Dr. John A. Small

John Small has been the Division Chief of the Surface and Microanalysis Science Division at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) since May 2008. Dr. Small received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from The College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1971 and his Ph. D. in Chemistry from the University of Maryland in 1976 and has worked at NIST, formerly the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) since that time. During his 32-year career with NBS/NIST, his research has been in the general area of accuracy in quantitative analysis of materials focusing on the high spatial resolution quantitative chemical analysis of individual particles using x-ray microanalytical techniques. Over the years, his research activities have included the development of a method for the quantitative analysis of particles and rough surfaces; the establishment of an accuracy base for the measurement of environmental asbestos including the production of the first NBS asbestos SRM; and the modeling of x-ray bremsstrahlung radiation. Recent research interests include advanced x-ray detectors including microcalorimeter and silicon drift x-ray detectors, low voltage electron beam x-ray microanalysis and electron backscattered diffraction analysis of individual nanoparticles. Dr. Small served as the Group leader for the Microscopy Research Group 837.02 for 7 years before becoming Division Chief. He is currently a member of the NIST Nano-Safety committee and he represents NIST on the Federal governments interagency Working Group on Nanotechnology Environmental and Health Implications (NEHI) under the U.S. Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology Subcommittee.