Precision Measurement Ultraprecision micro-CMM using a low force 3D touch probe A Kung, F Meli and R Thalmann Swiss Federal Office of Metrology (METAS), Lindenweg 50, CH-3003 Bern-Wabern, Switzerland The paper [3] describes a new three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine (CMM) developed for traceable measurement for small objects. The most sophisticated component of the system lies in the structure of its touch probe. It was designed based on a parallel kinematic mechanism with flexure hinges in order to minimize the moving mass and to ensure an isotropic low stiffness. This head features very weak probing forces, below 0.5 mN, and supports exchangeable probes down to 0.1 mm diameter, realizing a measurement without introducing any plastic deformation on the surface of the object. It was then combined with a highly accurate 90 mm × 90 mm × 38 mm air bearing stage with interferometric position measurement with no Abbe offset, achieving a typical reproducibility of 5 nm in measuring various shapes of the objects. In order to evaluate the contribution of the shape deviation of the probing sphere to the uncertainty, a new calibration method with three spheres has been developed in this work. In addition, a scanning measurement procedure was also implemented for fast measurement without any loss of accuracy, contributing to practical measurement for users. The selection committee members on precision measurement—Drs K Fujii and A Yacoot—and Editorial Board members Drs P Hauptmann, U Kaatze and M Player, selected this paper from a strongly competitive list of nine candidates. The paper opened a new way for achieving an unprecedented accuracy in coordinate metrology. 2007 Award Winners—Sensors and Sensing Systems Two-dimensional optical accelerometer based on commercial DVD pick-up head Chih-Liang Chu, Cha-Hao Lin and Kuang-Chao Fan Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Taiwan University of Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China and Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China The authors describe in this paper [4] a 2D accelerometer that is based on a simple DVD pick-up head. It is a considerable extension of an earlier paper [5] dealing with a similar device but restricted to 1D only. In the awarded paper, not only is the extension to 2D presented, but also a thorough analysis of the system's performance is given. A clear description of the general concept is followed by the derivation of the intensity distribution on the four-quadrant photodetector. In the next section, the design of the mechanical part is detailed, including a FEM analysis for obtaining optimal performance characteristics in terms of resonance frequency, sensitivity and range. The system is extensively tested, and the paper presents a useful selection of the measurement data in graphical and numerical format. Altogether, theory, experimental and measurement results are presented in a clear and well balanced way, and illustrated with neat graphics. A missing uncertainty analysis is the only deficiency in this otherwise excellent paper. A sequel to this paper from the same authors appeared a few issues later [6], presenting the DVD head as a nanoscale touch trigger probe. Both papers belong to the top 60 most downloaded papers in the 2007 volume. The Outstanding Paper Awards, comprising a cash honorarium and certificate, will be presented to the authors of the winning papers at suitable venues in the near future. The Editorial Board would like to congratulate the winning authors and would like to encourage all researchers to think of Measurement Science and Technology as the home for your best submissions. References [1] Theunissen R, Scarano F and Riethmuller M L 2007 An adaptive sampling and windowing interrogation method in PIV Meas. Sci. Technol. 18 275-87 [2] Sun T, Gawad S, Bernabini C, Green N G and Morgan H 2007 Broadband single cell impedance spectroscopy using maximum length sequences: theoretical analysis and practical considerations Meas. Sci. Technol. 18 2859-68 [3] Kung A, Meli F and Thalmann R 2007 Ultraprecision micro-CMM using a low force 3D touch probe Meas. Sci. Technol. 18 319-27 [4] Chu C-L, Lin C-H and Fan K-C 2007 Two-dimensional optical accelerometer based on commercial DVD pick-up head Meas. Sci. Technol. 18 265-74 [5] Chu C-L and Lin C-H 2005 Development of an optical accelerometer with a DVD pick-up head Meas. Sci. Technol. 16 2498-502 [6] Chu C-L and Chiu C-Y 2007 Development of a low-cost nanoscale touch trigger probe based on two commercial DVD pick-up heads Meas. Sci. Technol. 18 1831-42