feat: add TC UNITS announcement and details

_about_pages/technical-committees.adoc

@@ -137,6 +137,16 @@ Details: link:{{'/about/technical-committees/tc-tester/' | relative_url}}[TC-TES
 
 Generalize and extend capabilities of the CalDAV/CardDAV Tester.
 
+
+=== TC-UNITS: Contact information standards
+
+Details: link:{{'/about/technical-committees/tc-units/' | relative_url}}[TC-UNITS Charter]
+
+Provide international standards for:
+
+* representation and encoding of units, quantities, and dimensions;
+* mechanisms for encoding and interpretation of formulas that utilize units.
+
 === TC-VCARD: Contact information standards
 
 Details: link:{{'/about/technical-committees/tc-vcard/' | relative_url}}[TC-VCARD Charter]

_about_pages/technical-committees/tc-units.adoc

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+---
+layout: page
+title: CalConnect UNITS Technical Committee
+type: about
+permalink: /about/technical-committees/:title
+---
+
+== CalConnect UNITS Technical Committee
+
+=== Background
+
+Units and their representations form the basis of measurements. The accurate
+interpretation and interoperability of units are of critical importance in the
+operation of today's world, from timekeeping, trade, manufacturing to the
+success of critical missions.
+
+https://www.bipm.org[BIPM], the international treaty organization created by the
+Metre Convention, defines the International System of Units (commonly called the
+"SI System") composed of 7 basic units that are used internationally as standard
+units. There are, however, pre-SI units, as well as other SI-derived units, in
+used today internationally. The digital usage of these units for various
+quantities, and the interaction between units and quantities require a refined
+treatment for usage by information systems.
+
+=== Charter
+
+TC UNITS is a standing committee chartered to provide international
+standards for:
+
+* representation and encoding of units, quantities, and dimensions;
+* mechanisms for encoding and interpretation of formulas that utilize units.
+
+The TC aims to work closely with the BIPM, CIPM and CGPM towards an
+interoperable "`Digital SI`" infrastructure, and advocate such throughout
+technologies and standards developed at CalConnect.
+
+
+=== Deliverables
+
+. Standardization of a data model for units representation, covering
+units, quantities and dimensions.
+
+. Standardization of serialization languages of the units data model, including
+UnitsML which is an XML serialization of the units model.
+
+. Standardization of representation schemes used to encode information into the
+units data model.
+
+. Guidelines and mechanisms for the integration of the units model with other
+existing technologies, such as UnitsML with MathML.
+
+. Standardization and operation of the UnitsDB register, which provides
+authoritative information about units in use today.
+
+. The UnitsML website at https://www.unitsml.org, as an introductory website
+to the UnitsML technology suite.
+
+
+=== Begin and end dates
+
+Begin: September 2022
+
+End: Standing Committee
+
+
+=== Milestones and work products
+
+* UnitsML standard for the encoding, representation and interpretation of units
+
+* UnitsDB register used for semantic encoding and transformation of units
+
+
+=== Chair (co-chairs)
+
+* Karen Olsen, NIST
+
+* Nick Nicholas, Ribose

_data/navigation.yml

@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ about:
           #   url: /about/technical-committees/tc-streaming
           - page: TC-TESTER
             url: /about/technical-committees/tc-tester
+          - page: TC-UNITS
+            url: /about/technical-committees/tc-units
           - page: TC-VCARD
             url: /about/technical-committees/tc-vcard
           - page: Closed TCs

_posts/2022-09-11-establishing-tc-units-adopting-unitsml.adoc

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+---
+layout: page
+title: Establishing TC UNITS and adopting UnitsML
+date: 2022-09-11
+type: news
+categories: announcements
+excerpt: |
+  CalConnect announces the establishment of its Technical Committee on Units of
+  Measure (TC UNITS) and the adoption of UnitsML, the authoritative mechanism for
+  encoding scientific units of measure.
+---
+:page-liquid:
+
+== Establishing TC UNITS and adopting UnitsML
+
+CalConnect announces the establishment of its
+link:{{'/about/technical-committees/tc-units' | relative_url}}[Technical Committee on Units of Measure (TC UNITS)]
+and the adoption of https://www.unitsml.org[UnitsML], the authoritative
+mechanism for encoding scientific units of measure.
+
+Originally developed at the
+https://www.nist.gov[National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)] in the late 1990s and later standardized through
+https://www.oasis-open.org[OASIS], UnitsML is now finding a new home at
+CalConnect.
+
+The initiative aims to publish UnitsML 1.0 under the leadership of committee
+co-chairs Karen Olsen and Nick Nicholas.
+
+TC UNITS is chartered to provide international standards for the representation
+and encoding of units, quantities, and dimensions, as well as mechanisms for
+encoding and interpreting formulas that utilize units. A key objective is to
+pursue international standardization through ISO and IEC, while working closely
+with the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) towards an
+interoperable "Digital SI" infrastructure.
+
+The committee's deliverables include:
+
+* Standardization of a comprehensive data model for units representation
+* Multiple data serialization formats including XML (UnitsML), JSON, and YAML
+* The authoritative UnitsDB register containing information about current units
+* Integration guidelines with existing technologies such as MathML
+* Development and maintenance of the UnitsML official website at https://www.unitsml.org[www.unitsml.org]
+
+"Units and their representations form the basis of measurements, critical to
+everything from timekeeping and trade to manufacturing and mission-critical
+operations," said Mike Douglass, Executive Director of CalConnect. "Our
+collaboration with ISO, IEC, and BIPM will ensure UnitsML becomes a globally
+recognized standard for digital unit representation.”
+
+Established in September 2022 as a standing committee, TC UNITS represents a
+significant step forward in the standardization of scientific unit
+representation while pursuing broader international adoption.