The agreement marks an important step in the development of a Dutch timing infrastructure that protects against satellite navigation system failures and contributes to scientific and technological innovation.
The collaboration builds on advanced network technology that allows atomic clocks in different locations to be merged via the fiber optic network to form a robust national time facility, and to even distribute the signals of extremely accurate optical clocks.
Such a time facility can serve as a backup for the time signals of satellite navigation systems such as the U.S. GPS and European Galileo, on which critical infrastructure such as mobile networks and power supply is highly dependent.
Furthermore, the targeted timing infrastructure could lead to numerous scientific and technological innovations, ranging from new techniques for positioning, radio astronomy and surveying, to quantum communications and the use of fiber optic cables as sensitive seismic sensors.
The strength of the collaboration lies in the complementary roles of the two institutes. Fabienne van Booma, General Director of VSL: "As a national metrology institute, VSL is legally responsible for the management and distribution of the national time scale UTC(VSL). Thanks to scientific breakthroughs by VU in the field of time networks, VSL can generate this time scale with higher accuracy and make it available via the fiber optic network with high reliability."
Within the collaboration, joint research projects, knowledge exchange, guest researchers, workshops and scientific publications are among the foreseen activities. The institutions will also cooperate strategically in the acquisition and implementation of national and international projects.
Margrethe Jonkman, president of VU Amsterdam’s Executive Board: "With this collaboration, VU Amsterdam and VSL underscore their joint ambition to prepare the Netherlands for the technological challenges of the coming decades, in which accurate and reliable timing plays an increasingly crucial role."
Photo: Marieke Wijntjes