Media
Contact:
Laura
Ost, (301) 975-4034
Physics
NIST,
CU Publish Recipe for Home-Cooked Bose-Einstein Condensate
To
encourage scientists to find innovative uses for Bose-Einstein
condensates (BEC), researchers at JILA—a joint institute
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
and the University of Colorado at Boulder—are publishing
a paper that describes how to consistently produce a stable condensate.
Using a “cookbook” set of instructions,
JILA researchers describe the basic steps for building a BEC
apparatus.
The “BEC recipe” begins
with directions for setting up the necessary vacuum and optical
systems. It then describes the experimental procedure for
pre-cooling atoms in a magnetic trap and
subsequently, using evaporative cooling to yield a condensate.
The JILA system has many advantages. It is easy to use, many
of the necessary components are commercially available,
and the transfer works essentially every
time without any maintenance.
The research is based on the original work by JILA scientists
Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman, winners of the 2001 Nobel
Prize in Physics for first achieving
the
BEC.
For more information and a copy of the paper “Simplified System for Creating
a Bose-Einstein Condensate,” contact Heather Lewandowski, JILA,
Campus Box 440, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440; (303)
492-5637;
lewandoh@jilau1.colorado.edu.
Manufacturing
NIST-Led
Simulation Consortium Sets Goals, Seeks Members
Discrete
event computer simulations are viewed widely as powerful tools
for improving manufacturing processes and reducing product design
time and
costs, but they are difficult to develop and implement. A major
barrier to their use is the lack of standard interfaces that
would promote interoperability among different systems. A consortium
recently launched by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL)
is expected to help overcome this barrier and enable more manufacturers,
especially smaller and medium-sized companies, to use advanced
discrete event simulations.
At the kick-off
meeting held in February 2003, members of the new Simulation Standards
Consortium agreed to work toward developing a consensus on precompetitive,
neutral interface specifications for distributed simulation, which
involves the sharing of information among multiple systems at different
locations. This type of simulation is driven by discrete factory
events and involves the sharing of production management, product,
process, resource, location and other data types. Visualization
tools may or may not be used.
Interface specifications could reduce the cost of acquiring and
deploying simulations, minimize model development time, simplify
data handling and provide new functionality. The technical review
and consensus process under way through the consortium is one aspect
of a structured standards development process. Another aspect involves
testing specifications, which typically culminates in
standards-setting by industry groups.
The
consortium builds on several recent simulation research and standards
activities, including an international project in which
NIST led
the U.S. effort to define communication protocols for distributed
simulation.
The
consortium currently has 19 organizations as members, including
10 major software vendors and several manufacturers, and
is seeking
additional participants. Members will have the opportunity to
influence the direction of the standards-setting effort, establish
partnerships with other researchers, access research results from
other participants and get a head
start on
the application of simulation technology and neutral interfaces.
For more information, contact Swee Leong, (301) 975-5426, swee.leong@nist.gov.
Information Technology
NIST Workshop to Focus on Card-Based Technologies
Cards
possessing advanced technologies that permit data storage, transfer
and
processing are being used increasingly within the federal government
because of their attractive security features and versatility. For
example, a single smart card (a card with an embedded computer chip)
could be used for identification, access to secure buildings, logging
onto computers, and to make small purchases. Developing standards
will ensure that smart cards, optical media, card readers, and other
storage and processor card technologies will function smoothly and
consistently across the government.
As part of the
continuing effort by the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) to support interoperability among storage and processor
card systems, the agency will hold a public workshop on July 8-9, 2003, at its Gaithersburg, Md., headquarters.
Workshop topics will include: current government card-related
activities and needs; card-based technology attributes; industry
activities
in the field; card-related industry consensus standards; multitechnology
interoperability issues; and security
concerns.
The fee for the workshop is $275. Registration closes on June 30,
2003. There will be no on-site registration because of NIST security
regulations.
To register electronically, go to https://sales.nist.gov/conf/secure/CONF513/conf_register.htm.
A detailed workshop agenda will be available from the NIST Computer
Security Resource Center
Web site at http://csrc.nist.gov by May 9, 2003. For meeting information,
contact Curt Barker,
(301) 975-8443, wbarker@nist.gov.