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An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Laboratory Fiscal Year 2007 (2007) / Chapter Skim
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General Assessment of the Information Technology Laboratory
Pages 4-10

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From page 4...
... A repeatable methodology has evolved for involving the community, measuring performance, refining the challenges, and making the test data public after the fact, allowing new teams to join the community. The original competition of this class is the ongoing challenge of speech recognition.
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From page 5...
... Cryptographic device validation is a mature initiative for accrediting laboratories that test cryptographic hardware and software. This process ensures that laboratories implement algorithms correctly and that they protect sensitive information, such as keying material, according to best practices.
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From page 6...
... A good example is the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division's recent algorithms work, which replaced equipment adjustments previously done by forensic laboratory technicians. ITL should also further develop measures for correct translation among natural languages.
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From page 7...
... Giving a potential hire the impression that his or her position is temporary and that he or she would have to compete against all comers for a permanent position would be sufficiently negative to deter top people. It is encouraging that none of the divisions reported such an event and that it is apparently possible to avoid competing a position when converting temporary staff to permanent.
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From page 8...
... As another example, the realization that a translator of natural languages would be an essential part of a team for evaluating machine-translation software proved to be problematic because at NIST translators are classified as office staff rather than scientists. ITL management should consider hiring in nontraditional areas when appropriate to the mission, and NIST management should try to remove impediments to such hires.
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From page 9...
... While the stability of government programs should not depend on the personnel assigned to them, maintenance of a stable group of mature professionals is necessary for the efficient execution of complicated technical challenges. When converting to a matrix management structure, ITL should avoid disrupting the established challenge problems of the Information Access Division and seek to keep the experienced expert staff in place.
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From page 10...
... However, the new policies have created some serious impediments to research at NIST, and at ITL in particular. One example illustrates the problem: The Advanced Network Technologies Division has been mandated by Congress to provide a roadmap whereby the entire U.S.
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Key Terms

  • itl management
  • homeland security
  • statistical engineering
  • cryptographic device
  • matrix management

  • device validation
  • fuel cells
  • computational sciences
  • top people
  • natural languages

  • itl suggest
  • itl provides
  • outside itl
  • itl creates
  • itl budget

  • itl scientists
  • analogous itl
  • information security
  • federal information
  • overall research

  • neutron research
  • engineering division
  • enhancing external
  • versus permanent
  • testing process

  • eliminate subjective
  • enterprise project
  • nist management
  • project leaders
  • operating fuel


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