Accordingly, the assessment of technical work below is organized along the lines of these focus areas and special topics.

The Materials Measurement Science Division has 92 federal employees and 49 associates (i.e., contractors and guest scientists). Most of the personnel are located at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Seven of the federal employees and four of the associates in the division are stationed at the National Synchrotron Light Source II facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. The division receives approximately 25 percent of its funding from other federal agencies or external sources. These external funding sources are non-permanent and usually tied to specific deliverables.

ASSESSMENT OF TECHNICAL PROGRAMS

Accomplishments

Safety and Security

The division’s work in the Safety and Security Focus Area provides the necessary measurement science to address technical problems related to the nation’s safety and security. Work in this focus area generally falls into three categories: improving national security, enhancing public safety, and advancing personal protection for law enforcement and first responders. The work in this focus area leverages a range of Materials Measurement Science Division core competencies and capabilities including multiscale measurements of physical, mechanical, and transport properties for engineered materials and atomic and nanoscale metrology for structure, chemistry, and composition. Research is focused on a range of challenges including trace contraband detection, through-barrier imaging, threat detection, riot gear evaluation and standards, ballistic and stab-resistant body armor, blunt trauma and concussion prevention, nanomedicine, micro- and nano-plastics and microfibers, mask efficiency measurements, and the Rapid Drug Analysis and Research program.

Forensics and Public Health

The Forensics and Public Health Focus Area supports local, state, and federal partners to address the critical measurement challenges surrounding forensic chemistry by developing implementable solutions through collaborative research. Work in this focus area generally falls into four categories: sample handling and preparation, sample analysis, data analysis and interpretation, and topics that are beyond traditional forensics, such as novel types of evidence. The work in this focus area relies heavily on a range of advanced individual and combined characterization platforms, including gas and liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and electron microscopy and spectroscopy. Research is focused on a range of challenges including identifying and quantifying background material and chemical compositions (e.g., the baseline or natural concentration of a material or chemical in the environment), modeling the handling of evidence, expanding screening capabilities for illicit materials, analysis of novel materials, rethinking forensic workflows, developing new forensic algorithms and software, spectral databases, physical standards, the Rapid Drug Analysis and Research program, the Rapid Emerging Drug Deployment project, and evaluating and establishing new types of evidence.

Micro- and Nano-Plastics

Work in this focus area generally falls into three categories: test material production; detection, identification, and abundance of micro- and nano-plastics; and sampling, separation, and characterization of micro- and nano-plastics. Advanced separation and spectroscopic characterization methodologies are

used, along with machine learning tools to facilitate the rapid analysis of complex data. The staff in this focus area are working to develop methods for size-based separations of micro- and nano-plastics from complex matrices, chemical characterization protocols for micro- and nano-plastic, and test materials for the quantification of micro- and nano-plastics.

Semiconductors

Work in this focus area generally falls into three categories: three-dimensional structural and chemical imaging, nanomechanical property measurements, and thermal property measurements. The work in this focus area uses a wide range of advanced measurement capabilities including electron microscopy and spectroscopy; X-ray spectroscopy, scattering, and diffraction; and scanning probe microscopy. The staff in this focus area are working with the U.S. semiconductor industry to identify and solve metrology needs and challenges based on techniques such as scanning transmission electron microscopy, atom probes, nanocalorimetry, nanoscale strain measurements, thermal property measurements, intermittent-contact resonance atomic force microscopy, beamline-based measurements (e.g., with Brookhaven National Laboratory), and modeling techniques to complement the above. With the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the strategic importance of this focus area is likely to grow substantially.

Climate Mitigation

Work in this focus area falls into three categories: advanced material for carbon capture, catalysis for CO₂ conversion, and chemical aspects of carbon sequestration (e.g., carbonation of cement). The purpose of the work in this focus area is to provide benchmark data, measurement science, and standards to address the global climate crisis. This work relies heavily on X-ray and neutron metrology, nanoscale metrology and fabrication, accelerated material science and data analysis tools, and measurement standards and services. Current efforts include development of an X-ray testbed for breakthrough catalyst measurements (for CO₂ conversion, but this appears to be, in fact, a very general framework), development methods and data to facilitate material discovery (for materials that would directly capture CO₂ from the air), and measurements of carbonation reactions in sequestration materials (e.g., cement).

Ceramic Additive Manufacturing

The Materials Measurement Science Division found a lack of standards and metrology focused on ceramic additive manufacturing and established this focus area to address that lack. Work falls into a range of categories: computational tools to simulate the entire manufacturing process, feedstock characterization, feedstock data, standards for part characterization, and measurements to enable post-processing (e.g., binder burnout and sintering). This work relies on a range of capabilities, including scanning probe microscopy, rheometry, X-ray and neutron scattering and diffraction, computation and modeling, and additive manufacturing platforms such as photopolymerization and direct-ink writing. Current efforts are focused on feedstock metrology, product property characterization and standards, in-situ synchrotron-based characterization, and microstructure and rheology measurement and correlations.

Data and Artificial Intelligence–Driven Materials Science Group

This group develops methods, algorithms, data, and tools to accelerate the discovery, development, commercialization, and circularity (i.e., the reuse, recycling, or sustainability) of industrially relevant materials. The group works across a range of focus areas, including climate mitigation and semiconductors, and it partners with the Synchrotron Group (discussed below) to enable

high-throughput measurement and advanced modeling. Core competencies and capabilities include autonomous and artificial intelligence–driven systems and data and protocols. The group is involved in more than a dozen projects both inside of the Materials Measurement Science Division and MML, and beyond.

Brookhaven National Laboratory MML Partnership Facility (Synchrotron Science Group)

In this special topic, the Synchrotron Science Group per se was not the primary focus; rather, the presentation highlighted the vast MML capabilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction, hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, resonant soft X-ray scattering, microcalorimetry, near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, vector potential photoelectron microscopy, and the Large Area Rapid Imaging Analytical Tool. It was clear that this facility provides foundational support across the Materials Measurement Science Division focus areas and NIST more broadly.

Opportunities and Challenges

The quality of the technical work going on in the Materials Measurement Science Division is second to none. The panel approved of the general strategy of combining multiple measurement platforms, sometimes with a machine learning platform, to facilitate complex material measurements and allow for rapid and high-throughput measurements. In all focus areas, there was a very clear focus on metrology, measurement needs and challenges, stakeholder and customer needs, and standards. The focus area, core competency, and capabilities matrix structure were helpful when trying to understand the breadth of work and how the division articulates its impact.

MML largely has a flat base budget. At various times throughout the review it was noted that it can be challenging for division leaders to manage or balance its sustained base business research, as funded by Congress, with new, invariably temporary, federal initiatives that require an all hands on deck approach (e.g., the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022), and with efforts funded by external sources. This challenge creates a tension between the desire to maintain, develop, and grow core competencies and capabilities, and the need to deliver results on transient, albeit important, emergent research efforts.

Conclusion 7-1: With a largely flat base budget, growing into new areas while maintaining, developing, and growing the Materials Measurement Science Division’s core competencies and capabilities is a challenge. Managers and focus area leads are compelled to choose to either secure temporary external funding to enable transient growth or focus on research connected to the base funding. Major federal initiatives (e.g., the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022) further complicate this dynamic, as such initiatives often result in substantial funding increases, but usually in a limited focus area and over a limited period of time.

While the budget dynamics discussed above are in the context of MML, the general challenge of balancing capability development and growth, delivering results on base business efforts, and responding to critical emergent initiatives is typical of large research organizations. The type of matrix framework used by the Materials Measurement Science Division has been used successfully to manage research portfolios across a range of industries. In short, the focus area structure of the division can be used as a framework to prioritize research funding (e.g., one focus area might see an increase in funding at the expense of other focus areas), and in response to these changes, the core competency and capability resources (i.e., federal employees, associates, and capital) can be adjusted and shifted in response to the shift in focus area priorities. For example, with the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, one could imagine the semiconductors focus area growing (i.e., in funding), perhaps at the expense of other division focus areas, followed by a redeployment of researchers and capital to work on programs in the semiconductors

focus area. The simplest implementation of this model often rests on the structure of the organization being roughly aligned with its core competencies and capabilities. It was not apparent in the course of this review that the division is using its matrix model to balance the demands of its base, ongoing research, and critical emergent initiatives.

Recommendation 7-1: The Materials Measurement Science Division should consider leveraging its focus area and core competency and capabilities matrix structure to manage the challenge of balancing ongoing base work with the needs of critical emergent initiatives, such as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

ASSESSMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXPERTISE

Accomplishments

The scientific expertise of the Materials Measurement Science Division is extensive, and an exhaustive accounting of such expertise here is unnecessary. A general accounting of scientific expertise was provided above, in the “Accomplishments” subsection of the “Assessment of Technical Programs” section.

In short, the overwhelming majority of the necessary expertise needed to advance the work reviewed was available in the Materials Measurement Science Division. In cases where specific expertise was needed that resided outside of the division, concerted, targeted collaborations were established to advance the research. For example, the effort to develop an X-ray testbed for breakthrough catalyst measurements requires a novel sensor; the Materials Measurement Science Division is partnering with the Physical Measurement Laboratory to design and build this sensor.

Opportunities and Challenges

While the overwhelming majority of the necessary expertise needed to progress the work reviewed was available and being leveraged, there were a few examples where important expertise appears to be minimal or absent. While a required expertise might not be part of the Materials Measurement Science Division’s core competencies and capabilities, at a minimum, leveraging it, perhaps from other parts of NIST or with partners outside of NIST, could ensure the technical success of the associated programs.

For example, in the Climate Mitigation Focus Area, significant weight is given to motivating factors such as energy intensity and CO₂ accounting, yet it appears as if a life-cycle assessment or a techno-economic analysis has not been completed, likely owing to a lack of expertise on the research team. Life-cycle assessment or techno-economic analysis can provide clear motivation for specific research areas and elucidate otherwise unappreciated technical challenges. Furthermore, each of the three programs that were presented as part of the Climate Mitigation Focus Area appeared to lack expertise in the associated chemistry (e.g., catalysis, active materials and separations, and sustainable cement). The long-term impact of the work in this focus area could be limited by these apparent omissions.

Recommendation 7-2: The Materials Measurement Science Division should develop or leverage outside expertise in life-cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis in order to guide and focus its research in the climate mitigation focus area. Likewise, where complex measurement complements complex chemistry (e.g., catalysis, active materials and separations, and sustainable cement), the division should support a more substantial effort in the corresponding chemistries or leverage outside expertise to do so. This could include having a world-class catalyst chemist and metal-organic framework expert working side by side with the division’s materials measurement scientists.

considerable time in the laboratory performing routine operations, often at the expense of advancing nonroutine and complex aspects of research.

Postdoc and early career staff noted that the NIST Human Resources office has been exceptionally slow and at times unresponsive. There are accounts of Human Resources not sending offer letters to new hires and not processing paperwork in a timely manner so that new employees are left in a period of limbo, without pay or benefits or even certainty of employment. This dynamic can clearly affect productivity directly, and it also produces considerable anxiety and distraction amongst the staff, thus affecting productivity indirectly. This is exacerbated by the reported de facto process of requiring approximately two term appointments before permanent employment is considered.

As mentioned above in the “Opportunities and Challenges” subsection of the “Assessment of Technical Programs” section, owing to a largely flat base budget, there is a persistent tension between the desire to maintain, develop, and grow core competencies and capabilities, and the need to deliver results on transient, albeit important, emergent research efforts. Conclusion 7-1 and Recommendation 7-1 presented there are relevant here as well.

Recommendation 7-3: The Materials Measurement Science Division should consider reallocating budget and staff support to facilitate refurbishment of the division facilities; purchasing of new equipment; increasing the number of technicians, especially in strategic areas or in areas where considerable routine laboratory work is required; and improving the response time and bandwidth of formal Human Resources activities.

Finding 7-1: Postdoc and early career staff noted that the uncertainty associated with the transition from postdoc to permanent employment at the National Institute of Standards and Technology can be a source of anxiety and distraction.

Recommendation 7-4: Materials Measurement Science Division management and postdoc advisors should consider a standard message about the chances and processes of transitioning from a postdoc to a permanent staff member to minimize the uncertainty around this process.

While the Materials Measurement Science Division has a central artificial intelligence and data group (Data and Artificial Intelligence-Driven Materials Science Group), it does not appear to have a central data infrastructure, such as curated or managed data repositories. Rather, it appears that data are managed by individual programs or projects. A central Materials Measurement Science Division or MML-curated or managed data repository could improve collaboration between teams and groups, increase productivity (e.g., speed up the time between data acquisition and analysis), and provide broader access to data for ad hoc use across program teams, NIST divisions, and external users.

Recommendation 7-5: The Materials Measurement Science Division should consider, perhaps in collaboration with other divisions in the Material Measurement Laboratory, establishing a managed data repository, or at least a common data management plan, to aggregate the division’s data; facilitate sharing across program teams, National Institute of Standards and Technology divisions, and external users; and facilitate data analysis.

EFFECTIVENESS OF DISSEMINATION EFFORTS

Accomplishments

The read-ahead materials, along with the presentations from the Materials Measurement Science Division staff, illustrated numerous examples of recognized and effective dissemination efforts since the

previous assessment, such as 445 publications, 157 standards activities, 67 customer engagements, and a range of external recognition (e.g., the International Excellence Fellowship, granted by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and Department of Commerce and NIST named awards (e.g., Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals, among many other internal awards).

As mentioned above, the Materials Measurement Science Division has a very clear customer focus, and about 25 percent of its budget is from external funding sources such as customers. These interactions are an acknowledged mechanism for dissemination of results. The division’s dissemination efforts appear to be robust and fit for purpose.

Opportunities and Challenges

Generally speaking, the processes and avenues used to disseminate results were impressive. The programs appear to have strong connections to stakeholders, and publishing of results in various formats (e.g., research publications, standards, tutorials) is widely practiced. The only additional aspect worth considering is building stronger connections with instrument manufacturers. For example, the semiconductors focus area struggled to quantify program impacts owing to the confidentiality of the work of their stakeholders, customers, and partners, such as chip manufacturers. In short, the intellectual property concerns of organizations such as chip manufacturers mean that the division has received limited feedback on the utility of its work. Other efforts appeared to have a strong connection to the measurement practitioners of a given sector, but limited connections to instrument manufacturers. In both cases, there was a lack of direct interaction with measurement equipment manufacturers and vendors. Working to develop measurements and standards that are successfully implemented by measurement equipment manufacturers and vendors could increase the impact of the Materials Measurement Science Division’s work in a clear and quantitative way.

Finding 7-2: There is a lack of direct interaction with measurement equipment manufacturers and vendors.

Recommendation 7-6: Where appropriate, the Materials Measurement Science Division’s program staff should partner with measurement equipment manufacturers and vendors to facilitate the development and implementation of National Institute of Standards and Technology measurements and standards; this could improve the impact of a range of programs and help identify the quantitative impact of the division’s work.