An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories Fiscal Year 2003 (2003) / Chapter Skim
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13 Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory: Division Reviews
13 Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory: Division Reviews
Pages 207-234
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From page 207... ...
in detail for their performance during 2002: Advanced Manufacturing Methods, Data Evaluation and Delivery, Materials Property Measurements, Materials for Opto- and Microelectronics, Materials Structure and Characterization, and Combinatorial Methods. The panel's overall opinion is that the division not only maintained the quantity and quality of its technical output during a difficult year, but is also in a better position to increase its output during 2003.
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From page 208... ...
The panel believes that more extensive tools for identifying trends in and outliers among the data sets would offer great opportunity for scientific discovery. Materials Property Measurements The Materials Property Measurements Program has always had a strong emphasis on mechanical behavior and has built a reputation for quality research in the area of brittle fracture.
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From page 209... ...
This task has focused on silicon oxide-nitride-oxide stacks for flash memory and on high-k dielectrics for small-dimension silicon devices. Materials Structure and Characterization The Materials Structure and Characterization Program is one of the larger programs in the Ceramics Division.
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From page 210... ...
Combinatorial Methods The Combinatorial Methods Program represents a small effort in the Ceramics Division but is part of a large effort in the MSEL. The unique contributions of the Ceramics Division team are a dual-beam, dual-target pulsed laser deposition system that is used to fabricate several inorganic films for acquiring library data; a high-throughput spectroscopic reflectometer with a bifurcated fiber-optic probe for rapid mapping of thickness and index or refraction; and a NEXAFS (near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure)
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From page 211... ...
While the panel concurs with the decisions made by the division management team, there is concern that the basic fundamentals that caused the financial circumstances of 2002 have not changed specifically, that mandated increases in salary without a concomitant increase in base funding will distort the distribution of spending between salary and other object codes. MATERIALS RELIABILITY DIVISION Technical Merit The mission of the Materials Reliability Division is to develop and disseminate measurement methods and standards that will enhance the quality and reliability of materials for industry.
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From page 212... ...
The team has projects in Brillion scattering for thinfilm analysis, conductive atomic force microscopy using carbon nanotubes, atomic force microscopy, nanoscale modeling, mechanical properties of thin films, thermal barrier coating evaluations, and X-ray methods. The work of the Biomaterials Metrology focus area represents a new technical direction for the division; it aims to apply materials science to biomaterials research.
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From page 213... ...
The panel is also concerned that the division is not compensated for its measurement services and recommends that it look for "best practices" within NIST and the MSEL to determine a way to be compensated for measurement services provided to companies. The Materials Reliability Division' s rapid response to the World Trade Center disaster exemplifies the value of the division' s unique technical expertise.
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From page 214... ...
Division Resources Although the Materials Reliability Division has maintained strong technical leadership in its areas of expertise, the panel is concerned with the continually declining number of permanent staff. The division has done a good job of meeting staffing needs creatively within a flat base budget, but this has been achieved primarily through temporary appointments and the use of nonpermanent staff.
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From page 215... ...
Within the constraints of 1-year, use-it-or-lose-it capital budget cycles and the need to purchase major pieces of equipment that may require more dollars than are available in a single year, the panel recommends that the division explore alternatives to acquiring costly but critical equipment for example, equipment leasing options. METALLURGY DIVISION Technical Merit The Metallurgy Division provides critical leadership in the development of measurement methods, standards, and fundamental understanding of metal behavior.
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From page 216... ...
The exceptional overall materials expertise residing in the Metallurgy Division enables it to marshal a strong effort in newly activated programs, as was observed with the World Trade Center investigation. Program Relevance and Effectiveness The Metallurgy Division's customers represent a wide range of industries, as well as universities.
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From page 217... ...
The core value of the Metallurgy Division is the competency of the permanent staff. The key challenge to the division management is to maintain a central competency capable of executing the division's mission with respect to both present and future needs.
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From page 218... ...
Significant advances in key technologies as discussed in the following subsections have ensured the maintenance of the high quality and technical merit of the Polymers Division's efforts through the review period. Characterization and Measurement In the Characterization and Measurement Group, the Multi-Scale, Multi-Modal Imaging and Visualization project represents an emerging capability that will couple the output of real-time, quantitative, nondestructive optical measurement techniques with pattern recognition to provide the researcher with "immersive visualization" that is, the ability to "climb inside" a molecule or system to study the structural and functional interactions controlling properties of interest.
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From page 219... ...
The development of these tandem imaging techniques will allow laboratories that rely on one of the metrologies to validate their methods and provide consistent comparison of materials across disciplines. In conjunction with the Multivariant Measurement Methods Group, high throughput and combinatorial methods are being developed for the preparation of material libraries with properties measurements.
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From page 220... ...
With this approach in place, the panel has confidence in the present and future of the division. In the newer areas of Biomaterials and Multivariant Measurement Methods, extensive collaborative efforts with external academic, industrial, and government laboratories are strong positive elements that will secure the relevance and effectiveness of these initiatives.
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From page 221... ...
The panel believes that this shortcoming can be addressed by exercising close cooperation with NIH and industrial laboratories. The outreach of the Multivariant Measurement Methods Group involves a Combinatorial Methods Center with 14 external partners (13 of them are industrial)
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From page 222... ...
The Polymers Division continues to successfully recruit high-quality postdoctoral associates through the National Research Council's Postdoctoral Program. The panel is concerned, however, that there is not enough permanent staff in the Multivariant Measurement Methods Group to accomplish its tasks and reach its goals.
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From page 223... ...
Consideration should be given to making biological sciences an additional team in the Condensed Matter Science Group. · The progress made this year to address the need for the involvement of theorists in neutron science is commendable and should be continued and expanded.
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From page 224... ...
The NCNR is divided into three groups: Neutron Condensed Matter Science, Reactor Operations and Engineering, and Research Facilities Operations. The Neutron Condensed Matter Science Group has the prime responsibility for the second part of the NCNR's mission and provides scientific leadership for the third part.
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From page 225... ...
In the following subsections selected projects that highlight the technical quality and merit of the work at the center are discussed, by group. Neutron Condensed Matter Science Scientists in the Neutron Condensed Matter Science Group are pursuing a variety of research topics uniquely suited to investigation by using the properties of neutron spectrometry, scattering, reflectometry, and diffraction.
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From page 226... ...
The panel would especially like to underscore the recent elegant application of hidden symmetries in the orbitally degenerate Hubbard Hamiltonian, as applied to the metal oxides, which enormously enhances the capabilities of numerical simulations of spin/orbital ordering. Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering A major facilitator of access to the NCNR instruments by external users is the NSF, which supplements NIST support for the Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering at the NCNR.
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From page 227... ...
Research Facilities and Reactor Operations The Research Facilities Operations Group has the role of managing shared resources in support of the neutron science program at the NCNR. The activities of the group include beam-line operations; instrument maintenance, development, and upgrades; facility operations; and software support.
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From page 228... ...
The $6 million neutron science initiative in NIST's FY 2003 Presidential Budget is critical to maintaining the growth of the NCNR as a major user facility. The NCNR management recognizes that setting priorities for new instruments and upgrades requires a clearly defined process involving input from in-house scientists and the user community while maintaining an overview of the broader U.S.
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From page 229... ...
Increased reserves of nuclear fuel and heavy water are being developed to assure future reliable and scientifically stable operations in the extended licensing period. A new digital instrumentation console for reactor operations and safety monitoring is being designed with the assistance of Brookhaven National Laboratory.
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From page 230... ...
This effort will be completed in 2003 and will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the relicensing Safety Analysis Report. One issue receiving much attention is the condition of the aluminum reactor vessel resulting from its neutron bombardment and how well it is expected to perform out to the end of the 20-year relicensing period.
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From page 231... ...
A past concern has been the quality of the data-gathering and analysis tools available to users, and the neutron science and Research Facilities Operations personnel have devoted a significant effort to improving the situation. New tools now available to users include the DAVE software for treating and analyzing timeof-flight, backscattering, and triple-axis data sets.
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From page 232... ...
Since there is little likelihood of increased resources, the panel commends NCNR management for scenario planning that includes evaluating possible vertical cuts in instrumentation support rather than horizontal cuts that would result in more generally ineffectual instrumentation and project support. Each year, the panel comments that three of the four most senior managers at the NCNR will shortly be or already are eligible for retirement.
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From page 233... ...
~ ~ . ~ future leaders are serious tasks at the NCNR, given the demographics of the current management personnel and of the staff in reactor operations.
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From page 234... ...
Merging complementary X-ray and neutron structural studies of zeolites and mesoporous materials with molecular and mesoscale modeling should yield important results on difficult materials of notable scientific and industrial interest. The panel notes the efforts within the crystallography team to support future capabilities at SNS by investigating new image plates and detectors and developing new data interpretation algorithms.
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