National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), is a measurement standards laboratory which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. The institute's official mission is:^[1]

To promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life.

NIST had an operating budget for fiscal year 2007 (October 1, 2006-September 30, 2007) of about $843.3 million.^[2] NIST's 2009 budget was $992 million, but it also received $610 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.^[3] NIST employs about 2,900 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support and administrative personnel. About 1,800 NIST associates (guest researchers and engineers from American companies and foreign nations) complement the staff. In addition, NIST partners with 1,400 manufacturing specialists and staff at nearly 350 affiliated centers around the country.

Organization

NIST administration building in Gaithersburg, MD

NIST is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and operates a facility in Boulder, Colorado. NIST's activities are organized into laboratory programs, and extramural programs. NIST Laboratories include:^[4]

• Building and Fire Research Laboratory
• Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology
• Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory
• Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory
• Information Technology Laboratory
• Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory
• Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
• NIST Center for Neutron Research
• Physics Laboratory
• Technology Services

Extramural programs include:

• Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (HMEP), a nationwide network of centers to assist small manufacturers;
• Advanced Technology Program (ATP), a grant program where NIST and industry partners cost share the early-stage development of innovative but high-risk technologies;
• Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program, the nation's highest award for performance and business excellence.

NIST's Boulder laboratories are best known for NIST-F1, housing an atomic clock. NIST-F1 serves as the source of the nation's official time. From its measurement of the natural resonance frequency of caesium—which is used to define the second—NIST broadcasts time signals via longwave radio station WWVB at Fort Collins, Colorado, and shortwave radio stations WWV and WWVH, located at Fort Collins, Colorado and Kekaha, Hawaii, respectively.

NIST AML building

NIST also operates a neutron science user facility: the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). The NCNR provides scientists access to a variety of neutron scattering instruments, which are used in many fields of research (materials science, fuel cells, biotechnology, etc.).

The SURF III Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility is a source of synchrotron radiation, in continuous operation since 1961. SURF III now serves as the US national standard for source-based radiometry throughout the generalized optical spectrum. All NASA-borne extreme-ultraviolet observation instruments have been calibrated at SURF since the 1970s, and SURF is used for measurement and characterization of systems for extreme ultraviolet lithography.

The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) performs research in nanotechnology, both through internal research efforts and by running a user-accessible cleanroom nanomanufacturing facility. This 'nanofab' is equipped with tools for lithographic patterning and imaging (e.g. electron microscopes and atomic force microscopes).

Measurements and standards

Light from the NIST SURF III Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility

As part of its mission, NIST supplies industry, academia, government, and other users with over 1,300 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs). These artifacts are certified as having specific characteristics or component content, used as calibration standards for measuring equipment and procedures, quality control benchmarks for industrial processes, and experimental control samples.

Committees

NIST has seven standing committees:

• Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC)
• Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR)
• National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee (NCST Advisory Committee)
• Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB)
• Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT)
• Baldrige National Quality Program Board of Overseers (BNQP Board of Overseers)
• Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Advisory Board (MEPNAB)

Homeland security

NIST is currently developing government-wide identification card standards for federal employees and contractors to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to government buildings and computer systems.

Destruction of the World Trade Center

In 2002 the National Construction Safety Team Act mandated NIST to conduct an investigation into the collapse of the World Trade Center, as well as the 47-story 7 World Trade Center. The investigation, directed by lead investigator Shyam Sunder,^[5] covered three aspects, including a technical building and fire safety investigation to study the factors contributing to the probable cause of the collapses of the WTC Towers (WTC 1 and 2) and WTC 7. NIST also established a research and development program to provide the technical basis for improved building and fire codes, standards, and practices, and a dissemination and technical assistance program to engage leaders of the construction and building community in implementing proposed changes to practices, standards, and codes. NIST also is providing practical guidance and tools to better prepare facility owners, contractors, architects, engineers, emergency responders, and regulatory authorities to respond to future disasters. The investigation portion of the response plan was completed with the release of the final report on 7 World Trade Center on November 20, 2008. The final report on the WTC Towers – including 30 recommendations for improving building and occupant safety – was released on October 26, 2005.^[6]

Election technology

NIST works in conjunction with the Technical Guidelines Development Committee of the Election Assistance Commission to develop the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines for voting machines and other election technology.

SAMATE

SAMATE (Software Assurance Metrics And Tool Evaluation) is a NIST project focused on improving software assurance by developing methods to enable software tool evaluations, measuring the effectiveness of tools and techniques, and identifying gaps in tools and methods.^[7]

People

Three researchers at NIST have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their work in physics: William D. Phillips in 1997, Eric A. Cornell in 2001, and John L. Hall in 2005. Other notable people who have worked at NIST include:

Directors

The director of NIST is a Presidential appointment and confirmed by the United States Senate. Thirteen persons have held the position (in addition to three acting directors who served temporarily). They are:

• Samuel W. Stratton, 1901-1922
• George K. Burgess, 1923-1932
• Lyman J. Briggs, 1932-1945
• Edward U. Condon, 1945-1951
• Allen V. Astin, 1951-1969
• Lewis M. Branscomb, 1969-1972
• Richard W. Roberts, 1973-1975
• Ernest Ambler, 1975-1989
• John W. Lyons, 1990-1993
• Arati Prabhakar, 1993-1997
• Raymond G. Kammer, 1997-2000
• Karen Brown (acting director), 2000-2001
• Arden L. Bement Jr., 2001-2004
• Hratch Semerjian (acting director), 2004-2005
• William Jeffrey, 2005-2007
• James Turner (acting director), 2007-2008
• Patrick Gallagher, 2009- present

See also

• Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD)
• International System of Units, see International Bureau of Weights and Measures
• ISO 17025
• Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
• National Software Reference Library

References

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External links

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• Main NIST website
• The Official U.S. Time
• NIST Standard Reference Materials
• NIST Scientific and Technical Data
• NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions

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