An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Programs Fiscal Year 1997 (1997) / Chapter Skim
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8 Information Technology Laboratory
8 Information Technology Laboratory
Pages 177-204
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Chapter 8 Information Technology Laboratory
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Nance, Virginia Tech Jerome Sacks, National Institute of Statistical Sciences Daniel L Solomon, North Carolina State University Ahmed N
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In addition, the panel believes that the collaborative research function of the Statistical Engineering and Mathematical and Computational Sciences Divisions could be integrated more thoroughly with the rest of the Information Technology Laboratory. The NTST-wide role and importance of these divisions and their work are not featured prominently enough in the laboratory mission statement, yet their functions are basic to NIST's mission.
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The statistical and mathematical work of the laboratory also has significant effect on industry, both directly through the dissemination of informational packages like the "Guide to Available Mathematical Software," and indirectly, through the collaborations between personnel in the Statistical Engineering and Mathematical and Computational Sciences Divisions and other scientists throughout NIST. A key element of industrial interaction should be a mechanism to assess the laboratory's impact on U.S.
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and from sales and services related to reference materials produced by the laboratory. In the charts in this report, the portion of the STRS funding specifically allotted for Consolidated Scientific Computing Systems (CSCS)
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will require expanded facilities. The Mathematical and Computational Sciences and Statistical Engineering Divisions are now located in NIST North.
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DIVISIONAL ASSESSMENTS Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division Mission The Mathematical and Computational Science Division stated its mission to be providing technical leadership within NIST in modern analytical and computational methods for solving , ~ . scientific problems of interest to American industry.
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The laboratory director has placed an increased emphasis on research in information technology metrology, yet such a shift in focus is not apparent in the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division. This confusion is reflected in the absence of information technology in the divisional mission statement as well as in the lack of a well-articulated role for the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division in the laborator-Y's strategic plan.
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1,595.3 1,090.0 ITS164.0 225.0 OA104.7 190.5 Total5,460.4 6,331.4 Divisional personnel includes 51 FTP staff, of whom 48 are technical professionals. There is confusion about whether Information Technology Laboratory resources are available to support the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division's workstations and to provide computing services.
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However, in general divisional personnel have done little outreach to other information Technology Laboratory divisions involved in information technology metrology work. The Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division staff does not yet have a strategy to foster and identify joint proposals with the other Information Technology Laboratory divisions in this field.
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STRS (NIST) 3,161.6 3,858.4 ITS 250.0 175.0 OA 1,548.6 1,105.6 Total 4,960.2 5,139.0 Divisional personnel includes 32 FTP staff, of whom 25 are technical professionals.
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Perhaps the large professional audiences in attendance at exhibitions and conferences such as the Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics would benefit from observing and participating in these activities. Computer Security Division Mission The Computer Security Division stated its mission as follows: With the growth of electronic commerce and the increased use of distributed systems linked by networks, the need to ensure the security of data and the privacy of information becomes critical.
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wnen ~t cloes, many of the questions that this division is struggling to answer will be decided by the courts or by various legislatures. The uncertain future of PK} implies that the Computer Security Division must be careful not to overinvest in programs that might become obsolete or irrelevant when the courts join the debate.
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STRS (NIST) 5,485.7 6,278e8 ITS70.8 0.0 OA4,003.2 2,073.1 Total9,559.7 8,35 ~ .9 Divisional personnel includes 40 FTP staff, of whom 35 are technical professionals.
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This mission is also consistent with NTST's charge to conduct research programs that address industry's need for measurement and infrastructure technology. Technical Merit and Appropriateness of Work The division's activities fall in four major areas: spoken natural language processing, natural language processing and information retrieval, visual image processing, and visualization and virtual reality.
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STRS (NIST) 3,150.64,565.5 ITS139.899.6 OA2,430.52,537.4 Reference Materials60.00.0 Total5,780.97,202.5 Divisional personnel includes 47 FTP positions, of whom 41 are technical professionals.
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These projects included WebSubmit, a Web-based user interface that simplifies access to NTST's IBM SP2 supercomputer, thus making parallel computing accessible to a broader user community. There is a serious effort under way to improve this product further through a collaborative project with the Computer Security Division.
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4,471.89,038.1 Overhead (NIST) 4,947.95,212.0 ITS249.10.0 OA1,050.01,118.7 Reference Materials0.0843.9 Total13,043.218,457.4 Divisional personnel includes 75 FTP positions, including 53 for technical professionals.
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This includes: an easy-to-use, robust, secure distributed heterogeneous environment with support for desktop systems and workstations; network capabilities; information services; visualization and graphics services; access to external and mobile users; common computing environments, information access tools, software development tools and specialized applications software; site-wide hardware maintenance for standardized desktop systems and workstations; site-wide software licensing, maintenance, and repositories for standardized platforms and applications; and large-scale testbeds, advanced prototypes and reliable systems as part of the continuous improvement in scope and quality of service. The Distributed Computing and Information Services Division is a new group, created during the formation of the Information Technology Laboratory to unite various service functions.
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Technical Merit and Appropriateness of Work The Distributed Computing and Information Services Division is chartered to provide limited hardware and software support to all NIST operating units. The major accomplishments of its first year have been to create and enhance many information technology services, such as email, calendaring, and mail-list processing.
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Working with the Computer Security Division on product development, the Software Diagnostics and Performance Testing Division's goal is to simultaneously produce a corresponding test suite that will evolve with the product from concept 197
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Nevertheless, the panel believes that NIST has properly considered the issue. This conclusion of the SQI~ testing program is part of and consistent with the Information Technology Laboratory's shift in focus away from traditional paper standards and the performance of conformance tests and toward work on conformance development for emerging technologies.
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STRS (NIST) 6,771.0 5,095.0 ITS279.4 235.0 OA3,440.0 2,458.1 Total10,490.4 7,788.1 Divisional personnel includes 54 FTP positions, including 46 for technical professionals.
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Furthermore, the main task of this division-provide high-quality statistical consulting and collaboration to all of NIST-is not explicitly included in the laboratory's list of guiding values, as laid out in the Strategic Plan.2 Similarly, the mission statement of the Statistical Engineering Division makes no reference to developing statistical applications for information technology. The white paper, "Computational Science in the Information Technology Laboratory," fails to make a compelling case for the central role of computational and statistical science within the laboratory.3 Technical Merit and Appropriateness of Work The Statistical Engineering Division has played an integral arid successfill role in the core business of NIST.
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263.0 550.0 OA19.6 64.0 Reference Materials132.0 30.0 Total3,420.8 3,917.1 Divisional personnel includes 30 FTP positions, including 27 for technical professionals.
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MAJOR OBSERVATIONS . The Information Technology Laboratory's mission statement does not reflect the importance either of the service functions performed by several of its divisions or of the collaborative and research activities of the Statistical Engineering and Mathematical and Computational Sciences Divisions.
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project (whether NIST, industry, or other government agencies) and what truly unique competence or quality the laboratory can provide in that area.
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