C2: Awards

The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics makes awards for excellence, including the SUNAMCO Medal sponsored by IUPAP Commission C2. The present IUPAP Commission C2 incorporates the SUN Commission, one of the earliest of the original group set up in 1931.

Measurement is central to physics, particularly in order to compare the universe as it really is, with the predictions of theoretical physicists. All measurements must be referred to a reliable reference quantity; a quantity that can be readily understood by other physicists as well as those outside physics, such as a fundamental physical constant or an SI unit. As science and technology advance these quantities are required with much higher accuracy – an accuracy improving roughly ten-fold per decade or so. The aspect of physics covered by the Commission C2 often involves long and painstaking work by groups of physicists over many years to bring a new measurement technique from an idea to a practical working reality. Such endeavours may involve contributions by many physicists and often different laboratories in countries throughout the world. From time to time IUPAP Commission C2 awards a SUNAMCO medal in order to recognise outstanding contributions made to the area of physics by laboratories or individuals within the ambit of the Commission.