NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the Board and panels responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. 50SBNB0C1003 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
Additional copies of this report are available from:
Board on Assessment of NIST Programs
National Research Council
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Internet, http://www.nap.edu
Copyright 2000 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
BOARD ON ASSESSMENT OF NIST PROGRAMS
LINDA CAPUANO,
AlliedSignal Inc.,
Chair
RADFORD BYERLY, JR.,
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (retired)
ROSS B. COROTIS,
University of Colorado at Boulder
ALEXANDER MacLACHLAN,
DuPont Company (retired)
ROBERT M. NOWAK,
Michigan Molecular Institute
SYED Z. SHARIQ,
Stanford University
Ex Officio Members
DAVID A. AUSTON,
Case Western Reserve University
JANET S. BAUM,
Health, Education & Research Associates, Inc.
WALT W. BRAITHWAITE,
The Boeing Company
RALPH K. CAVIN III,
Semiconductor Research Corporation
MARVIN F. DeVRIES,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
JAMES ECONOMY,
University of Illinois
JANET S. FENDER,
Air Force Research Laboratory
ARLENE A. GARRISON,
University of Tennessee
LORI S. NYE,
MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.
ROSE A. RYNTZ,
Visteon Automotive Systems
TONY SCOTT,
General Motors Research Laboratories
JAMES W. SERUM,
Viaken Systems, Inc.
LOUISE H. TREVILLYAN,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Liaison Members
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
CAROL M. JANTZEN,
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
DUSA M. McDUFF,
State University of New York at Stony Brook
ROBERT J. SPINRAD,
Xerox PARC (retired)
Board Staff
DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director
ELIZABETH L. GROSSMAN, Program Officer
BARBARA JONES, Administrative Assistant
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
PETER M. BANKS,
Veridian ERIM International, Inc.,
Co-Chair
WILLIAM H. PRESS,
Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Co-Chair
WILLIAM F. BALLHAUS, Jr.,
Lockheed Martin Corporation
SHIRLEY CHIANG,
University of California, Davis
MARSHALL H. COHEN,
California Institute of Technology
RONALD G. DOUGLAS,
Texas A&M University
SAMUEL H. FULLER,
Analog Devices, Inc.
MICHAEL F. GOODCHILD,
University of California, Santa Barbara
MARTHA P. HAYNES,
Cornell University
WESLEY T. HUNTRESS, Jr.,
Carnegie Institution
CAROL M. JANTZEN,
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
PAUL G. KAMINSKI,
Technovation, Inc.
KENNETH H. KELLER,
University of Minnesota
JOHN R. KREICK,
Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company
MARSHA I. LESTER,
University of Pennsylvania
W. CARL LINEBERGER,
University of Colorado
DUSA M. McDUFF,
State University of New York at Stony Brook
JANET L. NORWOOD, Former Commissioner,
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
M. ELISABETH PATÉ-CORNELL,
Stanford University
NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS,
Brookhaven National Laboratory
ROBERT J. SPINRAD,
Xerox PARC (retired)
MYRON F. UMAN, Acting Executive Director
Preface
This volume represents the 41st annual assessment by the National Research Council (NRC) of the technical quality and relevance of the programs of the Measurement and Standards Laboratories of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This volume is the work of 150 members of the NRC's Board on Assessment of NIST Programs and its panels. These individuals were chosen by the NRC for their technical expertise, their practical experience in running research programs, and their knowledge of industry's needs in basic measurements and standards. Each has given of his or her time without remuneration to participate in this assessment process.
Two hallmarks of a world-class organization are its never-ending search for ways to improve and its openness to the suggestions of others as it seeks to do so. The assessment offered in this volume is only one part of the self-assessment that NIST utilizes to ensure the quality of the work it performs for the U.S. taxpayer. The Board continues to be impressed with the responsiveness that NIST managers show to its findings and recommendations. The long-standing nature of this assessment process speaks to a NIST tradition of high standards for its programs and results.
We wish to thank the expert members of the Board and panels for their participation in and dedication to this process. Without their willingness to contribute their time and expertise, NIST would be deprived of a valuable management tool. The success of this assessment is also dependent upon NIST cooperation and receptiveness to the inquiries and activities of the Board and panels. We thank NIST staff for the time spent in meeting with Board and panel members, as well as the time spent in preparing background information for them. We hope that the NIST staff finds our interactions with them as enjoyable and informative as we do.
In carrying out this assessment, the Board and panels sought to meet the specific charge given by NIST and reproduced in Appendix A. We hope that the readers of this report find it to be fully responsive to the charge and that those with responsibility for oversight of NIST programs will regard this report as a useful tool in efforts to continually improve the programs of that respected institution.
Linda Capuano, Chair
Board on Assessment of NIST Programs
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's (NRC's) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The contents of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Alfred V. Aho, Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies,
Joseph D. Andrade, University of Utah,
Charles E. Bakis, Pennsylvania State University,
J. Norman Bardsley, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
I. Melvin Bernstein, Tufts University,
Doris L. Carver, Louisiana State University,
David J. Green, Pennsylvania State University,
David A. Hodges, University of California, Berkeley,
H.R. Hofmann, Lucent Technologies,
Frank E. Karasz, University of Massachusetts,
William Klemperer, Harvard University,
James F. Lardner, Deere & Company (retired),
Douglas E. Leng, LENG Associates,
Kenneth O. MacFadden, AlliedSignal Inc.,
Dusa M. McDuff, State University of New York, Stony Brook,
Marshall I. Nathan, University of Minnesota,
Stuart O. Nelson, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Don Parker, Hughes Aircraft Company Microwave Division,
Thomas P. Russell, University of Massachusetts,
F. Stan Settles, University of Southern California,
Clifford H. Spiegelman, Texas A&M University,
Raymond Viskanta, Purdue University, and
Samuel A. Werner, University of Missouri-Columbia.
Although the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring Board and the NRC.