T21: Uncertainty FUNdamentals & Application – 1/2 Day
- Start Date : 3 February, 2026
- Start Time : 8:00am
- End Date : 3 February, 2026
- End Time : 12:00pm
- Address : Garden 2, N Tower
No Schedule
Abstract
Let’s go beyond the theory-heavy lectures. This half-day workshop gets you measuring within minutes.
Whether you’re new to uncertainty analysis or a seasoned metrologist looking to revisit the fundamentals, this workshop meets you where you are. After a brief overview of uncertainty fundamentals, you’ll dive straight into hands-on measurements using simple balances and dimensional tools. You’ll generate real data, wrestle with variability, and build real uncertainty budgets. Finally, you will evaluate the uncertainty you calculated to ensure it is “fit-for-purpose.”
This is measurement uncertainty, the way it should be learned: by doing. While the workshop uses simple measuring instruments, the concepts and techniques transfer directly to whatever you measure back in your lab.
What to bring: A laptop with the capability access the internet and Excel or Google Sheets. Basic spreadsheet skills required.
What you’ll take away: A completed uncertainty budget based on your measurements, along with a flexible worksheet template ready to use in your lab.
Come ready to measure. Leave ready to quantify uncertainty.
Mark Ruefenacht
Mr. Ruefenacht has specialized in metrology for nearly 30 years. He received much of his metrology training at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) and is currently a part-time instructor at NIST on topics of measurement science, measurement traceability, and measurement uncertainty. Mr. Ruefenacht is an ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation lead and technical assessor and is also coordinating, analyzing, and reporting proficiency testing for NIST. Mr. Ruefenacht is a contributor to numerous national and international technical standards, including accreditation body policies and guidance documents.
Additionally, he is an instructor for NIST OWM technical measurement parameters and ASCLD/LAB forensic metrology and uncertainty seminars and courses. He also teaches principles of measurement uncertainty and measurement assurance techniques at various international conferences and forensic laboratories. Mr. Ruefenacht serves as a consultant to Scientific Working Groups (SWG) and to various accreditation bodies. Mr. Ruefenacht resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is actively involved as a volunteer in nonprofit organizations and is an internationally recognized assistance-dog and canine scent-discrimination trainer.