FY 2004
Technology Administration Budget Highlights
Technology
Administration Summary
Rapid
advances in technology, especially in information technology, have
driven U.S. economic performance for the past decade. Technological
innovation serves as the underpinning for strong economic growth,
higher rates of investment, low inflation, high-wage job growth,
low unemployment, and solid increases in productivitythe true
path for producing higher standards of living. Rapid advances in
technology are transforming all of our human endeavors, creating
the potential for a host of new global market opportunities, new
and powerful ways to secure our nation, improvements in our standard
of living, and a better quality of life.
Meanwhile,
global competition is intensifying. Other nations have recognized
the link between technology and growth and are rapidly expanding
their scientific and technological capabilities. The United States
has sought to address these new economic and competitive realities
by developing both domestic and international policies and programs
that enhance U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace and
maximize technology's contribution to national economic growth,
job creation, and quality of life. A clear role for government has
been articulated in fostering the development of civilian technology
in partnership with industry and the science and technology communities
and emphasizing the creation of a favorable business climate to
promote innovation.
The
Technology Administration (TA) serves as a focal point for these
efforts, helping to ensure that American companies and workers have
the tools needed to compete and win in today's global economy. TA
is the primary federal agency charged with the explicit mission
of working with U.S. industry to accelerate innovation and maximize
technology's contribution to U.S. economic growth. TA seeks to encourage
the development of the technological infrastructure required to
support U.S. industry through the 21st century; to foster the development,
diffusion, and adoption of new technologies; to disseminate information
on U.S. and foreign technology strategies and best practices; and
to create a business environment conducive to innovation.
Led
by the Under Secretary for Technology, TA fulfills its broad responsibilities
through the Office of the Under Secretary and its three component
organizations, the Office of Technology Policy (OTP), the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS). A brief description of each is provided
below.
- Under
Secretary for Technology works with U.S. industry to maximize
technology's contribution to U.S. economic growth, global competitiveness,
and innovative capacity.
- Office
of Technology Policy (OTP) is the only office in the
federal government with the explicit mission of developing and
advocating national policies and initiatives that use technology
to build America's economic strength. During the past decade,
dramatic changes have taken place in the climate for innovationnew
digital technologies and networks are transforming our forms
of commerce; R&D, competition, and markets are now global;
and technological progress is accelerating. These changes have
profound implications for technology policy, regulations and
laws, economic and tax policies, investments in human capital,
and how R&D investments are allocated and managed. Analyzing
these changesand making recommendations to maximize technology's
contribution to the economy and improve the environment for
technological innovationis a key OTP mission. Working
in partnership with the private sector to achieve this objective,
OTP also focuses on the creation of high-wage jobs and improvements
in our quality of life, monitoring foreign government science
and technology policies, and encouraging the adoption of policies
that promote a favorable environment for U.S. business overseas.
OTP also promotes productive research between the federal government
and private-sector programs across the full spectrum of federal
research programs.
- National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) works with
U.S. industry to address technology needs, delivering broadly
useful results shared among companies, industries, and consumers.
The NIST Laboratories provide industry and science with the
measurement capabilities, standards, data, and test methods
that are needed to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and
improve the quality of life. NIST also plays a key role in supporting
the nation's homeland security initiatives. In addition to its
core laboratory measurement, testing, and standards functions,
NIST conducts three extramural programs: the Advanced Technology
Program, to stimulate the development of high-risk, broad-impact
technologies by U.S. firms; the Manufacturing Extension Partnership,
to help smaller businesses adopt new manufacturing and management
technologies; and the Baldrige National Quality Program, to
help U.S. businesses and other organizations improve the performance
and quality of their operations by providing clear standards
and benchmarks of quality.
- National
Technical Information Service (NTIS) operates a central
clearinghouse of scientific and technical information that is
useful to U.S. business and industry. NTIS promotes economic
growth by (1) collecting, organizing, and disseminating scientific,
technical, engineering, and related business information produced
by or for federal agencies and (2) providing sophisticated services
to other federal agencies that help them interact with and better
serve the information needs of their own constituents.
To
enable TA to continue to promote the development and diffusion of
technologies and standards critical to sustained economic growth
for our nation's communities through a comprehensive mix of policy
and programmatic activities, the President requests a total of $504.8
million for the Technology Administration and its component agencies.
The summary provided below describes the requested funding levels
for FY 2004:
Office
of the Under Secretary for Technology/Office of Technology Policy
Total funding requested: $8 million
National
Institute of Standards and Technology
Total funding requested: $496.8 million
National
Technical Information Service
No funds requested; NTIS is a self-supporting agency.
Specific
budget proposals are described below.
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US/OTP FY
2004 Budget Highlights
President
Bush requests $8.015 million for the Office of the Under Secretary
for Technology and the Office of Technology Policy (US/OTP). This
request supports US/OTP in its work with the private sector to analyze,
develop, coordinate, and advocate national policies that maximize
technology's contribution to the war on terrorism, homeland security,
job creation, and economic growth and security. More than ever before,
technological leadership is vital to U.S. national interests. America's
success in meeting its security and economic goals depends largely
on its ability to harness the power and promise of leading-edge
advances in technology.
The
FY 2004 budget request will support:
- The Under
Secretary for Technology in overseeing the Technology Administration's
operating units. The Under Secretary advises the Secretary of
Commerce and the Technology Administration's component agencies
on domestic and international technology and serves as an advocate
for innovation and industrial competitiveness within government
and the private sector. The Under Secretary provides policy
guidance to the Secretary of Commerce and the Technology Administration's
component agencies, serves as an interagency leader on such
efforts as the President's National Science and Technology Council
and as an advocate for innovation and industrial competitiveness
within and outside government, and provides leadership within
the Department as chair of the Commerce Coordinating Council
for Technology (C3T). The Under Secretary coordinates the civilian
technology efforts of federal agencies and helps to shape federal
civilian R&D priorities by taking into account the issues
faced by industry. The Under Secretary also provides counsel
to the Secretary of Commerce on all matters affecting innovation
and coordinates with counterpart offices in the trade and economic
agencies to create unified, integrated trade and technology
policies.
- The Office
of Technology Policy's (OTP) role in supporting and improving
the American innovation system through its leadership of interagency
working groups, community outreach events, and workshops to
identify barriers to and best practices of America's innovation
system. OTP's work includes advancing the role technology plays
in U.S. economic growth and homeland security, through facilitation
of dialogue and interaction among policymakers, developers,
and users of emerging and productivity-enhancing technology,
with the goal of promoting adoption by business, education,
medicine, and research groups. The OTP administers the National
Medal of Technology, the highest honor awarded by the President
of the United States for technological innovation. Also within
the OTP, the Office of Technology Competitiveness promotes domestic
technological competitiveness in four interrelated policy areas:
technology development and transfer, business innovation, state
and local efforts to promote technology-based economic growth,
and work force preparation for a technology-driven future. The
Office works closely with industry, conducts issue analyses,
disseminates reports and other useful information, and supports
the Assistant Secretary in developing and advocating policy
tools that can advance U.S. innovation, technological growth,
and competitiveness. Within OTP, the Office of International
Technology promotes international technology partnerships to
strengthen U.S. competitiveness and advocates policies to advance
U.S. technology in the global economy. The proposed budget also
will support publication of policy papers and promotion of the
GetTech Web site.
Fuel
Cell Vehicles: Race to a New Automotive Future, 1/2003
The U.S. Competitive Position in Advanced Automotive Technologies,
1/2003
Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicles and Applicable Markets, 10/2002
U.S. Corporate R&D Investment 1994-2000 Final Estimates
Summary Report on Federal Laboratory Technology Transfer Agency
Approaches, 9/2002
Understanding Broadband Demand: A Review of Critical Issues
2020 Visions, Transforming Education and Training through Advanced
Technologies, 9/2002
Recent Trends in Federal Lab Technology Transfer: 1999-2000 Biennial
Report
Annual Report on Technology Transfer: Programs, Plans, FY 2001
Activities and Achievements
Singapore's Biomedicine Initiative: Prescription for Growth? (White
Paper)
OTP
is initiating an examination of the effects of globalization and
policies on U.S. high-tech industries and the scientific and technological
workforce. Data will be collected from international counterparts
and results will be used to highlight actions and recommend policies
that may help foster U.S. competitiveness.
- The budget
request calls for transferring the Office of Space Commercialization
(OSC) from the Technology Administration to the International
Trade Administration (ITA) within the Department of Commerce,
which will require a legislative change. The Department proposes
to enhance management efficiencies and give greater emphasis
to space commercialization issues through this consolidation.
OSC is aligned closely with ITA's Office of Aerospace and ITA's
Office of Policy and Strategic Planning. They work with similar
government and industry partners and with similar mission areas.
The merger of OSC with ITA will leverage ITA's greater industry
resources. In addition, the technology advocated by OSC has
matured significantly over the last several years, resulting
in increased numbers of trade agreements. The two organizations
and the industries they advocate could benefit from a merger
leveraging the experience of the TA OSC experts in the space
industry and the infrastructure and expertise of ITA's personnel
in negotiating meaningful trade agreements. The President's
FY 2004 submission provides for funding of OSC through the International
Trade Administration and removes it from the Technology Administration
budget.
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NIST 2004 BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
Summary
A
strong technology base is playing a key role in helping the United
States to win the war on terrorism, strengthen our nation's security,
and improve our economic growth and global competitiveness. As it
has for more than a century, the National Institute of Standards
and Technology is working to ensure America's leadership in science
and technology and hasten the flow of new knowledge, new capabilities,
and new products. NIST research, products, and services promote
technological innovationthe driving force for about 50 percent
of U.S. economic growth and a key to enhancements in national security
and homeland security.
The
budget requested for fiscal year (FY) 2004 will help NIST to develop
the cutting-edge science and technology infrastructure needed to
strengthen and safeguard America's economic foundations and security
capabilities now and in the future.
The
Administration's FY 2004 NIST budget request to the Congress is
$496.8 million, a decrease of $66.3 million compared to the FY 2003
budget request of $563.1 million. The budget request focuses on
NIST's core mission of measurements, standards, and laboratory research,
and on providing the 21st-century facilities the NIST Laboratories
need for success. Investment of limited NIST resources in the Laboratory
programs and facilities will have the greatest impact on strengthening
homeland security and fostering innovation that leads to economic
growth.
The
NIST FY 2004 budget request is divided into three appropriations:
- $387.6
million for Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS),
including $381.8 million for the NIST Laboratories and $5.8
million for the Baldrige National Quality Program (BNQP). The
budget request includes a proposed increase of $10.3 million
for NIST to address key national needs in homeland security
and $9.2 million to expand NIST work in the areas of nanotechnology,
quantum information science, and health care quality assuranceareas
that will contribute to strengthening our nation's economy.
In addition, the budget requests $6.7 million for equipment
and maintenance of the world-class Advanced Measurement Laboratory
scheduled to open in June 2004, and $1.5 million for backup
of NIST's time scale and time dissemination systems.
- $39.6 million
for Industrial Technology Services, including $27 million for
the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and $12.6 million for
the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Consistent with
the Administration's emphasis on shifting resources to reflect
changing needs, the FY 2004 budget proposes terminating the
ATP. The budget request for the ATP represents a decrease of
$80 million from the FY 2003 request and is for administrative
and closeout costs. The budget request for the MEP, which provides
manufacturing and business assistance to small manufacturing
establishments, maintains the FY 2003 budget policy of significantly
reducing federal funding for MEP. The proposed budget would
fund the partnership according to its original plan, which called
for the phase out of federal monies to MEP centers after six
years of funding, with the goal of making each center self-sufficient.
As most MEP centers are more than six years old, federal funding
will continue to be provided to only the two centers that are
less than seven years old. MEP will focus on providing a central
coordination role.
- $69.6 million
for the Construction of Research Facilities. This includes an
increase of $21.3 million to complete several urgently needed
construction and renovation projects at NIST's Boulder, Colo.,
site where most of the buildings are almost 50 years old. In
addition, NIST is requesting an additional $3.4 million for
critical facilities in Gaithersburg, Md., and $10.6 million
for facilities modifications and improvement at both sites.
[Descriptive Link]
Following
is more information on the FY 2004 budget requested increases for
Scientific and Technical Research and Services and Construction
of Research Facilities.
SECURING
AMERICA'S HOMELAND ($10.3 Million)
For
more than 100 years, NIST has provided measurements, standards,
and technical advice to help federal, state, and local agencies
and the private sector protect U.S. citizens from terrorist, military,
and other types of threats and natural disasters.
In
the 1930s, NIST forensic experts used their two decades of experience
solving crimes to help establish the FBI's laboratory. During World
War II, the Institute provided technical advice on everything from
the atom bomb to the paper used in war maps. NIST's support for
national security has continued through the decades since.
Following
are details of NIST's homeland security increases for FY 2004.
Measurement
Infrastructure for Homeland Security ($5.3 million)
The
United States remains vulnerable to severe loss of life and economic
disruption following a terrorist attack on our citizens using chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive devices (CBRNE).
Many technologies to strengthen homeland security now exist in the
laboratory or in pre-deployment stages. But these technologies must
be tested, standardized, and certified before they can be implemented
broadly.
NIST
will develop the measurements, standards, tests, and guidance the
government and private sector need to select the most promising
homeland security technologies and verify that they function as
needed. This work will focus on accelerating the deployment of better
technologies and practices for detecting and responding to CBRNE
threats. This initiative will be a key part of the national strategy
to prevent such catastrophes, thus saving lives and protecting the
economy.
Standards,
Technology, and Practices for Buildings and First Responders ($4
million)
NIST
is playing a key role in enhancing the nation's ability to prevent
and respond to terrorism. After the World Trade Center towers survived
the initial aircraft impacts, the engineering community was surprised
that the towers and other nearby steel frame buildings collapsed
due to the effects of fire. NIST is working to determine whether
the loss of life and the severe economic consequences could have
been minimized through different construction techniques and safety
practice. A goal is to ensure that future attacks or natural disasters
need not be as devastating.
Using
funding received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in
an FY 2002 supplemental appropriation, NIST is leading a broad public-private
partnership to determine the technical cause of the collapse of
the World Trade Center buildings and apply the lessons learned to
save lives and property in the future.
This
FY 2004 initiative is one part of that program, focusing on using
the results of the World Trade Center investigation to develop cost-effective
solutions to strengthen existing and future buildings against attacks
and natural disasters. This initiative also will help provide a
better understanding of how emergency responders and building occupants
behave in a crisisand to use the lessons learned to help occupants
survive future disasters and enable emergency responders to do their
jobs more safely and effectively. Guidance and practices based on
this study will be disseminated broadly to code-developing organizations
and to state and local agencies. The resulting code reforms will
further protect property and save lives.
Standards
for Biometric Identification ($1 million)
More
than 20 million people enter the United States each year. Currently,
there is no way to effectively, accurately, and quickly verify the
identity of visitors and visa applicants. The USA PATRIOT Act was
signed into law in October 2001 to develop a national biometric
identification system, using unique physical characteristics such
as fingerprints, facial features, and eye patterns, to accurately
identify people entering the United States or applying for visas.
With the funding requested, NIST will help to develop effective,
efficient, and interoperable biometric identifier standards, certification
tests, guidelines, and techniques for fingerprint and face recognition
and verification.
NANOSCALE
MEASUREMENT SCIENCE ($5.2 million)
Nanotechnology
is atomic-scale science and engineering that can result in devices
and materials with dramatic new properties such as materials 10
times stronger than steel at a fraction of the weight and the potential
for supercomputers the size of a sugar cube. Nanotechnology is still
largely in the research and development phase. But, in the next
10 to 15 years, many experts believe nanotechnology will have a
significant impact on our economy. The National Science Foundation
estimates the market could be as much as $1 trillion. European and
Asian nations are investing heavily in nanotechnology. Accelerating
the transformation of nanotechnology research into actual products
could give the United States a dramatic competitive advantage.
NIST
measurements, standards, and tests that reduce uncertainties in
exploiting quantum mechanical properties of atoms are key requirements
to transform research discoveries into reliable and affordable products,
services, and manufacturing technologies.
NIST
will partner with industry and researchers to develop the measurements
and tests needed to ensure that the nation's $710 million federal
investment in nanotechnology research and development (FY 2003 President's
budget) will result in useful products and services that will put
the United States ahead of our global competitors.
QUANTUM INFORMATION SCIENCE ($3 million)
Quantum
mechanics, the strange behavior of matter on the atomic scale, provides
an entirely new and uniquely powerful way for computing and communications,
potentially replacing the current binary computing and digital communications
based on ones and zeros, and could have enormous impacts in homeland
security. Quantum computers could perform processing tasks that
are currently impossible. They also could solve problems that conventional
computers could not manage given realistic amounts of time, memory,
and processing power.
This
enormous computational power would be particularly valuable in cryptography,
making codes that are unbreakable by today's best supercomputers,
or breaking codes in seconds that could not be cracked in years
by the most powerful binary computers. Quantum information also
can be used for remarkably secure communications.
With
the requested funding, NIST will work to develop the measurements
and standards infrastructure (hardware and software) critical to
the development of a quantum communications system. This includes
methods to test and verify the actual performance characteristics
of these systems, to determine their security properties, and to
enable integration of such systems into the existing communications
infrastructure.
HEALTH
CARE QUALITY ASSURANCE ($1 million)
Health
care-related measurements such as diagnostic tests cost the United
States approximately $200 billion a year, and an estimated $50 billion
annually is spent on inaccurate medical measurements requiring repeat
tests. The loss of life due to medical measurement errors is difficult
to estimate but is thought to be a large fraction of the 100,000
deaths per year attributed to medical treatment errors in general.
The
NIST initiative is a first step in a long-term strategy to partner
with the health care community to provide the measurements, standards,
and data needed to save lives, improve health care quality, and
reduce costs through better medical measurements and data quality
assurance. The work supported by this initiative will target delivery
of measurements and standards for improved diagnosis, treatment,
and prevention of disease. It also would promote increased international
trade in medical products and services.
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FACILITIES
AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Advanced
Measurement Laboratory ($6.7 million)
NIST
requests an increase of $5.5 million for the second round of research
equipment needed to realize the capabilities of NIST's Advanced
Measurement Laboratory (AML). When it is opened in 2004, the AML
will be the world's best measurement laboratory, helping provide
the measurements and standards needed by industry and science in
key technologies for the 21st century. Making such measurements
requires not only the precisely controlled AML environment but also
sophisticated scientific equipment. NIST has carefully inventoried
the equipment that will be required for research and measurement
programs to be housed in the AML.
The
AML will include five separate wings to be completed and occupied
in stages from FY 2003 to mid-FY 2004. The equipment for the AML
is expensive and technologically sophisticated and will require
periodic maintenance and recalibration to function properly. NIST
has identified about 40 major equipment systems (some specifically
tailored for AML work) at a total cost of $40.5 million. Funding
for the first 15 systems, totaling $35 million, was requested in
the President's budget for FY 2003. Because several months of lead-time
are required for purchasing major equipment, NIST must have the
funding available in FY 2003 and FY 2004 to permit acquisitions
to begin so that the equipment is in place when it is needed.
NIST
also is requesting $1.2 million to provide funding for the maintenance
and operation of the AML. To provide the advanced measurements and
standards needed to support critical technologies, the AML facility
needs to be able to maintain strict environmental conditions including
temperature, humidity, and air cleanliness. The AML commissioning
will begin in FY 2003, and it will be ready for final acceptance
in FY 2004. NIST will outsource these maintenance and operational
services.
Boulder
Laboratory Construction and Renovation ($21.3 million)
The
majority of the buildings in NIST's Boulder, Colo., facility are
almost 50 years old, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for
the Boulder staff to support the research needed for advances in
areas such as nanotechnology, information technology, and health
care. Boulder researchers estimate that 10 percent of their time
is spent coping with wide temperature swings, electric power disruptions,
and other problems that hinder sensitive measurements and research.
Based on economic impact studies of NIST's measurements and standards,
this lost time is estimated to cost this country at least $60 million
per year in unrealized economic benefits. The nation and NIST lose
enormous additional potential benefits when top NIST scientists
spend significant research time working around problems caused by
inadequate facilities. Deficient facilities also hamper NIST's ability
to retain its most talented and productive scientists. Long-overdue
improvements and upgrades to the Boulder facilities will return
strong benefits to the economy.
The
construction and renovation projects include: completion of the
Central Utility Plant ($10.8 million), design and limited renovation
of Building 4 ($4 million), and renovation design of Building 1
($6.5 million).
Safety,
Capacity, Maintenance, and Repair ($10.6 million)
The
FY 2004 request also includes an increase of $10.6 million for maintenance,
repair, and safety improvements at both the Boulder, Colo., and
Gaithersburg, Md., campuses. Even with facilities improvements initiated
in Boulder and completion of the AML, most NIST facilities are 35
to 50 years old, and the maintenance and safety requirements grow
each year.
Gaithersburg
Laboratory Renovation ($3.4 million)
NIST
is requesting $3.4 million for the renovation design of one of the
NIST Gaithersburg General Purpose Laboratories (Building 220).
Critically
Needed Backup for NIST Time Services ($1.5 million)
NIST-generated
time and frequency standards are critical to the nation's financial,
transportation, telecommunications, and emergency services infrastructure.
NIST provides the official U.S. time and enables the synchronization
of millions of clocks; this service is used several hundred million
times each day for purposes ranging from consumer electronic products,
to stock market transactions, to navigation. This initiative is
needed to secure the NIST time-related services and provide critical
backup elements so that these services will not be disrupted as
a result of a natural disaster or hostile activities.
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NIST PROGRAM
DESCRIPTIONS
NIST Laboratories
The
NIST Laboratories provide industry and the science and technology
community with the measurement capabilities, standards, evaluated
reference data, and test methods that together constitute the equivalent
of a common language needed at nearly every stage of a technical
activity. NIST provides standards-related information and assistance
to about 20,000 organizations and individuals every year. A key
measurement and standards function is the development and maintenance
of accurate weights and measures that underpin about $4.5 trillion
of retail and wholesale U.S. trade, enhance economic efficiency and
lower costs.
NIST
measurement methods and standards support advances in the $547 billion
electronics sector, providing the tools essential to semiconductor
manufacturing and the development and use of diverse technologies
ranging from magnetic data recording components to the application
of sensors and other technologies to forensics, security screening,
and other homeland security objectives. NIST supplies the national
reference standards that ensure the accuracy of electric power meters
in every U.S. home and business.
NIST
operates the foremost U.S. fire research laboratory and is the principal
R&D agency working to reduce earthquake hazards through improved
building codes, standards, and practices for structures and lifelines.
NIST supports the U.S. information technology sector, which contributed
$827 billion to the gross domestic product in 2000, by developing
test methods, computer science and engineering tools that underpin
metrology, and open testbeds for industrial collaboration on standards
and next-generation information technologies.
NIST
provides test and measurement methods, calibrations, reference data,
and a technical research base for standards that facilitate interoperable
manufacturing systems for the automotive, aircraft, and other industries.
NIST calibration services assure that items made at different sites
have compatible dimensions. Nearly half the total U.S. trade deficit
results from imbalances in trade in mechanical products; NIST has
the expertise to help U.S. mechanical manufacturing industries adopt
advanced techniques to improve their competitive position.
NIST
develops and disseminates national standards for time and frequency
to meet critical needs in telecommunications, transportation, and
positioning (including support for the Global Positioning System).
Each day, NIST receives more than 400 million automated requests
for time over the Internet. NIST scientists also seek to discover
and measure phenomena that provide the basis for new concepts in
computing, information storage, and time keeping. NIST generates,
evaluates, compiles, and disseminates fundamental data on the properties
of atoms, molecules, and radiationdata needed for the detection
of hazardous substances, environmental monitoring and remediation,
and efficiency and safety improvements for products and activities
ranging from vehicles to power generation.
NIST
provides national standards for the radioactive seeds used to treat
prostate cancer, which strikes 180,000 men in the United States
each year; for 9,500 U.S. mammography facilities, helping to assure
the effectiveness of 25 million diagnostic mammograms annually;
and for radioactive sources usedfor examplein a promising
research application to improve the efficacy of balloon angioplasty
procedures. Each year, more than 1,700 researchers participate in
studies at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, a world-class facility
where unique instruments reveal the inner structure and dynamics
of virtually any material.
In
FY 2002, NIST participated in 125 Cooperative Research and Development
Agreements (CRADAs) focusing on collaborative R&D efforts of
mutual interest with for-profit organizations, non-profit organizations
(including universities), public and private foundations, state
and local governments, and individuals. Since 1988, NIST has signed
nearly 1,000 CRADAs.
In
the FY 2004 budget, the request for the Laboratories ($381.8 million
in Scientific and Technical Research and Services) and for facilities
($69.6 million in Construction of Research Facilities) will support
further development of critical measurement technologies, methods,
and services needed by the United States to promote technological
progress, improve products and services, and enhance international
competitiveness. For example, as part of their FY 2004 base programs,
the NIST Laboratories will:
- Support
the U.S. electronics and electrical industries, their suppliers,
and their customers, including the U.S. government, by providing
the measurement capability needed to improve America's competitive
position. Activities include providing measurement techniques,
data, physical models, and fundamental understanding to enhance
the reliability of advanced insulating films; offering new measurement
technology and services to support further development of optical
communications systems; and developing metrology for key photonic
materials used in data storage, microwave communications, and
high-power, high-temperature electronics.
- Provide
measurement methods, calibration standards, and a technical
research base for standards that facilitate interoperable manufacturing
systems. Activities include developing conformance tests for
a standard that will enable data exchange among part design,
process planning, and machining; disseminating calibrated overlay
standards and measurement procedures to the U.S. semiconductor
manufacturing industry to improve productivity and lower costs
of manufacturing microelectronic devices; and developing test
methods for information security approaches and products applied
to real-time industrial control systems.
- Serve as
the nation's primary reference laboratory for chemical, biochemical,
and chemical engineering measurements by providing the underlying
scientific and engineering measurements, standards, data, predictive
methods, and calibration and measurement services. Activities
include developing methods to ensure that the accuracy and precision
of DNA testing in the United States is based on well-qualified
standards produced at and certified by NIST; developing measurement
methods, data, and models to enable U.S. industry to characterize
and manipulate the physical and chemical nanoscale structures
in commercial devices; and developing primary reference measurement
methods and standards for health status markers to help medical
professionals improve patient care and reduce health-care costs.
- Support
U.S. industry by providing measurement services and research for
optical, electronic, magnetic, and radiation technologies and
fundamental physical quantities. Activities include determining
the effects of nanoscale magnetic impurities on the electronic
structure of metals; developing standards and measurement techniques
to enable the application of brachytherapy techniques to treat
breast cancer; and developing second-generation, high accuracy
cryogenic radiometers to enable superlative optical power measurements
over a wider measurement range.
- Address
the scientific, measurement infrastructure, data, and standards
issues that are crucial to the success of American industry
in developing and using advanced materials. Activities include
developing techniques needed by the U.S. microelectronics industry
to more quickly and economically design a new generation of
products; developing measurement methods, standards, and data
to aid the U.S. automotive industry in using lightweight materials
in future energy-efficient vehicles; and developing unique facilities
and tools needed to measure the properties of nanostructured
materials.
- Provide
measurement technologies and performance prediction methods
to enhance the safety, security, life-cycle quality, and economy
of constructed facilities. Activities include completing a best-practices
guide for using "alternative means" provisions in
building codes to meet life-safety performance objectives for
fire design; developing a software tool to enable facility owners,
designers, and managers to choose cost-effective strategies
for protection from terrorist and environmental risks; and completing
a best-practice guide on the prevention of progressive collapse
in multistory buildings.
- Conduct
research and provide technical support in the development and
use of computer and related telecommunications systems. Activities
include developing benchmark security standards and tests to
assure correct implementation of security standards and guidelines
to support homeland defense and the critical infrastructure
protection needs of federal agencies; developing biometrics
standards and related testing to support commercial applications;
and developing a state-of-the-art testbed for highly secure
quantum-based communications.
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Baldrige
National Quality Program (BNQP)
The
Baldrige National Quality Program helps U.S. businesses and other
organizations continuously improve their competitiveness and productivity
by adopting quality and performance management practices. The program
helps many types of companies and organizations deliver ever-improving
value to customers, while improving overall organizational effectiveness.
It creates a performance excellence standard that fosters communications
and sharing in the private sector, building networks to deliver
performance and quality management information and services and
to share lessons learned with other economic sectors.
Baldrige
award applicants receive 300 to 1,000 hours of review by at least
six experts on the board of examiners, giving the applicants valuable
insights. The experts provide a detailed feedback report on the
organization's strengths and opportunities for improvement. Since
1988, 44 organizations have received the Baldrige award, which is
given in the categories of manufacturing, service, small business,
education, and health care. Many thousands of organizations use
the Baldrige criteria internally to assess and improve their performance.
The
proposed FY 2004 appropriation of $5.8 million will be used to manage
the annual award competition, conduct a conference at which Baldrige
award winners will share their performance excellence strategies,
maintain a comprehensive database on state and local quality awards,
and facilitate information sharing among all sectors of the U.S. economy.
Advanced
Technology Program (ATP)
The
Advanced Technology Program assists industry to invest in and develop
high-risk, innovative technologies that promise broad benefits to
the nation. While this program has been well run and effective,
scarce resources are needed for higher priority programs, and the
FY 2004 budget proposes terminating the ATP. The budget requests
$27 million for administrative and closeout expenses.
Manufacturing
Extension Partnership (MEP)
The
MEP strengthens the technological capability, productivity, and
global competitiveness of small manufacturing establishments by
providing access to industrial resources, services, and expertise.
Centered on best practices, manufacturing methodologies, and training,
these resources, services, and expertise are provided through a
nationwide network of manufacturing extension centers. More than
400 MEP centers and field offices serving all 50 states and Puerto
Rico help small manufacturing establishments through the cost-shared,
cooperative efforts of NIST, state and local governments, and local
extension service providers. Each center uses the network to provide
cost-effective services that are responsive to the needs of local
manufacturers.
The
$12.6 million FY 2004 budget request maintains the President's FY
2003 budget policy of reducing federal funding for the MEP centers.
MEP's original statute required federal funding for each center
to be phased out after six years, with the goal of making each center
self-sufficient. The MEP will continue to pursue mechanisms that
encourage and promote revenue generation to minimize the overall
federal investment while ensuring that the mission of serving small
manufacturers is not compromised.
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NIST
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
NIST management goals and processes support each element of the
President's Management agenda. In FY 2004, NIST will pursue continued
improvements in each of these areas:
- Strategic
Management of Human Capital
- Competitive
Sourcing
- Improved
Financial Performance
- Expanded
Electronic Government
- Budget
and Performance Integration
- R&D
Investment Criteria
This
final category, R&D Investment Criteria, is a key component
of NIST's management strategy. Rigorous, open, technically sound,
and competitive processes are the hallmark of NIST's work. All of
NIST's programs are merit-based and externally peer reviewed, and
NIST continually strives to maintain its reputation for accuracy,
quality, and integrity in all of its functions.
NIST
has been a leader in the development of criteria for evaluating
investments in federal research and development programs. To date,
the R&D investment criteria center on the evaluation of quality,
relevance, and performance. In keeping with this approach, NIST
uses a combination of external peer review, output tracking, and
retrospective economic impact studies to evaluate quality, relevance,
and performance over time. NIST's peer review process is particularly
productive, as it is comprehensive and ultimately focused on evaluating
the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of NIST's efforts to serve
its customers' current and prospective measurement and standards
needs.
To
evaluate prospective investment choices, NIST has recently completed
a long-term strategic plan (NIST 2010) that used a combination of
external trend analysis and specific opportunity assessments to
identify areas where NIST's measurement, standards, and advisory
services are critical to technological advancements that have enormous
potential impact on the nation's productivity, trade, and quality
of life. The priorities described in the Commerce Department's FY
2004 Annual Performance Plan reflect that long-term strategic assessment.
Where
feasible, NIST also contracts for focused prospective economic analyses
that estimate the costs associated with inadequate technical infrastructure
in specific markets. Most recently, NIST sponsored a study of the
software industry and found that the annual national costs of inadequate
infrastructure for software testing ranges from $22.2 to $59.5 billion
(more than half of these costs derive from error avoidance and mitigation
activities of software users; the remaining costs reflect the additional
testing resources that software developers must use due to inadequate
testing tools and methods). Prospective studies of this nature are
used to help NIST refine its investment choices within specific
arenas of potential work.
NIST
augments these evaluation methods with continual feedback from customers
as well as broad policy and management oversight by the Visiting
Committee on Advanced Technology. Additionally, the Baldrige National
Quality Program, the Advanced Technology Program, and the Manufacturing
Extension Partnership each have an outside board that reviews and
assesses the performance of these programs. These mechanisms provide
additional means for aligning NIST's work with customer needs and
managing its programs in the most effective manner possible.
Laboratory
programs are planned and implemented in cooperation with industry
and rigorously evaluated to ensure that industry and taxpayers are
receiving the greatest possible return on their investment. Since
1959, the National Research Council has managed panels of industry,
academic, and government experts who annually review NIST laboratory
programs. The most recent review states that the "technical
quality of the ongoing work remains quite high overall. In addition,
each laboratory had instances of work that was outstanding in its
excellence, in its creativity, or in the level of technical skill
demonstrated."
Economic
impact studies of NIST's laboratory programs consistently show that
NIST's technology and technical services have a powerful positive
impact on U.S. firms and the overall economy. For example, accurate,
real-time monitoring of polluting gases emitted by electric utilities,
automobiles, and other sources depends heavily on equipment calibration
standards made by or traceable to NIST. A 2002 study on gas mixture
NIST-Traceable Reference Materials programan innovative mechanism
for meeting a high demand for standardsreturns between $21
and $27 in benefits for every dollar spent, with substantial benefits
extending into the future.
Another
recent economic study found that a number of U.S. industries already
are saving millions of dollars a year, and could save a total of
more than $900 million annually, by using the Standard for Exchange
of Product model data (STEP). STEP is a suite of international standards
that reduce interoperability problems encountered in the exchange
of digital product information. The study found that NIST's administrative
and technical activities accelerated the development and adoption
of STEP, yielding a net present value economic impact of $180 million
(2001 dollars) and a benefit-to-cost ratio of almost 8 to 1.
OTHER
RECENT NIST ACHIEVEMENTS
The
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier award
for performance excellence and quality achievement, was awarded
in 2002 for the first time to a health care organizationSSM
Health Care, St. Louis, Mo. Other 2002 Baldrige Award recipients
are: Motorola Inc. Commercial, Government and Industrial Solutions
Sector, Schaumburg, Ill. (manufacturing category) and Branch-Smith
Printing Division, Fort Worth, Texas (small business category).
Commerce Secretary Don Evans praised the "extraordinary results"
of the winners and noted that they "represent the highest ethical
standards in public responsibility and corporate stewardship."
Commending all the honorees for their outstanding accomplishments
and contributions to our society, President Bush particularly applauded
the first health care winner for demonstrating "the ability
to meet market challenges while improving the quality of compassionate
health care."
Software
and diagnostic hardware technology developed with co-funding from
the Advanced Technology Program recently helped scientists gain
a much better understanding of how Huntington's disease progresses
in the body. Researchers hope the new technologies eventually can
be applied to a variety of diseases and conditions, providing the
detailed biomedical information needed to design earlier and more
effective treatments. An international research collaboration used
software created by 3rd Millennium of Cambridge, Mass., and DNA
microarray technology from Affymetrix, Santa Clara, Calif., to learn
how a cascade of biological events produces Huntington's disease,
a degenerative brain disorder. The researchers used a system custom-built
by 3rd Millennium, which developed the underlying software technology
with ATP support. Data files used in the project were obtained with
"DNA chip" technology from Affymetrix, also developed
with ATP support. These miniaturized, key-chain-sized laboratories
can be customized to rapidly analyze, for example, all gene activities
in an organism.
In
business since 1964, Garrett Metal Detectors of Garland, Texas,
is a worldwide supplier of security equipment to airports, law enforcement
agencies, schools, and sporting events, including the 2002 Olympic
Winter Games in Salt Lake City. After Sept. 11, 2001, requests for
Garrett's metal detecting equipment skyrocketed. With help from
the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC), an affiliate of
the nationwide NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), this
small manufacturer has been able to keep pace with demand. Last
year, Garrett officials worked with the Texas center to implement
ISO 9000 quality standards and to help redesign the company's walk-through
metal detector operations. According to the company vice president,
cycle time was reduced by 75 percent and production increased by
300 percent to 400 percent with the same number of people and half
the space.
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A
SAMPLING OF RECENT NIST LABORATORY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
A
highly sensitive, inexpensive "lab-on-a-chip" that provides
warning within seconds of even trace amounts of toxic chemicals
in water was designed and demonstrated recently by NIST scientists
and collaborators. The prototype sensor system monitors the natural
response of bacterial cells bound within the microscopic channels
of a plastic microfluidics devicea miniaturized chemical and
biochemical analysis system. In the presence of certain chemicals,
the cells eject large amounts of potassium, which is detected with
an optical sensor that changes color. The prototype was demonstrated
as part of an early warning system for industrial pollutants that
interfere with sewage treatment, but it also has potential homeland
security applications. Although this type of chemical test could
be performed in other formats, a microfluidics device is more sensitive
and faster, consumes less reagent and sample material, and could
be used in a distributed sensor network for real-time field testing.
The
NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) began offering the more
than 1,700 scientists who use the national facility annually enhanced
capabilities, featuring a variety of improvements. The top facility
of its kind in the country, the NCNR has successfully developed
advanced cooling technology that nearly doubles the number of very-long-wavelength
neutrons available for experiments on objects such as fuel cells,
cell membranes, superconductors and nanotubes. Last year, experiments
conducted at the NCNR involved researchers representing more than
100 U.S. universities, 50 U.S. industrial laboratories, and over 30
government laboratories. A report issued in 2002 by the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) noted that neutron
probes are becoming increasingly indispensable research tools in
fields ranging from biology to materials science, but concludes
that only one U.S. facilityNIST's NCNRprovides a broad
range of world-class capabilities.
Draft
guidelines produced by NIST will help federal agencies and others
protect against cyberattacks on their computer systems. The new
guidelines detail, for the first time, a systematic way to assess
the security level of entire computer systems, including extensive
computer networks. The guidelines include a hierarchy to organize
security controls for confidentiality, data integrity, and availability.
While NIST developed the guidelines (which will be finalized in
FY 2003) for federal agencies, the private sector and the military
can adapt them easily for their use.
NIST
began offering a new testing service to help ensure the accuracy
of lasers used in vision correction surgery and in the production
of computer chips. To create excimer lasers (lasers that produce
short bursts of energy at short wavelengths) that are suitable for
precision applications like eye surgery, manufacturers must measure
accurately the amount of laser power and pulse energy their devices
emit. The NIST service provides a way to better measure the performance
of laser systems.
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