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4 Conclusions The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology has, at this early stage of its life, made significant progress toward meeting its stated objectives of (1) providing measurement methods, standards, and technology to support nanotechnology development; (2) developing and maintaining a national shared-use facility (the Nanofab) with state-of-the-art nanoscale fabrication and measurement capabilities; (3) applying a multidisciplinary approach involving diverse partners; (4) serving as a hub to link the external nanotechnology community to relevant NIST expertise; and (5) helping to educate the next generation of nanotechnologists. The more mature parts of the CNST are outstanding, especially in terms of the quality and productivity of the staff, the uniqueness of the capabilities, and the alignment with the overall NIST mission. The vector of the newer parts of the CNST is positive, with excellent new staff and outstanding laboratories, but there is still significant work to be done to achieve the same level of impact currently enjoyed by the more established efforts. The CNST will maximize its potentially great impact on U.S. and global nanoscience and nanotechnology by (1) continuing its development of unique, powerful instrumentation and maintaining consistently high quality of the research conducted with the instrumentation; (2) breaking down barriers to full participation as equal partners of foreign nationals in the science program; (3) attracting and retaining a diverse world-class workforce; and (4) appropriately balancing its workforce to cover the multitude of disciplines required for nanoscience. The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology is off to an impressive start, but it is still at a formative stage. It is important that its progress be reviewed annually until its development stabilizes. It will be informative to include as part of the reviews a description of the ways in which the CNST interacts with programs and projects in nanoscience and nanotechnology across the NIST laboratories. 16

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Appendixes

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