An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Physics Laboratory Fiscal Year 2008 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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In this respect, the laboratory provides the foundation for the metrology of optical and ionizing radiations, time and frequency, and fundamental quantum processes, historically major areas of standards and technology. The organizational structure of the Physics Laboratory for accomplishing its mission and goals includes six vertically integrated divisions: • Atomic Physics Division • Electron and Optical Physics Division • Ionizing Radiation Division • Optical Technology Division • Quantum Physics Division • Time and Frequency Division The laboratory also includes an Office of Electronic Commerce in Scientific and Engineering Data to facilitate the electronic dissemination of technical information through the Internet.
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• The Optical Technology Division maintains primary standards for the candela and associated photometric, colorimetric, pyrometric, and spectral radiometric quantities. • The Quantum Physics Division conducts research in support of the length scale for mechanical measurements along with establishing a direct connection between optical and radio frequencies.
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A related factor appears to be the extent to which support depends on external funding sources, a factor that has led to a situation in which the hiring or maintaining of temporary appointments is preferred over permanent appointments because of lower costs. A NIST committee is addressing the NIST overhead structure and how it is allocated.
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It is critical for the Quantum Physics Division that funding for the new JILA building be provided and that the plans for design and construction move forward in a timely fashion, both to relieve the space crunch at JILA and to maintain the high morale and productivity that are key in making JILA an attractive place to work for highly talented staff members who are actively recruited by other institutions. In the Optical Technology Division, several laboratories are in new locations in the Advanced Measurements Laboratory (AML)
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The available annual funding is substantially less than the estimated costs. The capacity and capability of the instrument shops of the NIST facility at Boulder have continued to decline over many years and are now at the point that NIST Boulder researchers, particularly in the Time and Frequency Division, must regularly use external machining services, including commercial services, and must sometimes use JILA instrument shops.
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In parallel with these responsibilities, it has carried out a research program, in many instances the only such research in the United States or the world, designed to continually improve and expand 3 National Research Council, 2007, An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Information Technology Laboratory: Fiscal Year 2007, Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, p.
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The overall quality and productivity have continued to rise during the past several decades, including areas of standards originally dominated by other countries, and are now comparable to or better than that of other peer institutions, an accomplishment achieved with an infrastructure that is smaller in both size and funding than the size and funding of most national and agency laboratories. The external impact of the Physics Laboratory is well demonstrated by the fact that three of its staff have received Nobel Prizes in physics in the past decade.
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The terahertz research in the Optical Technology Division has outstanding measurement capabilities in terahertz research, but because these are developing technologies and because of reorganization within the laboratory, it is not obvious which applications are to be investigated and who the future customers are to be. The terahertz research technical leads and the division management should delineate applications areas and their potential applications for the laboratory's unusual capabilities in the area of terahertz research.
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