8
Overarching Themes, Key Recommendations, and Division-Specific Recommendations from This Assessment

OVERARCHING THEMES AND KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

The Panel on the Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) organized itself into four largely independent sub-panels to assess the divisions included in this report in parallel. In the course of their work, three overarching themes emerged that apply to all of PML. These are the adequacy of facilities and equipment, adequacy of staffing, and safety posture.

Adequacy of Facilities and Equipment

Each of the four sub-panels identified facilities and infrastructure as a crucial area to address. The 2018 report that assessed the PML division and Boulder (NASEM 2018), and the more recent National Academies’ report Technical Assessment of the Capital Facility Needs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NASEM 2023), both highlight the aging facilities and infrastructure that present severe impediments to PML research staff continuing to produce the high quality of work for which they are known.. Of particular note, the 2023 report found that NIST research staff are devoting 10 to 40 percent of their time on workarounds and do-it-yourself repairs. This comes at the cost of research time and may impact PML’s status as a world-leading institution, along with its ability to attract high-quality talent.

For the Applied Physics Division, the sub-panel identified the electrical supply and the water system as particular areas in need of upgrades. The Quantum Physics Division sub-panel pointed to serious space and infrastructure problems at JILA. The Quantum Electromagnetics Division sub-panel identified renovations and improvements to the division’s device fabrication facility as a priority. The Time and Frequency Division sub-panel called out improvements in Building 01 and the mitigation of power outages in multiple buildings as being critical to the division’s future success.

Key Recommendation 1: The Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) should work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Office of Facilities and Property Management to identify facilities and infrastructure with critical infrastructure issues. Infrastructure and facilities that are critical in supporting the scientific mission of PML should be considered in assessing remodeling and upgrading needs.

Adequacy of Staffing

Attention needs to be paid to staffing, both now and in the future. Several programs currently have insufficient staffing levels, and retirements could lead to a loss of knowledge and expertise unless effective succession plans are put in place. The sub-panel that reviewed the Quantum Electromagnetics

Division identified the Spin Electronics Group as needing additional personnel and resources. It also recommended that this group consider succession plans to close experience gaps. Similarly, the sub-panel evaluating the Time and Frequency Division recommended the development of succession plans and furthermore called for knowledge and responsibilities to be shared and distributed among members and teams to guarantee that knowledge was preserved if key members left. That sub-panel was also concerned about inadequate staffing, in particular for the division’s time distribution service. The Applied Physics Division sub-panel emphasized the importance of addressing personnel issues in a timely fashion and, to that end, recommended that PML ensure that the division has one or more excellent Human Resources professionals onsite.

Key Recommendation 2: The Physical Measurement Laboratory should act to ensure adequate staffing at the four divisions now and for the future and, as part of that, should work to improve the ways it addresses personnel issues. This would include having an excellent Human Resources professional(s) onsite who can address an array of personnel issues in a timely fashion within the context of the PML culture.

Key Recommendation 3: The Physical Measurement Laboratory should establish clear and open policies and practices across the organization on recruiting permanent government employee positions and promoting interactions and collaborations. In particular, the open positions should be made available to staff and guest researchers across the organization. National Institute of Standards and Technology–wide seminars and activities should be established to promote inter-group interactions and collaborations.

Safety Posture

The safety posture of PML does not adequately ensure the safety of PML staff and visitors. Initial steps to improve safety have been taken by PML staff, but improvements need to accelerate. Safety inspections and standards need to be reevaluated with the goal of bringing safety across the divisions to a level that is comparable with major industrial companies. The sub-panel that reviewed the Applied Physics Division recommended that the frequency of safety inspections be increased and that the PML leadership should reach out to major industrial companies for advice on improving laboratory safety. The Quantum Physics Division sub-panel identified laser safety as a particular concern and recommended that NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder jointly establish a clear and aggressive timeline for meeting American National Standards Institute laser safety standards.

Key Recommendation 4: The Physical Measurement Laboratory should address persistent safety concerns related to safety inspections and standards, particularly within the Applied Physics Division and the Quantum Physics Division.

DIVISION-SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS

Applied Physics Division

Recommendation 3-1: The Applied Physics Division should consider incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) expertise within the division, rather than just relying on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Information Technology Laboratory. Such expertise would allow for the development of a strategic plan for AI capabilities to be organically rolled into the Physical Measurement Laboratory’s work where appropriate.

Recommendation 3-2: The Physical Measurement Laboratory should invest in additional upgrading of the division’s facilities and infrastructure. In particular, the electrical supply needs to be upgraded to avoid the frequent interruptions that have been setting back and ruining experiments, and the water system needs to be improved to avoid pipe breaks.

Recommendation 3-3: The Applied Physics Division should further expand its materials characterization capabilities, as these are critical in constructing some of the devices used in the division’s experiments.

Recommendation 3-4: The Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) should have excellent Human Resources professionals onsite who can address an array of personnel issues in a timely fashion within the context of the PML culture.

Recommendation 3-5: The frequency of safety inspections by the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) should be increased and PML leadership should reach out to major industrial companies for advice on improving laboratory safety. In particular, the leadership should look to those companies that are recognized as having among the best safety programs in the world. Large chemical and petrochemical companies, for instance, are widely recognized as having very high-quality safety programs and may be willing to share key aspects of their safety practices.

Quantum Physics Division

Recommendation 4-1: The National Institute of Standards of Technology’s Office of Facilities and Property Management and appropriate University of Colorado leadership should work together to solve the serious JILA space, infrastructure, and safety problems. The two organizations need to understand what is at risk and the urgency of the issue. A special task force with representatives of all stakeholders may be useful in putting focus on this problem and finding a timely solution.

Recommendation 4-2: The Physical Measurement Laboratory and the University of Colorado Boulder should jointly establish a clear and aggressive timeline to reach American National Standards Institute laser safety standards. The panel also recommends expanding the existing memorandum of understanding to establish acceptable standards and timelines for achieving improved and adequate safety compliance in those areas.

Quantum Electromagnetics Division

Recommendation 5-1: The Physical Measurement Laboratory should prioritize renovations and improvements to the device fabrication facility of the Quantum Electromagnetics Division. The present facilities are fully used and aged to the point that they require major renovations to increase the capacity to deliver on current expanding research projects and to acquire new capabilities to embark on leading-edge research in the future.

Recommendation 5-2: The Quantum Electromagnetics Division should broaden its advanced long-wavelength sensing technologies to many other long-wavelength applications at elevated temperatures, such as for far-infrared long wavelengths and nuclear isotopic compositions.

Recommendation 5-3: The Boulder Cryogenic Quantum Testbed should add additional personnel and resources. In particular, it should seek to develop an enhanced capability that

offers a unique resource by funding additional staff for the testbed and adding internships for students and junior researchers to strengthen and broaden the collaborations and partnerships with academia and with the emerging quantum computing and sensing industry.

Recommendation 5-4: The Spin Electronics Group should add additional personnel and resources. In particular, it should consider increasing exposure to reach broader audiences in recruiting. With a small and aging workforce to cover many new and competitive research directions, it should also consider succession and recruitment plans to establish a critical mass and close experience gaps in pursuing new research fields in spin-based quantum computing and device characterization.

Recommendation 5-5: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) should establish clear and open policies and practices across the organization on recruiting permanent government employee positions and promoting interactions and collaborations. In particular, the open positions should be made available to staff and guest researchers across the organization. NIST should establish organization-wide seminars and activities to promote inter-group interactions and collaborations.

Time and Frequency Division

Recommendation 6-1: The Time and Frequency Division should prioritize development of its Cs fountain primary frequency standards, its Sr+ secondary standard, or both to ensure that the National Institute of Standards and Technology can regularly contribute to international time scales. The division should ensure the continuation of its recent progress with the addition of new personnel to these efforts.

Recommendation 6-2: The architecture and infrastructure of the time distribution service should be evaluated and modernized with an emphasis on growth, security, robustness, and adequate staffing of this crucial service for the country.

Recommendation 6-3: The Time and Frequency Division should ensure that succession plans are put in place and that knowledge and responsibilities are shared and distributed among the wider members and teams. The Physical Measurement Laboratory’s new succession funding program is encouraging, but all critical areas should be evaluated to identify and mitigate potential single points of failure.

Recommendation 6-4: The Physical Measurement Laboratory should act to improve the critical infrastructure of Building 01 as well as to mitigate power outages in many of the buildings affecting the research laboratories or find other suitable space to house these groups.

REFERENCES