The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing or Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 material research institute.

History

Its historical origins start in 1870, a year before Germany was unified, as the Mechanisch-Technische Versuchsanstalt. From 1904-19 there was the Königliches Materialprüfungsamt. From 1920-45 there was the Staatliches Materialprüfungsamt (MPA) and from 1919-45 there was the Chemisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (CTR).

In 1954 the Bundesanstalt für mechanische und chemische Materialprüfung was formed, becoming the Bundesanstalt für Materialprüfung in 1956. In 1969 it became a government agency (Bundesoberbehörde). In 1986 the name changed to Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung.

Function

Within the interconnected fields of materials, chemistry, environment and safety, the main areas are:

• Statutory functions relating to technical safety in the public domain, especially as regards dangerous materials and substances
• Collaboration in developing statutory regulations, for example on safety standards and threshold values
• Advising the Federal Government and industry on safety aspects of materials and chemical technology
• The development and supply of reference materials and methods, in particular for chemical analysis and materials testing
• Assisting in the development of standards and technical regulations for the evaluation of substances, materials, structures and processes with reference to damage prediction and preservation of national economic values.

Structure

It is owned by the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Its competences are to improve safety in technology and chemistry through research and development, testing, analysis, approvals, advice and information.

The headquarters in Berlin are near the Berlin Botanischer Garten station.

Departments

The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is subdivided into departments and divisions. The staff sums up to about 1700 members.

• Analytical chemistry; reference materials
• Chemical safety engineering
• Containment systems for dangerous goods
• Materials and environment
• Materials engineering
• Materials protection and surface technologies
• Safety of structures
• Non-destructive testing
• Accreditation, Quality in Testing

See also

• Good Laboratory Practice
  Good Laboratory Practice
  In the experimental research arena, the phrase good laboratory practice or GLP specifically refers to a quality system of management controls for research laboratories and organizations to try to ensure the uniformity, consistency, reliability, reproducibility, quality, and integrity of chemical ...
  
   (GLP)
• Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements
  Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements
  The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements , located in Geel, Belgium, is one of the seven institutes of the Joint Research Centre , a Directorate-General of the European Commission ....
  
  
• European Reference Materials
  European Reference Materials
  European Reference Materials or ERM are certified reference materials of high quality and reliability produced by members of the European Reference Materials consortium in the European Union ....
  
  
• Reference values
• World Materials Research Forum

External links

• Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing