NIST is well positioned to broadly support U.S. manufacturing advancement, and research and services supporting manufacturing currently cut across multiple NIST laboratories. NIST considers its support of manufacturing to be a central part of its mission.
The manufacturing program teams at NIST are highly qualified and comparable to the best in the world. Moreover, the equipment and facilities that the NIST laboratories have designed, procured, and built represent a national asset. These factors hold great promise for NIST’s continuing support of U.S. manufacturing.
Because manufacturing covers such a wide array of disciplines, systems, applications, and environments, advancements can be made in a multitude of ways. Recognizing these opportunities and their potential impact, companies and other organizations also are investing heavily in the pursuit of manufacturing advancements. This complex mix makes the selection of projects to pursue at NIST quite challenging. It is important for NIST to have a process in place that carefully considers industry needs and inputs when selecting and planning the projects to pursue. NIST interaction with industry is strong, and with further expansion and enhancement, it could provide even more mutual benefits and alignment.
Benefits also come from a unified programmatic focus, supporting management, and the use of metrics designed to measure progress when coordinating the efforts of multiple, technologically diverse projects. The current, significant collaborations among teams across NIST could also garner increased benefits through more structured coordination.
NIST can be proud of its technical and scientific capabilities and accomplishments. Hopefully, NIST will receive more of the national visibility that it so well deserves as it continues to pursue its service to U.S. manufacturing and to the nation.
