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The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process
At the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine1 has, since 1959, annually assembled panels of experts from academia, industry, medicine, and other scientific and engineering communities to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and standards laboratories, of which there are now seven,2 as well as the adequacy of the laboratories’ resources.
At the request of the Director of NIST, in 2016 the National Academies formed the Panel on Assessment of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and established the following statement of task for the panel:
An ad hoc committee will assess the scientific and technical work performed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. The panel will review technical reports and technical program descriptions prepared by NIST staff and will visit the facilities of the NIST laboratory. Visits will include technical presentations by NIST staff, demonstrations of NIST projects, tours of NIST facilities, and discussions with NIST staff. The panel will deliberate findings in a closed session panel meeting and will prepare a report summarizing its assessment of the quality of the technical work performed at the Center.
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 scientific and technological advances, and to improve and refine existing measurement methods and services.
NIST specified that the following areas of work at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) would be reviewed: the NanoLab research program, which is composed of three groups (Electron Physics, Energy Research, and Nanofabrication Research) and the Nanofabrication facility. To accomplish the assessment, the National Academies assembled a panel of 12 volunteers whose expertise matched that of the work performed by the CNST staff.3
On May 2, 2016, the panel assembled at the NIST facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland, for a two and a half day assessment, during which it received welcoming remarks from the CNST director, heard overview presentations by CNST management and presentations by researchers at the CNST, toured portions of the CNST facility, and attended an interactive session with CNST management. The panel
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1 Effective July 1, 2015, the institution is called the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. References in this report to the National Research Council are used in an historical context identifying programs prior to July 1.
2 The seven National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories are the Engineering Laboratory, the Physical Measurement Laboratory, the Information Technology Laboratory, the Material Measurement Laboratory, the Communication Technology Laboratory, the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), and the NIST Center for Neutron Research.
3 See the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology website at http://www.nist.gov/cnst/ for information on CNST organization and programs (accessed May 17, 2016).
also met in a closed session to deliberate on its findings and to define the contents of this assessment report.4
The panel’s approach to the assessment relied on the experience, technical knowledge, and expertise of its members. An exhaustive assessment of every activity at the CNST was not feasible. The panel’s goal was to provide an overall assessment of accomplishments, challenges, and opportunities for improvement in the CNST. To accomplish its mission, the panel reviewed the general background material provided by the CNST and examples of technical research and other major activities. The choice of projects to be reviewed was made by the CNST. These examples were intended collectively to portray salient activities of the center while also allowing for useful suggestions specific to the projects and programs that the panel examined. The panel applied a largely qualitative, rather than quantitative, approach to the assessment.
Given the necessarily nonexhaustive nature of the review, the omission in this report of any particular CNST project should not be interpreted as a negative reflection on the omitted project.
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4 The agenda for the assessment meeting is presented on the website of the National Academies at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49707.
