National Research Council
Laboratory Assessment

Since 1959, the National Research Council (NRC) has assessed the technical merit, relevance, and quality of NIST's (previously NBS's) laboratory programs in the context of NIST's mission. The NRC review is independent, technically sophisticated, and extensive.

Beginning in FY 2007, the NRC conducted an assessment process where half of the NIST Laboratories will be reviewed each year. This restructuring promotes the increased technical exchange between NIST scientists and the expert review panels (one for each of the NIST Laboratories). Each panel deliberates their findings in a closed session panel meeting and prepares a report summarizing its assessment findings. Panel members are selected by the NRC from leaders in industry, academia, non-profit organizations, and other federal agencies and government laboratories. The Laboratory Assessments Board of the National Academies oversees the NRC assessment activities.

FY 2008 Review Cycle

For the FY 2008 assessment cycle, the NIST Director charged the NRC to focus its assessment on the following broad factors:

1. The technical merit of the current Laboratory programs relative to the current state-of-the-art worldwide.
2. The adequacy of the Laboratories' facilities, equipment, and human resources, as they affect the quality of laboratory's technical programs.
3. The degree to which Laboratory programs in measurement science and standards achieve their stated objectives and desired impact.

The NRC Panels will assess the following NIST laboratories in FY 2008:

• Building and Fire Research Laboratory
  • Panel on Building and Fire Research: Meeting on March 18-20, 2008 at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.
• Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory
  • Panel on Manufacturing Engineering: Meeting on March 26-28, 2008 at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.
• Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
  • Panel on Materials Science and Engineering: Meeting on March 13, 2008 at NIST, Boulder, CO, and on March 19-21, 2008 at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.
• NIST Center for Neutron Research
  • Panel on Neutron Research: Meeting on March 31-April 2, 2008 at NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.
• Physics Laboratory
  • Panel on Physics to meet on February 15, 2008 in Boulder, CO, and on February 26-28, 2008 in Gaithersburg, MD.

FY 2007 Assessments

FY 2007 NRC Assessment Reports of NIST Laboratories (Posted with permission from the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of the National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.) Reports on this page are presented in .pdf. To read these files, you can download Adobe Acrobat Reader free.

• An Assessment of the NIST Center for Neutron Research, FY 2007
• An Assessment of the NIST Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, FY 2007
• An Assessment of the NIST Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, FY 2007
• An Assessment of the NIST Information Technology Laboratory, FY 2007

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Last update: 02/25/08