MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2006 MEETING
Boulder, CO
ATTENDANCE
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Visiting Committee Baer, Tom Ehrlich, Gail
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NIST Senior Management Board Bailey, Zelda |
NIST Staff Cundiff, Steven Guests Hood, Leroy, Institute
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*Attended in Gaithersburg via teleconference
NIST Update
Dr. William Jeffrey, NIST Director
(For details, see Dr. Jeffrey's presentation)
Dr. Jeffrey introduced Neal Shapiro from the DoC Budget Office who is a strong
ally of NIST. Three of today's presentations are driven by Tom Baer's talk at
the June meeting that emphasized the need for bioscience work at NIST. Dr. Jeffrey
then summarized recent NIST outreach activities with government, industry, and
academia and noted that these activities are continuing at a very strong pace.
There have been a lot of new people and new positions at NIST over the past
several months. In addition, NIST researchers continue to receive tremendous
recognition from other national and international organizations as well as government
peers, including two recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for
Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Also, new and improved facilities are being
put in place; for example, funds from the FY 2007 initiative will support a
new guide hall in the NIST Center for Neutron Research that will increase its
overall measurement capacity by about 30 percent to maintain its status as one
of the most scientifically productive neutron centers in the world.
NIST's contributions to the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) fall under
three primary themes: 1) rapidly developing technologies; 2) critical national
assets; and 3) immediate measurement needs. To illustrate the unique role of
NIST in each of these areas, Dr. Jeffrey provided three examples of NIST's technical
highlights involving atomic switches, an advanced imaging facility for hydrogen
fuel cells, and the world's first precision instrument for directly measuring
alternating current (AC) voltages.
Regarding the NIST budget, Dr. Jeffrey showed a graph of the ten-year funding
plan under the ACI that calls for doubling the sum of basic research funds at
NIST, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy's Office
of Basic Sciences from FY 2007 - FY 2016. He emphasized that there was no guarantee
that each of these agency's budgets would double under the ACI; therefore, each
agency's outyear funding would be determined through technical merit. While
reviewing the status of the FY 2007 President's budget, Dr. Jeffrey stated that
the 24 percent increase for NIST's laboratory research is extraordinary. The
Senate is expected to vote after the elections.
Discussion
Congressionally directed grants - The $123 million of Congressional directed grants in FY 2007 are for specific projects not directly associated with the NIST mission in Alabama, Mississippi, and other states. Congress has the constitutional right to set priorities.
Systems Medicine: Measurement
and Computational Challenges in the Emergence of Predictive, Preventive, Personalized
and Participatory Medicine
Dr. Lee Hood, President, Institute for Systems Biology (ISB)
(For details, see Dr. Hood's presentation)
Dr. Jeffrey introduced the guest speaker, Dr. Lee Hood, by summarizing his lifelong contributions to biotechnology and noted that each of these accomplishments are phenomenal, including the co-pioneering of four instruments that comprise the technological foundation for contemporary molecular biology, the founding of numerous biotech companies, the author of numerous publications, and the recipient of major awards.
Dr. Hood began his presentation by suggesting three major opportunities in biology for NIST which have emerged from systems biology, a paradigm change in biology. The three areas involve 1) develop technologies for genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, interactomics, phenomics, in-vivo imaging, etc.; 2) data assessment and validation for global data sets from all of the technologies noted above; and 3) software development and integration for the capture, storing, analysis, integration, and modeling of global data sets. He emphasized that since these efforts will cost lots of money, NIST should choose a few strategic partnerships that are critical to drive each of these opportunities. For example, one area could cost as much as $100 million over five years. According to Dr. Hood, NIST has enormous expertise in these areas that will impact society. He cautioned NIST against trying to capture a lot of biology throughout the organization, but rather choose a few areas where NIST has expertise and develop a limited number of partnerships in these areas. NIST needs to be bold and make a deep commitment to these areas and to strategize these commitments. If NIST can present the bio vision correctly, then it can aim for the big dollars.
Dr. Hood then described how biology will be a dominate science in the 21st century emphasizing how technology has transformed contemporary systems biology. He also provided a detailed overview of how the Institute for Systems Biology's strategy views biology as an informational science. Other topics included a technical overview of how systems medicine will drive Predictive, Preventive, Personalized and Participatory (P4) medicine; the importance of nanolaboratory capabilities; the impact of systems biology and P4 medicine on transforming the health care industry; and the need for cross-disciplinary strategic partnerships with specific features to address the "big" problem approach for P4 medicine with key milestones. Dr. Hood then reviewed why NIST should be involved with systems biology and presented a list of computational/mathematical challenges for NIST to choose a few for consideration. As a final point, Dr. Hood remarked that the digitalization of biology and medicine is a grand challenge for chemistry that will lead to a revolution that will transform medicine even more than digitalization transformed information technologies and has the potential to significantly lower the cost of medicine. In conclusion, Dr. Hood again showed the three areas where NIST has "enormous" opportunities in this new world and stressed the importance of developing proper leadership.
Discussion
Budget: A VCAT member remarked that the projected budget increases over the next ten years provide a perfect opportunity for NIST to take a systems approach to bio.
Challenges: According to Dr. Hood, there are enormous challenges for the systems biology community. These include educating society about the opportunities for systems biology while addressing legal and social issues, and increasing conservative U.S. scientists' understanding of these opportunities. In addition, industry and other foundations want to know what can be done now and are not accustomed to working on efforts of this scale. Strategic planning for these opportunities should include discussions with the highest level individuals in government and other organizations and seek their permission to persuade their scientists about the significance of the systems biology approach. Organizations need to be restructured to make this approach work. NIST has to really think about how to carry out a cross-disciplinary approach in the context of their history and to set up something novel. Dr. Hood indicated that he is available to help NIST brainstorm about new types of processes needed to facilitate their opportunities. Dr. Hood met with the directors of a Swedish laboratory and the Pasteur Institute in France who were enthusiastic about systems biology but defeated by their conservative scientists who cannot believe that there is a new approach.
NIST Role: A VCAT member stated that there is an exciting and prospective role for NIST to play in systems biology and asked about NIST's role in organizing and developing databases. Dr. Hood responded that NIST can play a "tremendous" role in this area and could make "incredible" contributions; for example, there are no databases for assessment available in the complicated world of proteomics. This should be NIST's major mission for the 21st century.
International Responses: Dr. Hood decided to visit countries that were on the rise for science rather than those that think they are very superior. He received positive responses from politicians and scientists in Israel, Korea, and China. Alberta, Canada is also being explored because they may have $8 billion of excess gas revenue to allocate to a science organization. His strategy is to "Keep away from the superior and go to people who want to be rather than those people who are." Dr. Hood follows this strategy with universities, as well.
Regulatory Environment: The NIST Director noted that the regulatory environment was absent from Dr. Hood's remarks. Dr. Hood indicated that the Food and Drug Administration asked him to serve on an advisory committee to help with this issue.
GDP: The NIST Director stated that nearly 18 percent of the GDP is related to health care in comparison to 5 percent in the year he was born and that this is not a sustainable slope. Dr. Hood replied that there is a big potential for digital information that requires strategic partnerships and needs to be available soon.
Appreciation: The NIST Director thanked Dr. Hood for his "very phenomenal" presentation.
Vision and Overview of
NIST's Biosciences and Healthcare Activities
Dr. Laurie E. Locascio, Chief, Biochemical Science Division, Chemical Science
and Technology Laboratory (CSTL)
(For details, see Dr. Locascio's presentation)
Dr. Locascio remarked that she just spent the past few days at the American Chemical Society meeting where she was involved with strategic planning. Her presentation began with a history of NIST, formerly the National Bureau of Standards, and its responses to the healthcare industry from the 1920's to the present, highlighting major program areas, the expansion of activities in biosciences, the formation of the Biotechnology Division in 1991, and the growth of bio-related activities throughout NIST. According to Dr. Locascio, NIST's early efforts in healthcare and bio led to high-impact programs as a result its ability to deliver critical physical and chemical measurement services.
The second part of the presentation addressed the need for NIST to support bio measurements in the 21st century and NIST's role as a federal partner in the biosciences. Federal and private partners have asked NIST to insert itself into the process to help bridge the disconnect between technology and biodiscovery. NIST can play a critical role by building confidence in bio measurements through standards, methods, and technologies. Dr. Locascio described in detail several programs at NIST that were developed in response to this need: proteomics, biomedical applications of nanoparticles and the joint Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory, healthcare IT, and single biomolecule measurement. After summarizing the potential strategic growth areas for NIST, Dr. Locascio explained the bioimaging initiative for 2007 and beyond which will provide the measurement foundation to enable breakthroughs in medical imaging. Lastly, Dr. Locascio summarized the new challenges in bio, presented the biovision for NIST, and noted the opportunities to strengthen partnerships to achieve this vision through bio activities at the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology (CARB), JILA, Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML), and the unique NIST Center for Neutron Research.
Discussion
Challenge: A VCAT member expressed delight that Dr. Locascio is the new chief of the Biochemical Sciences Division and is looking forward to great achievements from this organization. This member also stated concerns that NIST is still largely passive in biological sciences and a very conservative organization in terms of competing for billions of dollars. He challenged NIST to dare to be great and think in terms of large project, rather than lots of small projects, in response to Dr. Hood's remarks.
Resources: A VCAT member noted that in the late 1990's, CSTL had the spirit but severely lacked the resources and basic state-of-the-art equipment to conduct the needed measurement science. He urged NIST to take advantage of the opportunity to develop the appropriate level of resources to support the bioscience community. The CSTL director remarked that the Biochemical Sciences Division has access to a number of mass spectrometers with the needed capabilities in other divisions within CSTL.
Strategic Plan: A VCAT member remarked that a vision is usually part of a strategic plan and asked about NIST's strategic planning efforts and environmental scans in bioimaging and NIST's future plans for research in the toxicology of nanoparticles. According to the NIST Director, the Biochemical Sciences division will be undergoing extensive strategic planning over the next year. This division already has strong partnerships with the strong bio programs in the Physics Laboratory, the Materials and Science Engineering Laboratory, and the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, and has plans to outreach to partners in other laboratories. Willie May has been charged with developing a bio vision for all of NIST. The internal planning process is underway at NIST. Tom Baer's presentation from the June VCAT meeting and Lee Hood's presentation from today's meeting will serve as input to help determine NISTs future directions. The NIST Director supports the longer version of NIST's bio vision that addresses quantitative physical measurements which are critically needed by NIH that lacks this expertise. NIST is presently developing the appropriate initiatives under the ACI and partnerships with the HML and CARB.
Percent of GDP: NIST spends an estimated $50 million in biosciences, plus or minus 15 percent. The NIST Director is not in favor of speculating if that level of activity is appropriate to GDP. NIST has a unique role and needs to address the highest priorities rather than to aim at meeting an arbitrary definition of a percent of GDP. A VCAT member encouraged NIST to keep track of its program impacts on the GDP over the next 20 years.
New Wave: A VCAT member indicated that NIST has not provided its strategy for determining how much of its funding is spent in support of existing, old, or new businesses. Furthermore, it is important to know the breakdown of NIST's budget in these areas. According to this member, the next new wave for the nation's economic development is biotechnology. The NIST Director noted that he showed NIST's planned investments as part of the ACI overviews. These areas included other waves such as nanotechnology and quantum information. Biotechnology is an important new wave and Willie May is developing NIST's unique role in this area and where it can best leverage its resources. This task is a work-in-process. Dr. Locascio again noted the unique instrumentation and capabilities available from NIST's external joint institutes that can help impact biosciences.
Metrology Infrastructure
for Innovation in Cell-based Technologies
Dr. Anne Plant, Group Leader, Cell and Tissue Measurements, Chemical Science
and Technology Laboratory (CSTL)
(For details, see Dr. Plant's presentation)
In her opening remarks,
Dr. Plant indicated that her presentation will address generic cell-based metrologies
with wide applications in the medical and non-medical fields, such as cytotoxicity
of importance to defense, the environment, and agriculture. Dr. Plant described
the complexity of cell response and intracellular signaling; the problems in
drug discovery and the need for cell-based measurement to make better predictive
models; the challenges involved with cell measurements; and NIST's critical
role in providing improved measurement technology as a basis for standards,
protocols, validation, and error analysis that will help leverage investments
by other federal agencies. For example, parameters as simple as substrates used
in cell cultures and monitoring can have a dramatic effect on the measurement.
This is the advantage of using NIST-developed collagen thin films as compared
to thicker collagen gels for growing cells. NIST also has developed a tool for
automated cell image analysis to quantify cells and plans to post these protocols
on the NIST web site. In conclusion, Dr. Plant described NIST's future projects
for understanding complex biological systems that will focus on the measurements
of high-throughput quantitative cell data as well as comparability of the multi-parametric
cell data from many laboratories for model development.
Discussion
International Activities: A VCAT member asked if standards organizations overseas were addressing these issues. According to Dr. Plant, the international standards community is aware of the problem involved with cell measurements but has not yet solved it. Many of these organizations look to the U.S. for leadership in this area because of our expertise, although the European Union leads the world in publications on this topic. NIST has had some interactions with the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS).
Data Exchange Formats and Cellular Images: Dr. Plant described the challenges associated with comparing algorithms and data exchange of various assays performed with different instruments. Experimental results and conclusions are based on bioimages that are not published or captured in a database. NIST is proposing to address this bioimaging problem as part of its FY 2007 budget initiative. A VCAT member remarked that NIST should be able to solve this problem. The cellular images shown in the presentation were based on data from individual cells that were integrated to form a histogram.
Investments: The NIST Director noted that the biotech issues raised during the morning session of the VCAT meeting were incredibly rich with hundreds of ideas for future activities. The U.S. investment in bio of over $100 billion in four years is now resulting in benefits. Major discoveries sponsored by NIH are now being realized with benefits to society. According to the NIST Director, everyone is eager for NIST to move forward but NIST's efforts need to be put in the context of where its contributions are needed in the life cycle. With modest investments, NIST can have huge leverage. He is looking forward to the VCAT's ideas on where NIST should make its highest priority investments.
Status Report on the
Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST)
Dr. Robert Celotta, Director, CNST
(For details, see Dr. Celotta's presentation)
The purpose of this presentation is to update the VCAT on new developments in the CNST since the last briefing in June, 2006. Dr. Celotta began with a review of the CNST mission and its two-part structure consisting of the research program that enables nanotechnology with measurement solutions and the CNST Nanofab, a national user facility. He then described the new partnership established between the CNST and the University of Maryland, progress in obtaining additional space in the Advanced Measurement Laboratory, and the Nanofab's new instruments and enhancements for operations and communications, including a new web site and user forum. The draft Nanofab User Policy for this shared facility was presented and includes a fee structure similar to the NSF Nanocenters. Turning to CNST's research program, Dr. Celotta indicated that CNST's program areas of concentration reflect the measurement needs of emerging nanotechnologies as identified by many resources, including the U.S. Measurement System assessment, industry contacts, government reports, and the research community. The initial three program areas of concentration will focus on developing measurement capabilities for post - CMOS electronics, nanomanufacturing and nanofabrication, and energy in conversion, storage, and transport. In conclusion, Dr. Celotta noted future action items for the CNST, including the continued recruitment of key project leaders and supporting staff, the establishment of additional internal and external collaborations for the research program, and the continued exploration of a variety of arrangements for sharing expensive equipment both inside and outside of the Nanofab.
Discussion
New Hires:
The CNST has had nine new hires over the past 90 days from such organizations
as Bell Labs, CALTECH, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
.
Biology at the CNST and Comparison to the DoE Nanocenters: The
CNST represents only a small fraction of NIST investment in the bio area and
there are projects across NIST that use nanotechnology as a tool for the biosciences.
The bio community is welcomed as users if they present a problem where nanotechnology
can help biology. One of the CNST's new hires was head of Lawrence Berkeley's
nanofab facility. The CNST will operate somewhere between the DoE and NSF models,
but probably closer to NSF. To function efficiently and facilitate intellectual
stimulation, the Nanofab must have a large amount of users.
Roadmaps: A VCAT member noted that NIST has made tremendous progress in establishing the CNST and asked if there was a nanotechnology roadmap that was shaping NIST's standards activities. According to NIST, industry associations have developed many roadmaps. The CNST has a five-year plan with the goal of being agile and responsive to the development of measurement techniques with broad applications. As input into the planning process, NIST uses the National Nanotechnology Initiative which has a vision of the most important Program Component Areas (PCA) for federal investments.
Economics: A VCAT member inquired about the income expected from users once the Nanofab is operational and mature as well as the estimated expanded cost of the CNST over the next five years to remain competitive and world-class. Dr. Celotta remarked that this was a tough question and discussed the complexity of using economic models. He described the very successful NSF Nanocenter at Cornell, which has been operational for about 25 years, and remarked that this was a good model for the CNST. Most of their equipment is donated and maintained by others and the fees are based on operational costs. Another possible scenario for CNST income involves companies that pay a proprietary rate. At a minimum, NIST may need about $2 million per year to cover equipment replacement costs. An immediate objective for the CNST is to start collecting operating costs. Economic growth curves are unpredictable due to the variety of available noncenters and their management and fee structures.
Management Process for Data Collection: Most of the data collection regarding CNST's fee structure and organization is through conversations with individuals in other organizations, such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Cornell, Argonne National Laboratory, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. There is no formal process for tracking this data. Since the CNST is not yet officially established, managers and administrative staff cannot be hired. Therefore, the findings from these conversations may be written but there is no formal management structure in place yet with managers assigned to collect and record this data. The VCAT Chair remarked that a management structure and an end management process are not the same.
Overview of JILA
Dr. Steven Cundiff, Chief, Quantum Physics Division, Physics Laboratory
(For details, see Dr. Cundiff's presentation)
Dr. Cundiff's overview of JILA, a joint research institute between NIST and the University of Colorado, included its history, organizational chart, staff profile, and recognition, strengths, renewal, and space limitations. JILA is known today as the leading center for atomic molecular and atomic (AMO) science and measurement science. Although there is still some "laboratory astrophysics" at JILA, this area is not supported by NIST. Two Nobel Prizes are among the many prestigious awards that honor scientists at JILA. As a unique training ground for NIST scientists, JILA has been the home to a significant number of NIST leaders, including former NIST Director Lewis Branscomb. According to Dr. Cundiff, an on-going challenge for JILA is the availability of space for the projected increase of graduate students who are essential to the renewal of JILA in response to "generational" turn over. A proposed solution to this problem is to double the size of the "S" wing of the JILA building on the University of Colorado campus over the next few years. Dr. Cundiff ended his presentation with technical highlights related to the subsequent lab tours at JILA featuring optical frequency/clock comparisons and confocal laser microscopy with applications in homeland security, medical diagnostics, nanoelectronics, and nanomechanics.
Discussion
There were no follow-up questions from the VCAT members. The Chair remarked that this presentation was "truly" clear.
Overall Meeting Discussion
Disclaimer: These minutes are not a verbatim transcript of the speaker's remarks but rather an interpretation of their main points. The comments of the VCAT members reflect their individual views, not necessarily the views of the Committee.
Dr. Jeffrey reported that Zelda Bailey recently announced her retirement from NIST to take place by the end of September. He thanked Ms. Bailey for hosting the VCAT meeting in Boulder and for coordinating it with the Combined Federal Campaign kick-off, and for her many years of service in Boulder.
In her opening remarks, Ms. Grubbe noted that the discussion session will focus on what the VCAT heard today, reflections on the VCAT charter, and the upcoming election for Chair due to her leaving the VCAT soon.
Ms. Grubbe remarked that NIST is not responding to the VCAT's continual request for trend data on safety, an operational discipline, and for measures on NIST's progress. Dr. Jeffrey responded that at the last VCAT meeting, there was about a "90-minute" discussion on safety in which NIST presented different trend analyses and benchmarking results with other government labs. He remarked that NIST needed more specificity on exactly what information is needed and whether the committee as a whole wants this data. Ms. Grubbe stated that this was a fair request. Follow-up for such information is an area for improvement.
Ms. Grubbe then discussed the need for a "dashboard," an easy way to show trends in other operational aspects of NIST which fall under the VCAT charter. This "dashboard" would provide a quick assessment or indication of NIST's progress in its operations and generate discussion on the issues. She noted that this request is a follow-up from the last meeting and that there was time for NIST to have done some of this work.
Mr. Spong remarked that the VCAT did not ask for safety data as a one-shot deal and the Committee wanted a continued emphasis on this topic. He also noted that he was confused on how the topics were selected for the September meeting agenda and how these help the Committee fulfill their charter.
Mr. Floss remarked that he looks for a sense of continuity from meeting to meeting. A scorecard or dashboard with vital key metrics should be a vital place holder on the agenda. This information may be beneficial to the newest VCAT members as it took him about two to three meetings to appreciate what was happening at NIST. Mr. Floss also indicated that today's presentations were fantastic and showed the researchers' enthusiasm, however he does not have a sense of progress in these areas over the past six months. He should have asked Bob Celotta if he would have a happy, sad, or neutral face to indicate progress in the CNST since last meeting.
Mr. Serum remarked that
he had a different perspective than the previous Committee members' comments.
He is sympathetic to their needs but not very excited about reviewing scorecards
as a VCAT member. He viewed today's presentation with excitement and opportunity
and would rather be an advisor to the NIST director on the relative merit of
programs, To help provide more valuable input, the VCAT needs information about
the failures, struggles, and issues faced by NIST when developing stronger programs.
As an advisory body with lots of academic and industry experience, the Committee
needs to hear about these problems as part of every presentation.
Dr. Cassidy expressed that he was pleased to see a focus on biosystems at today's
meeting. According to Dr. Cassidy, the VCAT hears bits and pieces about this
area but has not seen enough of a cohesive picture to see how the ball is rolling.
Lee Hood's presentation is really important because it brought a certain balance
to NIST's internal thinking. Secondly, Bob's Celotta's update was very useful
because he presented a good balance by talking about progress as well as the
struggles with lawyers and with the CNST not being officially established. In
regards to VCAT interactions, he senses frustration that the VCAT is not helping
as much as they could and that there is no sense of closure on providing advice
on NIST's policies, operations, budget and programs as described in the Charter.
Perhaps, the VCAT needs to be clearer on what they want to see and NIST should
provide feedback on these requests, including letting the VCAT know if all of
this material has already been provided. In conclusion, he would like to see
more effective interactions between NIST and the VCAT.
Dr. Fleury noted that his comments reflect his observations as a new member. After reading the objectives and duties of the VCAT, he believes that there is an operational versus programmatic aspect of the VCAT. On the programmatic side, the agenda included Lee Hood, a super visionary, down to who has the fastest laser. Operations are important for the VCAT to keep in mind as well, but the agenda does not need to be proportionate. He believes that feedback on operations is an on-going part of the VCAT; however data should be sent in advance and if problems are identified, then the agenda should be adjusted to address these topics. In regards to NIST's role in biosciences, Dr. Fleury noted that there was a disconnect between Dr. Hood's presentation and the other NIST technical discussions. The VCAT needs to see a more strategic view on how this work fits into the NIST vision and how NIST will select its partners. His first two meetings were a mixed bag that showed the willingness of the VCAT to help improve the effectiveness of NIST and the need for more continuous interaction and feedback between meetings. Dr. Jeffrey confirmed with the VCAT Executive Director that the members received information between meetings that covered media events and NIST TechBeat.
Dr. Keck noted that he was excited about today's agenda. Dr. Hood's and the other presentations showed how NIST activities are moving into bio and nano. However, he still has trouble seeing the strategic thrusts of NIST's programs. According to Dr. Keck, he can catch on quickly, but just tell him 12 more times. For example, how does NIST's science budget break down in broad technical thrust areas? This information is needed to remind the VCAT of where NIST is going and what areas are growing and what areas are shrinking. He envisions the VCAT as a means to help administer NIST, and if scientists are having problems, they could help them. Dr. Keck is also missing NIST's strategic directions, roadmapping activities, and management check-offs as Mr. Floss described for assessing NIST's overall progress. NIST is heading in the right directions and has brought on good people but keep repeating key information.
Dr. Jeffrey responded that
in the spirit of repeating information, for example, at the last meeting he
showed budget trends over 10-15 years in five major priority areas as well as
five-year matrices of nano and quantum information areas. The VCAT should let
him know if that is not the needed level of detail. NIST is trying to be responsive
but there needs to be a balance of useful and top-level information.
Dr. Baer congratulated NIST on providing a very productive and enjoyable meeting.
Although the VCAT was also constructed to focus on operational issues, this
meeting laid out the strategic direction for NIST in growth areas and sought
advice from the VCAT in helping to develop their plans. Performance reviews
should be done off line and the members should identify the areas that need
attention.
Ms. Grubbe then spoke about
the importance of the Baldrige criteria. An organization that gives out the
Baldrige criteria may want to think about how it uses the criteria to manage
and balance itself. In regards to elections, Ms. Grubbe announced that she will
be leaving the VCAT as Chair at the end of the fiscal year and that it was time
to begin the election process. Since there are some missing members, there will
be communications by email within the next two weeks asking for nominations
for a chair and vice-chair.
In conclusion, Ms. Grubbe stated that she personally learned a lot today and
it was exciting to hear about the great work at NIST in the nano and bio areas.
She enjoyed Dr. Hood's talk. Lastly, she thanked Zelda Bailey and others involved
in organizing today's meeting.
The meeting was adjourned 2:44 p.m.
Laboratory Tours
Optical Atomic Clocks and High Sensitivity Molecular Detection with Femtosecond Combs - Scientists at JILA are at the forefront of studying fundamental and novel interactions between precisely controlled light and matter, using tools of ultracold atoms and molecules, phase-stabilized lasers and optical frequency combs, and precision optical frequency metrology. The JILA team has achieved the world's highest resonance quality factor for optical transitions of strontium atoms, leading to a highly stable and accurate optical atomic clock. This team also is studying the application of optical combs for sensitive molecular detection, which can identify trace amounts of toxic gases or be used for medical diagnostics.
High-speed Nanoelectronics and Nanomechanics - The tools that allow us to "see" individual atoms in condensed matter systems have spectacular spatial resolution but poor temporal resolution. Blindness to the intrinsically fast dynamics at nanoscale arises from a mismatch between the fundamental resistance scales of electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. Researchers at JILA are using microwave technology to realize fast sensors of nanomechanical motion, with applications in nanoelectronics, surface chemistry, and signal processing.
Femtosecond Spectroscopy for Measurements of Protein Flexibility - Proteins are flexible molecules that continuously undergo shape fluctuations on a very wide range of time scales, ranging from femtoseconds to seconds and longer. However, current strategies for controlling biochemical function focus exclusively on structure. Scientists at JILA are investigating how to measure protein motions, how these motions impact biochemistry, and how this understanding will expand the possibilities for new drug designs.
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