An Overview of NIST, The U. S. Government’s Role in the U. S An Overview of NIST, The U.S. Government’s Role in the U.S. Standards System & its Use of Standards Dr. Ajit Jillavenkatesa National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standards Services Division/Global Standards and Information Group July 16, 2007

Outline Overview of NIST NIST and U.S. Government’s role and participation in the U.S. standards systems Govt.’s use of standards

NIST – In a nutshell The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Is an over 100 year old federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce Is the national measurement institute for the United States Is non-regulatory in its functions Contributes to the development of voluntary consensus standards Coordinates standards activities of federal agencies with those of the private sector Works closely with the private sector, in a model of public-private cooperation

NIST Mission To promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life

How does NIST enhance productivity, facilitate trade, & improve the quality of life? By providing added confidence in the quality of measurements performed by other organizations – and, in turn, of products whose quality depends on measurements By helping to ensure the technical efficacy of documentary standards By promoting efficiency in the U.S. documentary-standards and conformity-assessment systems

NIST has…...world-class staff Jan Hall 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics Eric Cornell 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics Bill Phillips 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics 3 Nobel Laureates (Physics) 1 National Medal of Science (Materials) 1 MacArthur Fellowship 14 National Academy Members (16 memberships) John Cahn 1998 National Medal of Science Anneke Sengers 2003 L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award Debbie Jin 2003 MacArthur Fellowship

The NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Guidehall NIST has Unparalleled Facilities Gaithersburg, MD Site 578 acre site Laboratory space: ~700,000 assignable sq ft. Office space: ~500,000 assignable sq ft. Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML) The NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Guidehall Complex of 5 buildings, occupancy began in Jan ‘04 Stringent control of temperature, vibration, humidity, cleanliness Establishes state-of-the-art nano-fabrication capabilities, in the ~90,000 sq ft Cleanroom Building NIST occupies two campuses and two Joint Institutes Gaithersburg, MD Boulder CO Joint Institute with U of MD called CARB, center for Advanced research in biotechnology Experimental and theoretical programs in biomolecular structure-function relationships. Joint institute with the university of Colorado called JILA, one of our Nobel prize winners Eric Cornell works at JILA. Also, they have hired two biophysicists in the past year to begin building competency at the interface of physical and biological sciences. NIST has a complex of 5 new buildings on the Gaithersburg campus that are slated to be occupied in FY04. With the most stringent control of temperature, vibration, humidity and cleanliness, we believe that our programs in nanotechnology will benefit enormously from these new facilities. Furthermore, a large cleanroom is specifically assigned as a nanofabrication facility. It will be stocked with the state-of-the-art instrumentation and characterization tools critical for nanotechnology research. We are hopeful that is will be a resource to many members of the local community like those in the audience. Finally, NIST is home to one of only cold Neutron Research Facilities. Furthermore, resent beamlines are specifically designated as unique tools for the nano and bio communities for Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) Biological macromolecules in bulk solution Proteins and protein complexes with lipids, nucleic acids and polymers Membranes and membrane components Lipid vesicles, micelles and bicelle systems Neutron Reflectivity Biological macromolecules supported on a planar substrate or at the air-water interface. Single lipid bilayers and biomimetic membranes Lipid monolayer and multilayer films Protein films Patterned surfaces Investigation of Nanocomposites, Nanotubes and Self Assembled Structures by Small Angle Neutron Scattering and Diffraction Investing The NIST/NCNR small-angle scattering instruments cover a range from <1 to 1000 nm and thus can uniquely probe many key features in molecular and participate nanostructures. the only U.S. capability for studies of biological dynamics, both temporal and spatial information are obtained. Neutron methods at the NCNR encompass an enormous range of time and length scales.

NIST Laboratories NIST’s work enables Science Technology innovation Trade Public benefit NIST works with Industry Academia Other agencies Government agencies Measurement laboratories Standards organizations Our laboratories are the oldest part of NIST (backbone)— the part that dates back to 1901(when it was known as the National Bureau of Standards) — and our in-house R&D capability remains the foundation and core of our strength and expertise. About 1500 full time permanent technical staff in the seven NIST laboratories. About half of technical staff are PhD level scientists and engineers.   Our research provides the U.S. — and the world — with an array of measurement and research capabilities spanning virtually the entire spectrum of modern technology. Our impact is highly leveraged — we support trillions of dollars in products and services provided by business and industry. Because of the broad range of subjects we cover, much of our work is multidisciplinary, requiring collaboration not only among our own labs but also with industry, other government agencies and research universities.

NIST Laboratories Products and Services Measurement Research 2,100 publications/year Standard Reference Data 90 types available 5,000 units sold/ year Standard Reference Materials >1,200 products available 30,000 units sold/year Calibrations and Tests 3,200 items calibrated/year Laboratory Accreditation 826 accreditations Standards Committees 390 NIST staff, 450 committees

The U.S. Standards System Is voluntary, market-driven and private sector led Works through cooperation and communication among stakeholders: Standards organizations Industry Government Meets stakeholder needs by Supporting protection of health, safety, environment Enhancing industry competitiveness Contributing to a liberalized global trading system

The U.S. Standards System – differences between ANSI and NIST ANSI: Private Sector Organization, that is the coordinator of the U.S. standards system, and is the U.S. representative to ISO and IEC. NIST: The National Institute of Standards and Technology, is a government agency. It is the national measurement institute for the U.S. and is charged with coordinating the standards policy activities of U.S. federal government agencies with those of the private sector. ANSI and NIST work very closely to further U.S. positions and interest, and to provide value to their customers.

The Government’s Role in the U.S. Standards System Standards user: In product purchases Through incorporation into regulations Participant in standards development through the voluntary process Does not receive any special treatment/privileges for participation Contributes to the technical underpinning for standards Advocate for the U.S. national interest Goal: protect health, safety and the environment while not creating unnecessary barriers to trade

Government has a stake In promoting fair trade and competition In having confidence In performance and competently conducted activities In assuring interoperability – applicable to systems and components purchased IT systems Emergency communications systems E-government In facilitating innovation Fair trade and competition – legal requirements in the domestic market – antitrust, etc. International commitments – WTO and FTAs. Confidence – standards become an extension of government responsibility and authority; assurance of competence and technical content Interoperability – a new area of interest, but critical to government operations and to meeting national needs Innovation – more later

For the Government… Use of non-government standards: Eliminates the cost of developing government standards Decreases cost of goods purchased and burden on regulated communities Provides incentives to develop standards that meet national needs Promotes efficiency and economic competition Furthers the policy of reliance on the private sector to supply government needs for goods and services

Federal Agency Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards U.S. law* and policy** require Federal agencies to: use voluntary consensus standards to the extent practicable report development of agency-unique standards participate in the development of voluntary consensus standards relevant to their needs Encouraging the trend toward Federal agency reliance on non-government standards is an important part of the U.S. Standards Strategy *Public Law 104-113 (1994), also referred to as the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) of 1994 (http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/nttaa/nttaa-qa.htm) **OMB Circular A-119 – Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities

The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) All Federal agencies should use consensus technical standards in lieu of agency unique standards Agencies must annually report use of agency unique standards and provide explanation of use Federal agencies should participate in standards developing activities Identifies NIST as the coordinator of Federal standards and conformity assessment activities with those of the private sector

Policies of OMB Circular A-119 Encourage Federal agencies to benefit from the expertise of the private sector Promote Federal agency participation in such bodies to ensure the creation of standards that are useable by Federal Agencies Reduce reliance on government unique standards where private sector standards would suffice No preference among types of standards (consensus versus non-consensus) Use commercial off the shelf products regardless of source of underlying standard

Goals of the Government in Using Voluntary Consensus Standards Eliminate the cost to the Government of developing its own standards Decrease the cost of goods procured and burden of complying with agency regulations Promote efficiency and economic competition through harmonization of standards Further the policy of reliance on the private sector to supply Government needs for goods and services

Examples of How Agencies Use Standards Incorporation of private sector standards into regulation by specific reference General references to private sector standards in regulation Agency-developed standards Recognition of consensus standards in support of regulations

Extent of Federal Use of Standards In regulation NIST has identified 9622 citations of standards incorporated by reference; more than 6500 are non-government standards Regulatory SIBR stats: http://standards.gov/sibr/query/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.total_regulatory_sibr In procurement DOD, NASA and GSA maintain lists of standards suitable for use in procurement actions NIST has identified 10559 standards incorporated by reference by agencies for procurement purposes Procurement SIBR stats: http://standards.gov/sibr/query/index.cfm?fuseaction=Home.total_procurement_sibr Standards Incorporated by Reference Database http://standards.gov/sibr/query/index.cfm Despite duplication and overlap in lists, pattern of reliance on standards is clear

Major Sources of Standards Used by the Federal Government ASTM International Institute for Printed Circuits American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Society of Automotive Engineers Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. American Petroleum Institute International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) International Maritime Organization (IMO) Compressed Gas Association

US Government Agency Participation in Standards Development More than 3200 federal govt. staff participate in private sector standards development activities Government agencies seek out relevant voluntary standards development venues: To support regulatory needs To enable efficient procurement To create solutions to support emerging national priorities NIST participation supports technical efficacy: Contributing measurement expertise to development of test methods; product, system, and process specifications; etc. Participating in data collection efforts in support of the development of test methods Providing measurement standards needed to calibrate instruments used in test methods

Advocating for U.S. Principles for Development and Implementation of Standards Encourage compatible governmental approaches to the use of standards as tools for meeting regulatory needs Encourage the use of standards that have global acceptance Promote key principles of standards development*: transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and Relevance, coherence (avoidance of duplication) * G/TBT/9: Second Triennial Review of the Operation and Implementation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade Annex 4 (2000-11-13)

Conclusions Individual federal agencies make effective use of private sector standards in many applications Agencies must consider whether the use of standards helps them accomplish their missions, increases efficiency, reduce the burden on regulated and other communities and whether there is an impact on trade At last count, more than 6500 private sector standards were incorporated by reference into federal regulations Greater use of standards with global acceptance facilitates both least burdensome regulatory approaches and trade

Web links of interest NIST: http://www.nist.gov NIST’s Standards Services Division: http://ts.nist.gov/ssd Code of Federal Regulations: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html Federal Register: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html NTTAA and OMB A-119: http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/nttaa/nttaa.htm Interagency Committee on Standards Policy: http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/sccg/icspdes.htm Standards.gov: http://standards.gov/standards_gov/index.cfm Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main

Contact Information Dr. Ajit Jillavenkatesa National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2100 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2100 ajit.jilla@nist.gov Ph: +1-301-975-5089 Fax: +1-301-975-4715