In 1937, the president of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, Pieter Zeeman, named him secretary of that bureau, a post that would occupy him between 1937 and 1941, and he went to live to Paris.
En 1937, o presidente da Oficina Internacional de Pesos e Medidas, Pieter Zeeman, nomeouno secretario da Oficina, cargo que ostentaría entre 1937 e 1941, marchando a vivir a París.