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Suggested Citation:"1 The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process." National Research Council. 2011. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology: Fiscal Year 2011. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13251.
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1

The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process

At the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Research Council (NRC) has, since 1959, annually assembled panels of experts from academia, industry, medicine, and other scientific and engineering environments to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and standards laboratories, of which there are now six,4 as well as the alignment of the laboratories’ activities with their missions. NIST requested that three of its laboratories be assessed in 2011: the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), the NIST Center for Neutron Research, and the Information Technology Laboratory. Each of these was assessed by a separate panel of experts; the findings of the respective panels are summarized in separate reports. This report summarizes the findings of the Panel on Nanoscale Science and Technology.

For the fiscal year (FY) 2011 assessment, NIST requested that the panel focus on the following criteria as part of its assessment:

  1. Assess the degree to which laboratory programs in measurement science, standards, and services achieve their stated objectives and fulfill the mission of the operating unit (laboratory);
  2. Assess the technical merits and scientific caliber of the current laboratory programs relative to comparable programs worldwide; and
  3. Assess the alignment between laboratory research and development (R&D) efforts and those services and other mission-critical deliverables for which the laboratory is responsible.

The context of this technical assessment is the mission of NIST, which is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life. The NIST laboratories conduct research to anticipate future metrology and standards needs, to enable new scientific and technological advances, and to improve and refine existing measurement methods and services.

In order to accomplish the assessment, the NRC assembled a panel of 11 volunteers whose expertise matches that of the work performed by the CNST staff.5 The panel members visited the CNST facility at Gaithersburg, Maryland, for 2.5 days (March 7-9, 2011), during which time they attended presentations, tours, and interactive sessions with CNST staff; they also conducted interactive sessions with CNST managers. The panel met in closed sessions to deliberate on its findings and to define the contents of this assessment report.

The approach of the panel to the assessment relied on the experience, technical knowledge, and expertise of its members, whose backgrounds were carefully matched to the technical areas of CNST activities. The panel reviewed selected examples of the technological

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4 The six NIST laboratories are the Material Measurement Laboratory, the Physical Measurement Laboratory, the Engineering Laboratory, the Information Technology Laboratory, the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and the NIST Center for Neutron Research.

5 See http://www.nist.gov/cnst/ for more information on CNST programs. Accessed April 7, 2011.

Suggested Citation:"1 The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process." National Research Council. 2011. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology: Fiscal Year 2011. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13251.
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research covered by the CNST; because of time constraints, it was not possible to review the CNST programs and projects exhaustively. The examples reviewed by the panel were selected by the CNST in consultation with the panel chair and NRC staff. The panel’s goal was to identify and report salient examples of accomplishments and opportunities for further improvement with respect to the following: the degree to which the CNST programs achieve their stated objectives and fulfill the CNST mission, the technical merit and scientific caliber of the CNST work, and the alignment between CNST R&D efforts and CNST services and other mission-critical deliverables. These examples are intended collectively to portray an overall impression of the laboratory, while preserving useful suggestions specific to projects and programs that the panel examined. The panel applied a largely qualitative rather than a quantitative approach to the assessment, although it is possible that future assessments will be informed by further consideration of various analytical methods that can be applied.

For its assessment, the panel relied primarily on presentations made by NIST and CNST managers and staff and by other researchers associated with NIST projects and programs, and on informational notes prepared by NIST and CNST staff for use by the panel. Posters by various researchers involved with CNST activities were also presented to the panel during its visit to the CNST. This report does not contain extensive citations of technical articles and reports. Other documents and resources used by the panel are cited in the report, as appropriate.

The comments in this report are not intended to address each program within the CNST exhaustively. Instead, this report identifies key issues. Given the necessarily non-exhaustive nature of the review process, the omission of any particular CNST program or project should not be interpreted as a negative reflection on the omitted program or project.

The preceding Summary highlights issues that apply broadly to several or all of the groups or to the center as a whole and presents the panel’s key recommendations for the CNST. Chapter 2 presents a more detailed overall assessment of the center against the three criteria established by the NIST Director. Chapters 3 and 4 present observations and suggestions specific to the groups in the CNST research program and to the NanoFab program, respectively. Chapter 5 presents the panel’s overall conclusions.

Suggested Citation:"1 The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process." National Research Council. 2011. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology: Fiscal Year 2011. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13251.
×
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"1 The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process." National Research Council. 2011. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology: Fiscal Year 2011. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13251.
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Since 1959, the National Research Council (NRC), at the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has annually assembled panels of experts to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and standards laboratories. In 2011, the NRC evaluated three of the six NIST laboratories: the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) and the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). Each of these was addressed individually by a separate panel of experts; this report assesses CNST.

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