NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are chosen from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The Board and Panel members responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by Contract 50SBNB4C8089 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Copyright 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Copies available from:
Board on Assessment of NIST Programs
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
BOARD ON ASSESSMENT OF NIST PROGRAMS
WILMER R. BOTTOMS,
Patricof and Co.,
Chair
HAROLD K. FORSEN,
Bechtel Hanford, Inc.
PHILIP H. FRANCIS,
Schneider North America
JEANETTE G. GRASSELLI,
Ohio University
DONALD L. HAMMOND,
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories (retired)
ERNEST S. KUH,
University of California at Berkeley
JULIA R. WEERTMAN,
Northwestern University
Ex Officio Members
THOMAS L. ANDERSON,
RAND Critical Technologies Institute
JAMES B. COMLY,
General Electric Corporate Research and Development
DOUGLAS E. LENG,
Dow Chemical Company
STUART G. MILLER,
General Electric Corporate Research and Development (retired)
JOHN P. O'CONNELL,
University of Virginia
O. RAY PARDO,
Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff
V. THOMAS RHYNE,
Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation
RALPH Z. ROSKIES,
University of Pittsburgh
HARVEY W. SCHADLER,
General Electric Corporate Research and Development
DANIEL L. SOLOMON,
North Carolina State University
SAMUEL WERNER,
University of Missouri
Liaison Members
SYLVIA T. CEYER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation
A. RICHARD SEEBASS III,
University of Colorado
CHARLES P. SLICHTER,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Board Staff
HOWARD E. SORROWS, Director
DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Program Officer
BARBARA JONES, Administrative Assistant
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
RICHARD N. ZARE,
Stanford University,
Chair
RICHARD S. NICHOLSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Vice Chair
STEPHEN L. ADLER,
Institute for Advanced Study
SYLVIA T. CEYER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AVNER FRIEDMAN,
University of Minnesota
SUSAN L. GRAHAM,
University of California at Berkeley
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation
RHONDA J. HUGHES,
Bryn Mawr College
SHIRLEY A. JACKSON,
Rutgers University
KENNETH I. KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
HANS MARK,
University of Texas at Austin
THOMAS A. PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
JEROME SACKS,
National Institute of Statistical Sciences
L.E. SCRIVEN,
University of Minnesota
A. RICHARD SEEBASS III,
University of Colorado
LEON T. SILVER,
California Institute of Technology
CHARLES P. SLICHTER,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SHMUEL WINOGRAD,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
CHARLES A. ZRAKET,
The MITRE Corporation
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
Preface
In its thirty-sixth annual assessment of the laboratory programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Board on Assessment of NIST Programs focused on the stewardship and creativity of NIST's eight major laboratories in responding to the opportunities and challenges arising from the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 and subsequent related legislation and from NIST's budget growth and out-year projections for further significant budget increases. This year's assessment, performed under the auspices of the National Research Council (NRC), was implemented by 162 scientists and engineers appointed by the NRC to the Board and its eight panels, organized so as to mirror the organization of NIST's laboratory-based programs (see Appendix B).
Chapter 1, an overview assessment of issues that are common to NIST's eight major laboratories and that encompass primary concerns of the NIST Director as well as concerns of the Board and its panels, is based on a 3-day review by Board members-at-large, panel chairs, and panel vice chairs of panel findings and NIST's responses to the Board's fiscal year 1993 assessment. More specifically, Chapter 1 summarizes the views of the Board and its panels on the relevance and management of NIST's technical programs, the merit of NIST's strategic planning, the adequacy of NIST 's resources in the context of NIST's expanded mission, the impact of NIST's laboratory-based programs on U.S. industry, and NIST's responses to Board recommendations as reported in An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Programs: Fiscal Year 1993 (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1994).
Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8 through Chapter 9 present panel findings and recommendations regarding the technical programs of each of NIST's eight major laboratories based on 2- to 3-day on-site program reviews and on written materials supplied by the laboratories. Appendix A and Appendix B give information on NIST's functions and structure, respectively. Appendix C is an abridged version of the Board's statement of work.
This year in particular, I want to thank NIST directors and staff on behalf of the Board and panels for their user-friendly presentations and well-organized background data.
Wilmer R. Bottoms, Chair
Board on Assessment of NIST Programs