US Metric Association

US Metric Association[1]
AbbreviationUSMA[1]
Named afterThe metric system (now SI)[1]
Formation27 December 1916 (1916-12-27)[1][2]
FounderA group of businessmen, educators, and consumers[1]
Founded atColumbia University, New York[1]
PurposeAdvocates completing the US conversion to the International System of Units (SI)[3]
HeadquartersColorado[1]
AffiliationsAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)[1]
Websiteusma.org
Formerly called
American Metric Association[1]

The US Metric Association (USMA), based in Colorado,[1] is an organization that advocates for total conversion of the United States to the International System of Units (SI), also called the metric system.[3] Founded on 27 December 1916 at Columbia University in New York City, it was originally called the American Metric Association.[1]

Background

The Metric Act of 1866, also known as the Kasson Act, legally protected use of the metric system in commerce from lawsuit in the United States, and provided an official conversion table from United States customary units.[4]

The Metre Convention was signed on 20 May 1875 by the United States and other countries,[5] and therefore the International Bureau of Weights and Measures was created under the supervision of the International Committee for Weights and Measures, presided by Carlos Ibáñez e ibáñez de Ibero.[6][7] The Bureau is an intergovernmental organisation, through which its 67 member-states, including the United States,[8] act on measurement standards in areas including the metric system.[9][10]

The Mendenhall Order, issued in 1893 by Thomas Corwin Mendenhall,[11] marked a decision to change the fundamental standards of length and mass of the United States from the customary standards based on those of England to metric standards.[12]

The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 declared the metric system "the preferred system of weights and measures for United States trade and commerce", but permitted the use of United States customary units in all activities.[13] It also established the United States Metric Board to encourage metrication,[14][15][16] although the board was abolished in 1982.[17]

Awards

The USMA annually (since 2017) awards the National Metric Scholarship Award and the National Metric Award.[18]

Mission

According to itself, the mission of the USMA is: “The USMA advocates completion of the ongoing US conversion to the metric system, officially known as the International System of Units (SI).”[3]

Newsletter

The USMA publishes a bi-monthly newsletter for its members called Metric Today,[19] which features the latest developments in U.S. metrication efforts. It has been published continuously since 1966.[20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "A brief history of the USMA (1916 to the 2010s) – US Metric Association". usma.org. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  2. ↑ Hillger, Don (October 13, 2016). "Happy Metric Week! Celebrating 100 Years of the U.S. Metric Association". NIST – via www.nist.gov.
  3. 1 2 3 "Mission and activities – US Metric Association". usma.org.
  4. ↑ "Metric Act of 1866 – US Metric Association". usma.org.
  5. ↑ "Metre Convention". BIPM.
  6. ↑ Comité international des poids et mesures (1876). Procès-verbaux des séances de 1875-1876 (in French). Bureau international des poids et mesures. p. 3.
  7. ↑ Soler, T. (1 February 1997). "A profile of General Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero: first president of the International Geodetic Association". Journal of Geodesy. 71 (3): 176–188. Bibcode:1997JGeod..71..176S. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.492.3967. doi:10.1007/s001900050086. ISSN 1432-1394. S2CID 119447198. {{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |citeseerx= (help)
  8. ↑ "Member States". BIPM.
  9. ↑ Staff writer (2024). "Bureau international des poids et mesures (BIPM)". UIA Global Civil Society Database. uia.org. Brussels, Belgium: Union of International Associations. Yearbook of International Organizations Online. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "Welcome". BIPM. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  11. ↑ "Alaska's Metric Connection | Geophysical Institute". www.gi.alaska.edu. July 10, 2026.
  12. ↑ Mendenhall, T.C. (6 October 1922). "The United States Fundamental Standards of Length and Mass". Science. New Series. 56 (1449): 337–380. Bibcode:1922Sci....56..377M. doi:10.1126/science.56.1449.377. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 1647062. PMID 17833047. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  13. ↑ Ford, Gerald R. (December 23, 1975). "Statement on Signing the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 - December 23, 1975". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 1996–1997.
  14. ↑ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Jimmy Carter: "United States Metric Board Nomination of Chairman and Members of the Board.," October 29, 1977". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  15. ↑ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Jimmy Carter: "United States Metric Board Nomination of Two Members.," May 19, 1980". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  16. ↑ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Jimmy Carter: "United States Metric Board Nomination of Four Members.," July 30, 1980". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  17. ↑ Mankiewicz, Frank (29 March 2006). "Nofziger: A Friend With Whom It Was a Pleasure to Disagree". Washington Post. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "National Metric Awards – US Metric Association". usma.org.
  19. ↑ "Metric Today". US Metric Association. USMA. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Marciano, John (2014). What Ever Happened to the Metric System?. New York, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1608199402.
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