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Science

on Its Way

to Work

Activities of the

National Bureau of

Standards

U.S. Department of Commerce

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NO, 198

1978

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COVER: One of the major

missions of the National Bureau

of Standards is to malie available

to the public information gained

during the course of its scientific and technical work.

People . . . curious, concerned,

and skilled people . . . are the

essential bridge in this communications process that reaches from the laboratory into

the marketplace for social and

economic benefit.

Credits

Writer: Michael A. Baum

Editor: Sharon A. Washburn

Photographers: H. Mark HelCer, Charles Savadelis, Harry D. Covey (Boiild
Sir 2 J 19/i

National Bureau of Standards Washington, D.C 20234

<301) 921-1000

National Bureau of Standards

Boulder, Colorado 80303

(303) 499-1000

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary

Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology

National Bureau of Standards

Ernest Ambler, Director

Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec. Publ. 498, 44 pages

(April 1978)

Supersedes NBS Special Publication 467

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Order by Stock No.

l\ 1

Science

On Its Way

to Work

Activities of the

National Bureau of

Standards

Contents

On Facilitating Technology Transfer 2 Science on Its Way to Work 4

Support to Industry 8

To Other Government Agencies 12 On the International Scene 16

And in the Public Interest 20

Building the Foundations 26

Funds and Facilities 32

People 34

Selected Publications 37

Summary of Legislation 38

Directory 42

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price: $1.60 Stock No. 003-003-01943-7
On Facilitating

Technology Transfer

nrhe benefits of science and

technology are so commonplace in our daily lives that we take them

almost for granted. High-speed

machines using lasers cut the cloth for our suits and coats. Satellites bring

events in remote parts of the world

into our living rooms. Pocket

calculators perform tasks that only a few years ago would have required a machine the size of a small car—and

would have been beyond the reach of

the average citizen's pocketbook.

It is a fact that the standard of

living we enjoy as a Nation would not

be possible without the many contributions of science and technology. At

the same time, we are also aware

that technology, if not properly used, can have detrimental effects. We at the National Bureau of

Standards, the Nation's central

measurement and reference laboratory, recognize the need to maintain

a balance between the adverse

effects and the beneficial impact that

science and technology have on our economy and our daily lives. By

working closely with industry, universities, other Federal agencies. State and local governments, foreign countries, and the public, NBS is able to direct its programs to help maintain

this balance.

This report deals with the kinds

of work we do and the support we of- fer to the scientific and technological

world. Numerous examples are given

of the key role that people play in helping transfer the knowledge

developed at NBS to a wide variety of

individuals and the organizations they

represent. In order to encourage that

information exchange, we have added

a directory of key NBS personnel, in- cluding their addresses and phone

numbers. Let us hear from you.

Ernest Ambler

Director
3
Science on Its Way to Work

In November, 1976, the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC)

authorized the use of an NBS invention developed 5 years earlier—thus

finally making it available for practical use. The action was a decision by

the FCC to reserve room in commercial television signals for the transmission of "closed captions" along with

regular programming.

These closed captions—supplied

for deaf TV viewers—are similar to

subtitles on foreign language films. They are transmitted in code in the

television broadcast and only appear on the screens of TV sets equipped

with special decoders.

Five years before the FCC decision, the closed captioning technology

had been developed at NBS as "Tv- Time," a new system for dis- seminating accurate time and fre- quency information. Now, with the

support of the Public Broadcasting

Service, it is a potentially important

new influence in the lives of millions

of deaf Americans—television that can be viewed and understood

without the help of an interpreter.

The progress of this TV en- coder/decoder system from TvTime to closed captioning for the hearing impaired illustrates a special concept

that is rapidly growing in importance

in the management of Federal

research and development

laboratories. The concept is called

technology transfer. The phrase invokes the entire

range of ways by which the research

and expertise developed in government laboratories are applied to solve

problems faced by State and local governments, by private industries,

and even by foreign countries. It is putting tax-supported science and

technology to work for the people.

At the National Bureau of Standards, the concept of technology

transfer is a familiar story. The history

of NBS is replete with examples of

technological developments that left the Bureau to become major in- fluences in daily life. In 1904, the first neon signs were developed by NBS, a byproduct of research on gas spectra.

By the 1 930's they formed the basis of

a new industry.

Closed-captioning pioneers

include information specialist

Sandra Howe who captioned

television shows to demonstrate

the caption decoder

and engineer Dick Davis who

supervised construction of

the units.

Other examples of NBS

technology became equally ubiquitous. In 1922, it was an NBS invention that made it possible to use or- dinary house current instead of

storage batteries to operate a home

radio. High-speed dental air drills, found in every dentist's office in the

country, originated with a waterpropelled device built at NBS in 1951.

A probe developed by NBS in 1973 to simulate the response of the human

finger to hot surfaces is now manufactured commercially. It is used by the

Consumer Product Safety Commission

to inspect appliances and by manufacturers to design their products.

Sophisticated technology that may be

commonplace in a few years is on NBS

drafting boards today.

The Science Warehouse

Beginning with the Act that es- tablished the agency on March 3, 1901, the legislation that guides NBS

requires it to maintain and develop

the national standards of measure- ment and the means for making those

measurements; determine physical constants and properties of materials

that "are not to be obtained of suf- ficient accuracy elsewhere;" develop

standard codes, practices and

specifications for construction; and in- vent or develop devices and techniques to serve the special needs of

government. (A summary of legislation affecting NBS is found on page

38.) In principle, anything that needs

to be measured in physical terms is within the province of NBS. Examples

from current programs range from

measuring truck noise to describing

4
For the decoders to be useful, there

must be programming carrying the coded captions. The

only broadcaster currently doing this is the Public

Broadcasting Service (PBS). Below, a PBS employee,

working with a captioning "script" and a precise clock, codes the times that

each caption will appear.

5
low temperature fluids, from testing concrete strength to determining

smoke detector efficiency, from

designing automation systems to measuring laser power levels. From the point of view of

technology transfer, the science and

information resources of the National

Bureau of Standards can be roughly

divided into three areas: "on-theshelf technology, directed research,

and support technology. In practice,

however, most projects require the use of various combinations of these resource areas.

" On-the-shelf technology refers to the vast body of information and

techniques developed at NBS that can

be applied in areas other than those

for which they were originally

developed, a process often called

"spin-off." The technology is already

known and "on the shelf," where it can be applied to new uses with minor

modifications. One NBS project is aimed at applying the computer

techniques of image pattern

recognition—originally developed for military purposes such as analyzing

satellite photos of the earth—to the

rapid on-line analysis of wet pulp in paper mills. The results of this project

will greatly facilitate the processing of

recycled paper in paper mills—

a

procedure requiring close monitoring

of the pulp quality. In turn, increased use of recycled paper should lead to savings in energy use and reduction of

water pollution.

Directed research is the development of new technology—finding answers to problems where no

storeroom technology exists. Responding to a long-felt need in the

medical community for a diagnostic

tool with the capabilities of x-rays but

without the hazards, NBS scientists developed the SonoChromascope, a unique new ultrasonic imaging device

with unprecedented sensitivity and

resolution. The instrument has the

potential to bring a new measurement

capability to some diagnostic

procedures: the SonoChromascope

can detect and monitor minute

changes in tissue condition without

itself damaging the tissue. The instrument is now undergoing clinical tests at the National Institutes of Health.

Once developed, the

SonoChromascope's measurement

capabilities become "on the shelf

technology, available for application

in many other areas such as the nondestructive evaluation of materials

and components in nuclear reactors. Support technology goes to the

heart of the reason for the existence of

NBS. It refers to the complex of scientific and technological capabilities

necessary to support basic research

that can develop and deliver new

technology. In other words, the underlying structure that makes it all work. Through its measurement and

calibration capabilities, through its Standard Reference Data and

Materials Programs, and in its research and development, the

National Bureau of Standards is a major element of the technology in- frastructure of the United States. For example, technology already

exists to re-refine used oils. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) es- timates increased application of such

processes could reduce U.S. petroleum

imports by 25.5 million barrels a year. This technology is not used to any

great extent, however, because there

are too many unknowns about the

quality of re-refined oil, such as: What

factors make it different from virgin

oil? Are test procedures for virgin oil really adequate to characterize re- refined oil? Finding the answers to these and

other questions is the goal of a new

NBS program begun in response to the

Energy Policy and Conservation Act

enacted in 1975. NBS is currently

working to provide test procedures

that can be used to determine if a recycled oil intended for a particular

end use is as good as virgin oil for that

purpose.

Getting From Here to There

Technology transfer, then, is a process, and its success depends on a number of factors. First the "client"

which may be a segment of the in- dustrial community, a State or local government, or as is often the case, another Federal agency—must identify a specific need, such as a crucial

measurement that must be made

cheaply and accurately. Then the

problem and the resources needed to find an answer must be identified. Finally, a mechanism for bringing the

two together must be developed. And

there must be very good communications all along the line. Through cooperative programs

with other government agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels and

with industry, through its own work

on many fronts to meet national

needs, through memberships in technical societies and organizations on national and international levels,

through publications and calibration

services, the National Bureau of Stan- dards is working to make science

work.

6
Russell Kirsch, computer

scientist, is developing a computing procedure

that can be designed into special computers to enable

them to analyze paper pulp fibers. Automated

pulp analysis will allow the quality of pulp to be

monitored continuously during paper manufacture,

thus providing the opportunity to use more

recycled paper in the process.

The following pages describe a few of the activities and accomplishments of the National Bureau of Standards, with the main focus on projects

carried out during the past fiscal year, ending September 30, 1977. Particular

attention is paid to the impact of these

programs on industry, government,

and the international scene, as well as the everyday lives of people. And at- tention is also paid to the transfer

mechanisms—how technology gets

from here to there.

7
Support to Industry

Seventy-seven years ago the

National Bureau of Standards was

established to, among other things, serve "...any. ..firm, corporation, or in- dividual within the United States engaged in manufacturing or other

pursuits requiring the use of standards

or standard measuring instruments."

Since that time, American in- dustry has become one of the biggest

users of NBS science and technology.

A major reason for this is the Bureau's

commitment to do things that for a variety of reasons industrial and commercial firms cannot do for themselves. Often the scientific or measurement skills involved are beyond the capabilities of private

laboratories. In other cases, the

research involved is too expensive for any one company to undertake, and

anti-trust laws prevent cooperative

ventures among several companies.

Sometimes commercial needs can be met simply by adapting on-theshelf technology. For example, a

satellite time code system operated by

NBS using the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration's

(NOAA) satellites was developed as an

experimental broadcast system for time dissemination and as a method

for coordinating NOAA's data gathering activities. Now that agency, together with

the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, is considering applying the time code to another ex- perimental system called ASDAR for the benefit of the commercial aviation

industry.

In the ASDAR (Aircraft to

Satellite Data Relay) system, fully

automated instruments aboard commercial aircraft will collect meteorological data such as wind

speeds and temperatures and relay

them—together with the aircraft's position and the time—through a network of satellites to a data process- ing station. Potentially, ASDAR offers commercial pilots fresh, constantly

updated information important to ef- ficient and safe navigation—such as where the jet stream winds are. With accurate clocks aboard the

aircraft to coordinate the transmissions, the ASDAR system can handle

up to 30 planes on each satellite channel. Using the NBS time code broadNick Sanchez, NBS

draftsman, works on the tables

and charts for the LNG Materials

and Fluid Users Manual.

The users manual is the first of its kind for up-to-date,

evaluated LNG data.

casts and special clocks that are controlled by the time signal, the system

can serve at least 100 planes per

channel—thus improving the system's

accuracy and efficiency.

Solving Specific Problems

Other needs call for directed

research. Over 150,000 Americans

carry implanted pacemakers to regulate their heartbeats, and the

number is growing by about 55,000

new users annually. Each year about

25 percent of the pacemakers have to be replaced, with the attendant dis- comfort, expense, and risk that such

surgery implies. Some 70 percent of

these replacements are required

because of power cell depletion,

which occasionally occurs earlier than

anticipated.

Seeking a nondestructive test method for evaluating pacemaker batteries, NBS scientists built a specially

designed calorimeter that measures

the heat given off during self- discharge of a battery—in other

words, its rate of self-discharge. It was

discovered that of the total power

delivered by the battery during actual

use, as much as 20 percent could be

lost through self discharge. Thus, a battery designed to provide 5 years of

service might actually last only 4.

Complexion of Support

Support technology can be

crucial to some industries. The use of

liquefied natural gas (LNG) holds

great potential for solving some important problems in energy distribution. Taking up 1/600 of the volume

of the original gas, LNG can be an ex- tremely efficient way to move natural

8
The Association of

Petroleum Re-refiners is supporting an

industrial research associate, Robert Pedall,

to worlc with NBS scientists in developing

test procedures to establish the substantial

equivalency of recycled oil with virgin oil.
NBS Standard Reference Materials

are used by automobile manufacturers to analyze

automotive emissions.

gas across oceans or store it in areas of

high energy use to reduce the impact

of sudden surges in demand.

But LNG exists only at cryogenic

temperatures (—162 °C) that present

unique materials and design problems

in storing, measuring, and handling

the liquid. NBS, which houses the Nation's central laboratory for cryogenics research, has made a concerted effort over the past 5 years to characterize materials used to contain

LNG and to devise methods for measuring accurately the volume and

heating value of this fuel. The results of NBS' research are available in an LNG users manual titled "LNG

Material and Fluids Users Manual,"

that gives up-to-date data on physical

properties of methane, nitrogen,

aluminum alloys, stainless steel, nickel

steels, and invar. In addition, a number of current U.S. voluntary

standards on metering LNG are based on this work.

NBS research into the problems

of volumetric and flow measurement

of cryogenic fluids will also have an

effect on commerce in LNG. Today the

custody transfer of a shipload of LNG

can be in error by as much as three to ten percent, and at current prices the

error can cost about $100,000 per

percentage point. NBS research in the

accuracy of LNG flow meters and the

recent development by the Bureau of

a novel thermometer for predicting

the gross heating value of LNG flowing in a pipeline are expected to reduce that measurement error to one

percent.

Now the Bureau's work on LNG

is moving into the international arena, as NBS and the American Gas

Association, an industry organization,

share the administration of a newly

formed technical secretariat for LNG

measurement within the Inter- national Organization of Legal

Metrology.

Idea Exchanges

Good communications are essential to the process of technology

transfer. The National Bureau of Stan- dards uses a variety of means to communicate with its "clients" in industry

and commerce because the best

research in the world is valueless if no

one knows about it —and worth no more if it has been directed at solving

a problem that doesn't exist. Publications, workshops, conferences, and

people—always the essential

ingredient—are the media through

which the Bureau communicates.

People, with their skills, knowledge, and experience, represent one of the most effective forms of

technology transfer, and the NBS

Research Associate Program

recognizes that fact. Research associates are trained

scientists and engineers from in- dustrial, trade, and professional

organizations who come to NBS to work with Bureau scientists on projects of mutual interest. The program

is almost as old as the Bureau itself, and some of the most dramatic

developments to come out of NBS

laboratories were the result of these

cooperative ventures. In the field of

dental materials alone, NBS research

associates have contributed such ad- vances as the panoramic dental X-ray

machine for clinical screening tests and BIS-GMA, a monomer widely

used to reinforce and seal teeth. At present there are 23 active

programs at NBS involving 73

research associates. The range of

topics reflects NBS' broad interests. In

a program recently begun with the

Aluminum Association, Inc., and the

American Electroplaters' Society,

scientists are studying the problem of

chrome plating aluminum. This issue

is of interest to NBS because of its work in electrodeposition and corro- sion phenomena and to the industry

because successful results will make

possible the use of aluminum bumpers

on automobiles, which will reduce

vehicle weight thus saving gasoline.

A research associate from the

International Sugar Research Foundation is working on a new and more ac- curate determination of the "degree

sugar," the scale by which buyers and

sellers judge the composition—and in turn the price—of sugar. Interestingly,

his work is a continuation of research

performed at NBS during the First World War when Bureau researchers

completed the theoretical and

technical work which brought about

large-scale manufacture of an almost

chemically pure low-cost dextrose.

Other examples of Research Associate Programs include projects to develop test methods for assessing the

fire safety of plastics (Society of the

Plastics Industry), to provide Standard

Reference Materials and techniques

for measurement assurance for radio

pharmaceuticals (Atomic Industrial

Forum), to establish the basis for a commercially producible Josephson

junction voltage standard accurate to one part per million (Superconducting

Technology, Inc.), and to measure ele- ments of particular importance in optical waveguide materials (Bell

Laboratories).

10
Publications

The NBS publications program

continues to play a major role in communicating with the Bureau's clients. Reports, surveys, and analyses issued

have titles ranging from Application of

Infrared Frequency Synthesis Techniques

With Metal- Insulator-Metal Diodes to the Spin Flip Raman Laser to Attacking the Fire Problem—A Plan for Action. Industrial managers worried

about rising energy costs can take advantage of NBS research results con- tained in a series of books published over the past 2 years. The series began

with the Energy Conservation Program

Guide for Industry and Commerce (EPIC)

and its supplement—of which more

than 94,000 copies have been sold

that laid out a step-by-step plan for starting an energy conservation

program in an industrial organization.

Currently, the series also includes:

°The Waste Heat Management

Guidebook, which describes actual case

studies showing how a company can

save 20 percent or more on its fuel

bills by installing waste heat recovery

systems;

° Application of Thermography for

Energy Conservation in Industry, a technical publication detailing how

modern techniques of infrared thermography can be used to spot heat los- ses that signal where repairs or

redesign of plant equipment can save

energy;

° Energy Management Guide for Light

Industry and Commerce, a cost-saving

textbook including case studies and

techniques for economic analysis; and

the

° Energy Management Guide for Furnaces, Kilns and Ovens, which provides

case studies and economic analytic

techniques for these particularly

energy-intensive operations.

Some of the work published in this series was done in cooperation

with the Federal Energy Administration, now a part of the U.S. Department of Energy.

That workers can also benefit

from the NBS publications program was demonstrated recently when the

United Auto Workers Social Security

Department decided to reprint the

third chapter of the NBS Handbook

Quieting: A Practical Guide to Noise

Control. The chapter, "Basic Principles

of Noise Reduction," gives sample

how-to-do-it suggestions for minimizing noise in home and industrial en- vironments.

It is not unusual for an NBS

publication to become a basic

reference document for an entire

profession or industry. Such was the

case, for example, with the NBS Handbook of Mathematical Functions, first is- sued in 1964 and now in its tenth

printing. A more recent example is Color: Universal Language and Dictionary

of Names, published I'ast year. The dic- tionary is an updated and expanded

version of the original NBS work, first published in 1955, and is becoming

the common reference for color ter- minology in science, industry, and art. A listing of selected NBS publications produced during the year is found on page 37. NBS conlerences provide a com- mon meeting ground where people

from diverse fields can discuss

problems and exchange ideas—vital interactions in a world where

technical innovations in one area can have important, and sometimes unforeseen, consequences in another.

For example, the increasing proliferation of electromagnetic devices, in- cluding industrial equipment, appliances, automobiles, and CB radios,

has affected the performance of a wide variety of other products from

pacemakers to truck brakes. A special

workshop held at NBS on the general

problem of electromagnetic in- terference drew representatives from

such varied groups as automobile

manufacturers, the telecommunications industry, consumer electronics

manufacturers, law enforcement

groups, medical instrument manufacturers, the Department of Defense, the

Federal Communications Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

In yet another instance, a workshop on reliability technology for cardiac pacemakers was conducted at NBS in response to strong interest ex- pressed by the pacemaker community.

The workshop was held to facilitate greater interaction among the

pacemaker, semiconductor,

regulatory, and other groups con- cerned with high reliability

electronics and to discuss technical

problems affecting the improvement

of cardiac pacemaker reliability.

During the year, NBS sponsored

or cosponsored 73 such workshops

and conferences, attended by over

14,000 people. The meetings covered

such topics as roofing technology, the

prevention of mechanical failures,

asbestos measurement, flow measurement, ultrasonic tissue characterization, data management, computer

security, and thermal analysis and its relation to human comfort.

11
To Other

Government Agencies

OnJune 26, 1 977, a prisoner in the

Maury County Jail in Columbia,

Tennessee, set fire to the wall padding

in his cell. Forty-two people died of

smoke and toxic gases before the fire was extinguished.

The deaths were reminiscent of a number of fire fatalities in various in- stitutions over the past few years. In- cidents such as the deaths of four

elderly patients at the Shenandoah

Homes in Roanoke, Virginia, in 1976,

and the deaths of ten prisoners and a guard from a set fire in the Seminole

County Jail in Sanford, Florida (1975),

led to considerable interest in the

burning characteristics of the com- mon element in these fires

mattresses and plastic padding

materials.

In the Center for Fire Research at the National Bureau of Standards,

similar fires have been taking place

for the past year under more controlled conditions. In specially

designed "burn rooms," researchers

ignited wastebaskets with carefully

standardized contents (newspapers,

tissues, milk cartons, cigarette

packets, and the like) next to beds

neatly made up with different types of mattresses. As bedding and mattress

caught fire and smoke began to fill the

room, observers, cameras, heat detectors, gas sensors, and smoke meters

recorded the progress of the fire and

the combustion products.

So when Tennessee State fire officials came to NBS for help in determining the causes of the Maury

County deaths they found an already

functioning program prepared to supply the answers. NBS researchers

tested samples of the materials left in the fire to learn what had been burning. The Maryland State Medical Examiner, who has been working with

NBS to study the toxic effects of combustion products, analyzed blood samples from the fire victims, and the

results of the tests were soon in the

hands of the Tennessee officials to help them complete their investigation. By September 1977, the NBS

report on the comparative burning

characteristics of institutional mattresses, used in hospitals and nursing

homes as well as prisons, had been

released to its sponsors: the Department of Health, Education, and

A new data encryption standard, developed under the

leadership of Dennis Branstad,

became effective for Federal

agencies on July 15, 1977.

It is a product of NBS' responsibilities under the Brooks

Act to provide uniform computer

standards for improving the

effective use of computers in

the Federal government.

Welfare; the Veterans Administration; the Department of Defense, and

the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In the meantime, other Bureau

fire researchers were finishing a report for the State of Kentucky on

the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire of

May 28, 1977, in which 164 people were killed. An NBS official aiding the

National Fire Prevention and Control

Administration was on the scene working as a team member with State

officials to determine the causes behind the tragedy. Later NBS fur- nished the investigators with a hypothetical model to explain how

the fire had spread from its initial location to engulf the club.

Establishing a Facilitator

The range of scientific assistance

from NBS that is available to State and local governments is much

broader than sifting through the ashes

of a disaster. For one thing, NBS and

State governments have worked closely for years to develop unified building

codes that protect the safety of the

public while improving the economics

of production.

In 1968, for example, NBS was

instrumental in helping establish the

National Conference of States on

Building Codes and Standards

(NCSBCS). After being supported by

NBS for 7 years, NCSBCS became an autonomous organization of State officials dedicated to modernizing and

unifying the building regulatory

system. The Bureau still serves as the

technical arm of the NCSBCS.

To help reduce the Nation's

energy consumption, NCSBCS officials requested that the National Bureau of

12
NBS researchers assisted in an

investigation into the causes of the fire that destroyed

the Beverly Hills Supper Club and killed 164 people.

United Press International Photo.

13
An experimental wall, built with 2000 stones

from around the world, is used by NBS researchers

to study the effects of natural weathering. Here, a workman prepares to move the wall from Washington,

D.C., to the Bureau site in Gaithersburg, Md.

Standards develop energy conservation criteria to be used in designing

new buildings that would guide the

States in writing new legislation during the next year. In response, NBS is- sued the report Design and Evaluation

Criteria for Energy Conservation in New

Buildings. The report became the core

of the American Society of Heating,

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning

Engineers ASHRAE Standard 90-75,

which in turn became the basis for most State energy conservation plans.

NBS researchers are now working with State and local government

officials to develop model building

codes for rehabilitating buildings that

often cannot be renovated to meet

modern building standards

economically or without destroying

their architectural or historic value.

Computer science is also an area where State governments can benefit

from the national experience. NBS has

among its duties the responsibility for developing uniform information

processing standards for the Federal

government. Such standards help improve the efficiency and effectiveness

of Federal computer resources and in- sure that data systems developed in one agency are compatible with those

developed in another.

Although developed primarily

for Federal data processing systems,

the FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) are coordinated with

State and local government information systems and are often used by

them. North Carolina's Department

of Administration, for example,

reports that a recent FIPS on computer documentation has been

adopted as the standard for all its Slate agencies and institutions. Last year NBS issued 10 standards and guidelines for information

processing systems. One of these, the

Data Encryption Standard (FIPS 46),

is the first computer security

standard—it specifies a method for protecting computer data in transmission and storage.

In addition, NBS provides

metrology services for many other

Federal agencies including the Department of Defense, the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A major new standardization

program undertaken by NBS to improve the quality of measurements

made for nuclear safeguard purposes

is sponsored by the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission and the

Department of Energy. These

measurements are made in nuclear

fuel cycle facilities to keep track of

Plutonium and uranium supplies and

thus provide sensitive and timely

methods for detecting loss or diversion of nuclear materials. The results of the NBS program will be dis- seminated both domestically and internationally as such measurements

must be made in support of the U.S. safeguards program and the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty.

From National to Local

As one of the central reference

laboratories of the Federal government, NBS does a considerable

amount of work to support the goals

of other Federal agencies. Much of

this research can be adapted for use by

State and local agencies with similar

objectives.

For example, preserving

government-owned monuments and

buildings from the ravages of pollution and weather is a problem com- mon to every State government. Officials responsible for this work might

take interest in a recent report

prepared by NBS for the National

Park Service. The report gives the

results of 3 years of research into

methods to test and evaluate

materials that prevent erosion and

decay of stonework. And in another

Park Service project currently un- derway at NBS, researchers are looking for ways to protect historic adobe

structures from their ancient enemy

water.

Weights and Measures

Although much of the work that

is of interest to State and local governments was originally performed for the Federal government, several major programs are directed specifically

at local government interests. As

might be expected, some of the most

important work performed for State governments at the National Bureau

of Standards is in the area of weights

14
and measures. State weights and

measures officials, organized in the

National Conference on Weights and

Measures (for which NBS serves as secretariat and sponsor), maintain

close contact with the Bureau, which

provides extensive training and

calibration services. State metrologists

are given some 80 hours of training in the NBS program, about half of which

is spent in Bureau laboratories. A

program begun in 1965 to modernize

State measurement standards (some

of which dated back to 1836) has been

completed for all except four States and territories (which are waiting for the development of adequate State laboratory facilities). The program

represents support technology in perhaps its most important sense—the

development of a reliable, functioning

measurement system.

NBS is also working to develop

measurement capabilities on a State government level in areas outside of

the traditional weights and measures

office. For example, several pilot projects in radiation measurement were

begun last year: in Illinois, to test the

concept that a particular State laboratory can serve as a regional center for radiation calibrations for several surrounding States; in Florida,

to develop a system for accurate

calibration of instruments used by

State officials to measure distributed sources of radiation, such as con- taminated soil; and on a national

scale, to develop a uniform system

through the States for reporting en- vironmental radiation data.

For All Levels

Developing a national measure- ment network is not the only area in which NBS and State governments

work together on the problem of

technology transfer. A project that can

benefit both industry and government

at all levels is the Bureau's Experimental Technology Incentives Program

(ETIP).

ETIP began in 1973 as a research

team that experimented with government policy instead of test tubes and

electron accelerators. The ETIP mission is to learn how policies and

procedures of government can be

modified to encourage technical in- novation in private industry to the

benefit of supplier and consumer

alike. ETIP experiments deal with

such areas as government buying

policies, methods of aiding private in- ventors and small firms engaged in research and development, and the

streamlining of government

regulatory proceedings.

Last year a cooperative program

between ETIP and the Montana

Public Service Commission studied

ways the Commission could

streamline the process of setting

utility rates. The program is part of a larger ETIP experiment to test the

idea that the complex procedures in- volved in updating government

regulations deter investors from sup- porting innovative technologies.

Changes made by the Commission as a

result of the study meant that a major

utility rate case was decided in half

the usual time—and with a fifth of the

usual paperwork.

Similarly, the New York Public

Service Commission last spring used an ETIP analysis of procedures

followed by Consolidated Edison to determine that the utility's request for

a rate increase could be cut by fourfifths without the company losing

money. As an added benefit, suggestions made by the ETIP team actually

increased the utility's productivity.

A Special Program

The past year saw new emphasis

at NBS on a program designed to in- crease cooperation between the

Federal laboratory and State and local governments. Through the

Intergovernmental Personnel Ex- change Program, State and local government employees have the opportunity to work on collaborative

projects with NBS scientists, using the

Bureau's facilities. Or an NBS

researcher can work on a specific project at the local level. The program is open to all qualified government personnel, as well as members of the universities

and public interest groups that serve them. Several State universities

already participate in cooperative

programs at NBS, including projects to develop accurate mathematical

models of solar heating systems

(University of Michigan), evaluate the

effectiveness of lighting systems

(University of New Hampshire), select appropriate performance attributes of

textiles for a consumer product label- ing program (University of Maryland),

and measure power plant particulates

using new micro-Raman spectroscopy

techniques (Kansas State University).

The Intergovernmental Personnel Exchange Program can become

one of the Bureau's most important

links to the State and local governments. Like the Research Associate

Program, it transfers technical

capability in the best way possible, not

just in machines and reports but in the

minds of trained and skillful personnel. 15
On the International Scene

Building construction in the

Philippines, earthquakes in Romania, power plants in the Soviet

Union, scientific projects in Paris: the

range of NBS interests abroad comes

as a surprise to people who are

familiar only with the Bureau's

domestic programs.

But while the National Bureau of

Standards is primarily geared toward

meeting the Nation's measurement

and scientific needs at home, its ser- vices to the U.S. technical community

require NBS to have a broad concern with the world around it. Further,

NBS programs support U.S. foreign

policy in many areas in which science

and technology influence inter- national affairs. NBS has, for example, worked on

several projects for the Agency for International Development (AID).

One 3 -year project, concluded last year, focused on a problem of global

scope: the often extreme damage

done to low-cost housing by severe wind storms. Using the Philippines

an area plagued by frequent extreme

winds—as a natural laboratory, the

NBS researchers put together a comprehensive set of instructions on

building—inexpensively—to resist high winds. The five volumes of the

final report. Building to Resist the Effect of Wind, included not only design and

engineering considerations to improve building practices, but also such

factors as siting buildings to lessen the

destructive impact of winds; making

use of traditional, readily available

building materials, and forecasting

housing needs.

The same NBS expertise in building technology is often called on

in emergency situations, such as the

disastrous earthquake in

southeastern Romania on March 4, 1977. Among the first groups to res- pond to the Romanian government's

request for help was a team of U.S. earthquake and construction experts

headed by two NBS engineers who

studied the damaged sites and made

recommendations on how to restore some of the structures. The team's

report to the U.S. State Department

became the basis for recommending

appropriate U.S. assistance to the

quake region.

Yoshiko Ohta, a guest worker

from Japan, is participating

in an NBS project to evaluate

nonprecious and semiprecious alloys

for dental materials.

A current program under AID

auspices is an attempt to improve the

quality of industrial standards in several developing countries. This

sort of work—the development of a central measurement system capable

of supporting modern technologies

is crucial to a nation's internal in- dustrial development and inter- national trade position. The NBS

program transfers not only measure- ment standards but also the related

technology through conferences,

tutorial workshops, training

programs, and evaluation surveys of

standardization programs in developing countries.

Under special agreements with

their respective governmental institu- tions, NBS provided assistance last year to the Korea Standards Research

Institute and the Institute of

Technological Research in Sao Paulo,

Brazil, to improve the services they of- fer to industry in their countries. And,

also last year, the Indian National

Aeronautical Laboratory began

calibrating independently flight control instruments and altimeters for its aircraft using NBS primary pressure

standards.

Cooperative Exchanges

The Bureau's international activities are not a one-way street, as the

number of cooperative research projects demonstrate. NBS joint projects

with the USSR, for example, include

three fields of major concern to the

United States—energy research, en- vironmental quality, and metrology.

Working under the sponsorship

of the U.S. Department of Energy, NBS

is involved in a long-term experiment

16
An earthquake devastated downtown

Bucharest, Romania, on March 4, 1977. Two NBS

engineers led a U.S. study team which made

recommendations on how to restore some of the

structures. United Press International Photo.

17
As part of a U.S. -USSR project to develop practical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power

plants, NBS chemist Taki Negas tests an electrode

material for its suitability in MHD systems.

with the Soviet Union to develop

practical magnetohydrodynamic

power plants. Together with

colleagues at Westinghouse, Battelle

Northwest, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Institute

for High Temperature in Moscow,

NBS scientists are working to solve

the difficult materials problems as- sociated with this alternative method

of energy production.

Several other NBS cooperative

projects with the USSR were started

as the result of the U.S.-USSR 1972

Agreement on Cooperation in En- vironmental Protection. The Agreement also includes an exchange of U.S. and USSR environmental standard

reference materials and joint experiments to develop equivalent methods

in each country to measure air and

water pollutants.

The Research Associate Program

and Intergovernmental Personnel Ex- change Program have their inter- national analog in the NBS Guest

Worker Program. Last year the

Bureau hosted 24 guest workers from

10 countries who worked on such projects as spectrochemical analysis using

x-ray fluorescence, characterization of

ultrasonic transducers, catalytic

production of methane, and the study

of bone and tooth minerals.

And, NBS was visited last year by

over 900 representatives of foreign

governments, standards-writing

organizations, and industries in- cluding 70 visitors from the USSR, 1 30

from Japan, and 50 from France.

Coordinating Standards

Certainly the Bureau's most important international work stems

from its position as one of the

foremost measurement laboratories in the world. NBS is actively involved in several international standardssetting organizations including the

International Bureau of Weights and

Measures (BIPM), the International

Standards Organization (ISO), and the

International Organization for Legal

Metrology (OIML) as well as a variety

of international consulting committees in the various branches of

metrology.

As the Federal agency entrusted

with representing the United States in

all activities resulting from the Treaty

of the Meter, NBS contributes to the

development and maintenance of in- ternational standards of measurement

and, through the OIML, to ensuring

the accuracy of instruments used in international metrology, such as those

that measure liquefied natural gas (see

page 8). Asa member of the U.S. delegation

to ISO, NBS was one of the principal

participants in the creation, late in 1976, of the International Standards

Information Network (ISONET).

When fully operational, ISONET will serve as an international reference

service to the engineering and product

standards of member nations. Any

group interested in creating a new

product or product standard will find

ISONET an invaluable research tool. Last year NBS also played a major role in the creation of a new inter- national service to speed the dis- semination of evaluated scientific data. Working through its membership in the International

Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU),

NBS helped activate the World Data

Referral Centre (WDRC). Sponsored

by the ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA)

and UNESCO, the WDRC will dis- seminate information on collections

of scientific data and information on a world-wide basis. In a more immediate area, the

Bureau's expertise in developing stan- dards such as Standard Reference

Materials in the field of clinical chemistry was recognized last year

when NBS was named a Collaborating

Center for Research and Reference

18
The U.S. -USSR Joint Working Group

on Cooperation in the Field of Metrology met

recently to review progress made in metrology

programs and to lay plans for future work.

NBS physicist Richard Deslattes discusses the use

of x-ray interferometry with a member of

the Soviet delegation.

Services in Clinical Chemistry by the

U.N.'s World Health Organization

(WHO). WHO sponsors five such

centers in the world: the only other

center in the United States is the

Center for Disease Control, an agency

of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Also in progress is a cooperative

fire research program between the

Bureau's Center for Fire Research and

Japan, which was begun at the Second

Joint Meeting of the U.S.-Japan Panel on Natural Resources held in Tokyo in October 1976. The U.S. expertise in

fire sciences such as toxicology,

physics, dynamics, and chemistry

complements the Japanese expertise

in applying technology to the prevention of fires. The program's main

areas of concentration are fire modeling, toxicity, and building design.

Through these and other activities on the international scene, NBS is working to ensure that the

United States has access to the latest world developments in measurement

science and technology and that the

U.S. position is adequately

represented in international standards

bodies.

19
And in the Public Interest

Walk into a modern supermarket

and pick up something quite or- dinary, such as a plastic bottle of milk.

To protect the buyer, the plastics in the bottle must be safe for use with

foods, the bottle must be sterilized before the juice is poured in, and the

volume of the contents measured and

marked on the label among other

things. Which of these safeguards is a concern of the National Bureau of

Standards?

The answer, perhaps surprisingly, is all of them. Promoting the use of accurate weights and measures in commerce is the oldest function of

NBS, but by no means the only way in which the Bureau has an effect on the

marketplace.

Some plastic food containers to- day are regularly sterilized by radiation, an inexpensive process but one

requiring delicate measurement and

control. Too low a dosage won't adequately sterilize the container, but too high a dose may weaken the plastic.

One answer—an answer becoming in- creasingly popular with the

industry—is a new NBS dosimeter

that uses a radiation-sensitive dye to make reliable measurements of the

comparatively large radiation dosages

used in these industrial applications.

And the safety of the plastics?

One of the problems faced by the Food

and Drug Administration in regulating the use of plastics with

foodstuffs is knowing the extent to which chemicals in the plastic

"migrate" into the food. Recently the

FDA came to the Bureau for help with

this problem and the result is a new

research program at NBS to evaluate

existing test procedures for measuring

the migration of these chemicals, and

possibly develop new tests. Ultimately, the NBS researchers hope to produce a general physical model that

will allow scientists to predict the

behavior of whole classes of plastics in these applications.

From the earliest days of the

Bureau, a sizeable portion of the

research at NBS has been directed not

to the aid of any particular industry or government agency but simply to help

make every citizen's life a little simpler, or safer, or less expensive.

Increased use of ultraviolet

(UV) radiation in many areas, including the curing of new

enamel in corrective

dentistry, requires more

accurate characterization of the

irradiation. NBS programs in

UV measurements cover the

region from 4 nm to 400 nm,

using a variety of standard

sources and detectors.

Radiation Safety

In just one area of the health

field, radiation safety, NBS activities

last year ranged from conducting a program to test existing measurement

systems, from developing a new radiation dosage measurement technique

to disseminating educational material on the subject of radiation safety. In a cooperative program with

the Bureau of Radiological Health (a part of the Food and Drug Administration), NBS is conducting a mail survey of cobalt-60 teletherapy

centers in the United States. Cobalt-60

radiation is an effective and widely

used treatment for cancer patients

there are approximately 1000 such

teletherapy units at present.

However, investigations by the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission have

shown that there can be major dif- ferences between the radiation dose

actually given to a patient and the

dosage calculated by the operator. The

NBS survey, which is strictly voluntary, checks the accuracy of irradiation procedures by requesting the

teletherapy unit to deliver a fixed

amount of radiation to a dosimeter.

(The development by NBS of a dosimeter that could be transferred

by mail was a byproduct of the project.) The exposed dosimeter, together

with the therapy unit's calculations of

the dose delivered, is returned to NBS

for evaluation. Those participants

whose measurements exceed acceptable limits work with NBS to improve their measurement techniques.

Although the Nuclear Regulatory

Commission has set up a new mandatory test program for cobalt-60

teletherapy units, it will exempt any

group whose measurements are found

20
To help educate consumers on the role of local weights and measures officials

in the marketplace, NBS cosponsored the production

of a film that takes the viewer "on the rounds" with

a weights and measures inspector.

21
Ruth Davis, former head of the

Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, and

Alan Westin, professor at Columbia University, answer questions at news conference held to announce completion of NBS-sponsored study on privacy issues

in medical recordkeeping.

to agree with NBS' to within 5 percent. Because of the nature of ionizing

radiation such as x-rays, accurate dose measurements are sometimes dif- ficuk to make. When accurate doses of

radiation must be administered to areas near the joining of two different

types of tissue—bone to bone marrow,

or bone to muscle, for example

radiologists find that the scattering of

the radiation beam at the interface

makes accurate determination of

doses difficult or even impossible.

Last year, however, in another

collaborative program with the

Bureau of Radiological Health, NBS

developed a new type of radiation sensitive gel that will go a long way

toward solving this problem. The new

gel, which can be cast or molded into

different shapes and densities, is used

to simulate muscle, bone, or other tis- sues (and mimics the interface

between two types of tissues). When

exposed, it records a permanent, highresolution image of the radiation

dosage received at different parts of

the sample.

In still another effort designed to encourage improvement in radiation

safety, NBS is circulating a new radiation safety film

The Double-Edged

Sword. This training film, in use for the

past year and a half, demonstrates

procedures designed to eliminate

human error in using x-ray equipment. Gathering enthusiastic reviews

from companies which borrow the

film to show their employees, The

Double-Edged Sword has been seen by more than 56,000 people.

Keeping It Private

Even after patients are cured

they may still have problems

specifically problems with their

medical records: that was the warning of the landmark study Computers.

Health Records, and Citizen Rights issued

last year by NBS.

The report, by noted law and

privacy expert Professor Alan Westin

of Columbia University, was sponsored by the National Bureau of Stan- dards to bring privacy issues in medical recordkeeping to the atten- tion of policy makers. Westin's

findings and recommendations are applicable to all health record systems,

with or without computers.

The report, which has been cir- culated to at least 10,000 managers of

health care institutions, includes 12 recommendations for protecting per- sonal medical records against misuse

and for guaranteeing people the right

to know what information is in their

records (not now an automatic right)

and how that information is being

used.

NBS has also sent copies of the

study to the Federal Privacy Protection Study Commission (PPSC), which was established by Congress to in- vestigate the entire privacy issue. PPSC plans to recommend to Congress

legislation for safeguarding the

privacy of all kinds of records, in- cluding medical records.

Lawn Mowers, Pressure

Tanks, and Toys

Protection of personal safety is another important line of research at the National Bureau of Standards.

Usually working under the auspices of

either the Consumer Product Safety

Commission, the Law Enforcement

Assistance Administration, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Bureau scientists and

technicians conduct performance and

safety tests on a variety of consumer

goods. Information gathered in evaluating products is delivered to the

sponsoring agencies, which are charged with reducing the number of

deaths and injuries attributed to such

products.

In the last year alone, NBS:

• tested lawn mowers to measure

the time it took to stop the blade in an emergency situation and to evaluate

the usefulness of existing tests for thrown-object hazards;

• studied pressure tanks used as gas containers and fire extinguishers

to learn if existing safety standards were adequate;

• tested the components used in TV accessories that use household wiring as an antenna to learn if they

presented a shock hazard from lightning effects (they did);

• began a new project to study the

problem of eye injuries caused by ob22
An NBS study carried out in

Gaithersburg, Md., on an existing house with limited

insulation showed that winter heating bills could

be cut by more than half through the addition of

storm windows and more insulation.

jects thrown or propelled from

children's toys;

• completed an extensive study of

risks associated with certain sports activities as a preliminary step to developing product standards in these

areas; and

• issued a comprehensive report on the performance of safety equipment designed to prevent falls. In recent years, NBS has worked

with industry, other standardswriting groups, and the Department

of Commerce in the development of more than 100 voluntary product

standards—nationally recognized in- dustry standards for improving

product performance. The latest stan- dard to go into effect is aimed at reducing the risk of personal injury

from shattering carbonated beverage

bottles. Previously developed product

standards cover such things as toy

safety and playground equipment.

Also related to product stan- dards, the Department of Commerce

recently announced a 1-year pilot

program to label products to assist consumers in making informed buying decisions on the basis of the

product's strength, durability, and

other performance characteristics.

NBS is providing technical support for the program. This includes selecting

the performance characteristics to be

listed on the label and the test procedures to be used in measuring

those characteristics.

Manufacturers, distributors,

retailers, or consumers who want to request that a product be included in

I the program should write to the Con-

' sumer Product Information Labeling

Program, Office of Product Standards,

U.S. Department of Commerce,

Washington, D.C. 20230.

Conserve, Conserve, Conserve

Energy costs continue to increase,

and that makes energy conservation a topic of more than passing interest to every consumer. To help solve this national problem, NBS is evaluating

energy conservation alternatives in many areas. Two NBS projects, one just completed and one just begun, will be of

particular value to homeowners. Done

for the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE), the recently completed project

resulted in the publication of A Service Manager's Guide to Saving Energy in Residential Oil Burners. Tests conducted

for the NBS/DOE project revealed

that virtually every residential oil

burner was to some extent

overfired—that is, burning more fuel than necessary to reach the desired

temperature. In many cases the overfiring was as much as 100 to 200 percent. The Guide is a working summary

of research results that show service

managers and technicians how a combination of smaller nozzle sizes and

properly adjusted air flow can result

in substantial fuel savings. NBS also

prepared a version for the

homeowner. Copies of How to Improve

the Efficiency of Your Oil- Fired Furnace are

available free from the Consumer In- formation Center, Pueblo, Colorado,

81009.

23
NBS research engineer Robert Berger is conducting

a study for the Consumer Product Safety Commission

to develop a test method that toy manufacturers can

use to measure the force of a propelled object and

insure that it is within a safe level.

24
One energy-saving idea, evaluated

by NBS and funded by the Department of Energy, was

that of Albert , below, and John Csonka who developed a "micro-carburetor" for automobiles that would decrease

fuel consumption and the amount of the

pollutants escaping into the environment.

Both heating and cooHng ef- ficiency are the subjects of a new 2- year program recently started at NBS

to study the value of attic ventilation

in combination with attic insulation.

Although the use of both ventilation

and insulation in attics to prevent

either excessive heat build-up in sum- mer or loss in winter are well-known

conservation measures, the effects of

using various combinations of the two

are almost entirely unknown.

Previous limited NBS studies of the

problem have shown that the effect of

a wide variety of variables must be

known before useful cost-benefit decisions can be made by homeowners

and builders. The new study, done in cooperation with Lawrence Berkeley

Laboratory, Princeton University,

DOE, the American Ventilation Association, and the Home Ventilation

Institute, is designed to examine a variety of ventilation/insulation combinations in three different climate

areas. Of particular concern in the

study are the effects of such variables

as air exchange, moisture condensation; indoor, outdoor, and attic temperatures; heat flow, and wind

speed and direction. In the meantime, homeowners

who are interested in alternative

energy sources will find useful information resulting from Bureau

research into solar energy systems.

Under the sponsorship of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and DOE, NBS has

studied not only the performance and

design of solar energy systems, but

also the economic considerations: In what areas of the country does solar

heating make sense? How do you es- timate whether or not installing a solar energy system will be a good investment?

And, to help protect the buyer,

NBS has contributed to the development of standards for solar energy

systems. Most recently, NBS proposed

quality levels for solar heating and

domestic hot water systems that were

adopted by HUD as minimum stan- dards for housing projects built under

HUD programs.

Homeowners will also find imaginative assistance in this year's

publication of Window Design Strategies

to Conserve Energy, which illustrates the

wide range of options currently

available commercially to conserve energy using proper window management.

Aid for Inventors

With the tradition of American

ingenuity comes the perennial

problem: getting someone to pay attention to your new idea. A

cooperative program between NBS

and DOE does just that. The NBS Office of Energy-Related

Inventions (OERI) was set up to en- courage the development of new

energy sources and technologies by

aiding small businesses and individual

inventors who have potentially

worthwhile ideas for either producing

or saving energy, but who lack the means to develop the invention.

Any individual can submit an in- vention or idea for a new energyrelated device, material, or process of an energy-related nature to the OERI.

There the invention goes through a two-step screening process to determine, first, whether or not it is technically feasible, and second

whether or not it shows sufficient

potential to warrant support from the

Federal government. Inventions that

pass the screening process are referred

to the DOE, which makes the final determination as to the sort of aid

that should be provided. The government support may range from a grant

for further research and development

to assistance in marketing the finished

product.

As of the end of September 1977,

OERI had received 6,260 evaluation

requests. Of the 5,299 investigations

completed, 46 resulted in recommendations to DOE for further support.

Typical recommended inventions in- clude a food waste disposal powered

hydraulically by the water it uses in- stead of by electricity, a system for converting a standard gasoline engine

into a diesel engine, and a system for reducing fuel consumption in motor

vehicles by storing the kinetic energy

of braking in a hydraulic system for use in acceleration.

25
Building the Foundations

he United States is a leader in the

development and use of

technology. What makes that possible? Useful technology depends on many factors. Some are cultural: the

ability of a people to change, to accept

innovation. Some are economic: the

availability of investment capital to back technology development, and

before that, the money necessary to train the scientists and engineers

needed for that development.

Economic influences of Federal financial and regulatory policies can also

contribute to a climate that en- courages innovation.

Some are scientific: the basic

scientific competence necessary to solve technological problems, the

scientific knowledge of the world that

allows one to do something and know

what is done.

At the heart of scientific progress

is metrology—measurement science,

the capability to express discoveries

and accomplishments in numbers.

Measurement science and the basic

scientific know-how that goes with it, are important, even vital, parts of the

support structure that makes

technology work. And measurement

in this country means, more than any

other single organization, the National

Bureau of Standards.

Accuracy is pursued to the limits

of science in NBS laboratories: pres- sure to three parts per million, the

length of a meter to one part in ten

million, the speed of light to four parts

in a billion, the length of a second to one part in ten thousand billion. All this is done to provide our

clients with the information they

need to obtain the measurement ac- curacy they require, to understand the

factors contributing to measurement

uncertainties, and to know what

measurement accuracies are necessary

for specific jobs.

Building a Better Measure

Part of the NBS effort in this area

is devoted to improving the instruments and methods of measurement.

One program, for example, studies

nondestructive evaluation (NDE)

NBS scientist Willie May

analyzes marine samples from

Prince William Sound, Alaska,

for trace hydrocarbons.

methods: techniques used to inspect

materials and components for hidden

flaws without damaging them in the

process. When questions arose con- cerning the integrity of welds in the

trans-Alaskan pipeline, the Department of Transportation turned to NBS

to analyze NDE tests performed on the

welds.

Last year, NBS researchers

demonstrated a valuable new NDE

technique called vibrational

spectroscopy that can be used to check

the mechanical integrity of plastic

parts in critical applications, such as the cups used in artificial hip joints.

The method involves measuring the

vibrations of a test object that has

been given a mechanical shock. The

NBS workers found that the

characteristics of the frequency

spectrum of the object depend upon

the presence or absence of internal

flaws.X-rays are another useful tool in NDE. For example, in a technique

known as x-ray xeroradiography,

radiation is passed through the object

to be analyzed to form a charged image on a selenium plate behind the object. However, this technique doesn't

work with dense metals such as lead, so last year NBS scientists demonstrated a way to use neutron

radiation in xeroradiography. A successful application of this new NDE

tool was the analysis of sealed ancient

Chinese lead and bronze ceremonial

urns for the Smithsonian Institution.

Some NBS test methods have

become standards in the industry. In the field of semiconductor and

electronic technology, for example,

NBS scientists developed measure- ment procedures to check the in- tegrity of the wire bonds that connect

26
NBS scientists participated in a project to determine natural

levels of hydrocarbons in the Alaskan marine environment

prior to development of the outer continental shelf and to the opening of the trans- Alaskan oil pipeline. Photo

courtesy Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.

27
NBS scientists D. Wayne Hanson (left) and Joseph Cateora inspect the calculator circuits

of the prize-winning satellite-controlled clock. The

units shown receive the satellite's time signal and

automatically compute the transmission delay and

adjust the clock accordingly.

transistors and integrated circuits and

to evaluate tlie effectiveness of heat

sinks in microelectronic devices.

This work has been incorporated

into formal standards by such groups

as the American Society for Testing

and Materials, the Electronic In- dustries Association/Joint Electronic

Devices Engineering Council and the

Department of Defense.

NBS semiconductor test patterns

are also becoming increasingly popular among the makers and users of

microelectronic devices. These patterns, sold in the form of photomasks,

are used to build specific test struc- tures into silicon wafers along with

the actual microelectronic devices.

The patterns are then tested

electronically as part of the quality

control process. Test procedures and devices like these are the result of a long process in which NBS scientists use everything

from surveys and interviews to joint

industry-government workshops to learn the actual measurement needs

of the industry. They then work with

industry to develop the necessary

measurement capabilities. Frequent

meetings and consultation during the

development process help ensure that

the test procedures, when finished,

will be useful to a large segment of the

industry.

New Measurement Devices

NBS takes pride in its work in measurement technology. Last year

NBS researchers won three awards

all of which were for new measure- ment devices—in the Industrial Research magazine competition for the 100

most significant new technical

products of the year. One, the development of an ac- curate satellite-controlled clock for data gathering, was mentioned earlier on page 8. Another was the product of

the Joint Institute for Laboratory

Astrophysics (JILA), a long-standing

cooperative research effort sponsored

by NBS and the University of

Colorado. JILA researchers were looking for a fast, accurate means of

measuring the wavelength of continuous lasers, a need common to a wide variety of disciplines including

laser isotope separation, laser chemistry, high-resolution

spectroscopy, and air pollution

measurement.

Their solution was the laser lambda meter, a novel use of laser in- terferometry that delivers four

wavelength measurements per second

with an accuracy that previously took

a week or more to achieve.

The third award was for the

development of a scanning electron

microscope (SEM) micrometer scale,

essentially a very small, highly ac- curate ruler that allows researchers to calibrate the magnification of SEM's

in the 2,000 to 40,000 magnification

range with unprecedented accuracy. The award was for the novel fabrication technique used to make the

micrometer scales sufficiently precise.

The micrometer scale is now

available as an NBS Standard

Reference Material (SRM). The SRM's

represent another important facet of

the Bureau's work in measurement

technology—the development of ways

to transfer accurate measurements

from NBS laboratories to the

workplace.

A World of

Standard References

NBS Standard Reference

Materials are recognized throughout

industry and commerce as important

and sometimes indispensable

measurement tools. There are currently over 1000 different SRM's, all sub- stances or artifacts that have been

carefully analyzed and documented

for their composition or mechanical

and other properties. The SRM's are 28
A cooperative NBS-U.S. Forest Service program is aimed at improving avalanche-predicting techniques

through better snow measurement methods.

Fred McGehan and Douglas Tamura prepare to use an NBSdeveloped instrument based on microwave sensing, which

will measure snow depth, water content,

hardness, and stratification beneath the surface.

used in turn to calibrate or test other

measuring instruments and evaluate

the effectiveness with which they are

used.Last year 82 new SRM's were added to the list. The range of applications is quite broad. SRM 1 82 1 , for ex- ample, is 99.9+ percent pure ethanol,

used to calibrate the blood and breath

alcohol test equipment used by police

departments. SRM's 1570, 1573, and

1576 are spinach, tomato leaves, and

pine needles, respectively, that have

been certified for their content of 16,

12, and 13 different trace elements

such as manganese, phosphorus, copper, and lead. They are used to calibrate and test the analytic tools

and measurement procedures used by

environmental and agricultural scientists. Chemists in the highly successful

clinical NBS SRM program—over 20

clinical reference materials have been

produced to date—added SRM's for bovine serum (926 and 927) which

will be used around the world

through the World Health Organization to check the performance of

analytic methods for sera. Standard Reference Materials can look like anything, from fine

powders to thermometers nestled in velvet. An important thermometry

SRM developed last year looks like silvery metal. SRM 1968 is 99.99999

percent pure gallium, a metal that can

be used as a fixed temperature

reference point because its melting

point has been established—within

0.0007 degree—as 29.7723 °C. This

reference standard is particularly important because it falls very near 30

°C, a temperature used frequently in diagnostic tests in clinical chemistry

29
NBS chemist Harry Rook checks

bottle of "standard spinach" in which 27

trace elements have been determined. The standard

is used to calibrate instruments that test for toxic

substances present in minute quantities in the Food

and Drug Administration's sample "market basket"

survey of fruits and vegetables.

NBS researchers used a new nondestructive

evaluation technique—neutron xeroradiography—to examine a ceremonial Chinese vessel for

the Smithsonian Institution.

and one that must often be controlled

accurately.

Also, NBS offers over 50 Stan- dard Reference Materials related to the measurement of air pollutants, in- cluding such recent additions as SRM's for methane, propane, and sul- fur dioxide concentrations in air.

In the Air

But the environmental SRM's are

just one of the programs aimed at improving the quality of air pollution

measurements—an important goal in the eyes of both the U.S. regulatory

agencies and the industries they

regulate.

Scientists in the NBS reactor radiation group have been working

with colleagues from the University of

Maryland to apply techniques of

neutron activation analysis to the

problem of tracing airborne particles

of pollutants to their sources. Last year in the Washington, D.C., area, the

group was able to trace no fewer than

30 separate elements—including

things like lead, barium, arsenic, and

mercury—to their sources. The

method permits a quantitative

analysis, so that the researchers were

able to say, for example, that motor

vehicles are the major sources of lead

and chlorine, while coal combustion

produces the most arsenic and vaporphase mercury.

In related work, analytical

chemists and physicists at the Bureau were applying the recently developed

laser-Raman microprobe (an advanced type of spectrograph for work

on a microscopic level) to the problem

of identifying very small quantities of

pollutants such as pesticides. This new

analytic technique allows scientists to identify pesticides—and even dis- tinguish between two different

pesticides with closely related structures—in samples as small as a single particle three-millionths of a meter in diameter and weighing as lit- tle as one-billionth of a gram.

Other chemists at NBS have

turned to the laser to devise a precise

new method to measure the size and

distribution of airborne particles and

aerosols. Called a particle Doppler

shift spectrometer, the new instrument not only measures the size of

particles drifting in a column of air, but also estimates the number of particles of each size. Particles from 3 to 10 micrometers in radius can be

30
measured with an accuracy of 0.08

micrometers and in quantities up to

10' per cubic centimeter.

Air pollution problems are also

approached theoretically in the

several NBS laboratories studying the

chemical processes that go on in the

earth's atmosphere. NBS research has

contributed substantially to the study

of the effect of halogens released from

the breakdown of halocarbons on the

planet's protective ozone layer. One

such contribution was the discovery

last year that small amounts of

halogens that have harmful effects in the upper atmosphere can dissociate

harmlessly at ground level if the

molecules are first adsorbed onto sand

or quartz particles. Although the

amounts involved are comparatively

small, the discovery of such a previously unsuspected

photochemical reaction has important

implications for atmospheric

chemistry.

Careful studies of other ground

level reactions last year resulted in the

discovery of a previously unknown

molecular species. Research on the

complex chain of reactions that occur when hydrocarbons, from sources such as automobile exhausts, combine

with ozone led to the development of

a new analytic tool. By operating a microwave absorption cell at cryogenic temperatures, researchers were able to observe in "slow motion"

reactions that at normal temperatures

happen too fast to be analyzed. One

result was the discovery of a previously unobserved ring form of methylene

peroxide, dioxirane, an important step

in identifying the reaction sequence.

Such studies of chemical processes result in one of the more important products of the National Bureau

of Standards—accurate data.

Facts and Figures

In the field of nuclear fusion

power, NBS has several efforts un- derway to supply the engineers and

scientists designing these future

energy sources with the reliable data

they need. These projects deliver such

information as spectral line data for highly ionized forms of metals and

gases that is vital in diagnosing energy

losses in reactors due to impurities in the plasma stream. Other products include data on

the mechanical and thermophysical

properties at cryogenic temperatures

of the materials that may be used in superconducting magnets for one type

of fusion energy system.

Fusion research draws heavily on

three unique data centers maintained

at NBS: the center for atomic energy

levels, one for transition probabilities

(the shift of an atom from one energy

level to another under excitation), and

(at the Joint Institute for Laboratory

Astrophysics) a data center of atomic

collision processes. These centers—internationally

recognized as unique information

resources—are part of the Bureau's

National Standard Reference Data

System (NSRDS).

Founded in 1963, the NSRDS is one of the Bureau's major elements in the Nation's scientific support structure. Through the NSRDS, the Bureau

coordinates the activities of over 40

different data centers at laboratories,

universities, and industrial firms

across the country. The data centers not only collect, but more importantly, evaluate critically all the available

scientific data in a variety of key

areas.NSRDS projects include, for ex- ample, the publication of surveys of

data sources—comprehensive publications that emphasize the location of

reliable sources of data, from handbooks and publications, to trade as- sociations, to information centers. The

fourth in the Critical Surveys series.

Electrical and Magnetic Properties of

Metals, was published last year. Another NSRDS event last year was the establishment of a new data

center—the National Center for Thermodynamic Data of Minerals. The

center is run in cooperation with the

U.S. Geological Survey, which has a recognized competence in the area. The information collected—data on thermodynamic properties of

minerals and other geological

materials—includes a large amount of

data that, after being carefully

evaluated for accuracy and reliability,

will be disseminated to a large seg- ment of the scientific or industrial

community.

Accurate data—and accurate instruments—are the hallmarks of the

National Bureau of Standards. These

underlie the Bureau's major contribution to the art of technology

transfer—the assurance that in any

exchange of information or knowhow both sides are measuring the same thing, using the same data, and

speaking the same scientific language.

31
Funds and Facilities

To carry out its research and

services, NBS operates modern

physical plants in two locations. In Gaithersburg, Maryland, located

north of Washington, D.C., NBS has 27

buildings in a campus-like setting on

230 hectares (1 hectare equals 2.5

acres). The Bureau has 14 buildings on

83 hectares in Boulder, Colorado. The

Joint Institute for Laboratory

Astrophysics, cosponsored by NBS and

the University of Colorado, is also

located in Boulder. Here scientists carry out studies in atomic and

molecular physics. In Ft. Collins, Colorado, NBS

radio stations WWV and WWVB

broadcast standard time and fre- quency information. Another station,

WWVH, broadcasts from Kauai,

Hawaii. The Bureau also has a facility

in Clearing, Illinois, with a railway

master track scale and two railway

test cars that are used to calibrate

master track scales owned by

railroads around the country.

As one of the Nation's largest

physical science laboratories, the

Bureau houses a number of special

facilities and equipment. A high flux nuclear research reactor is used daily

by scientists from NBS, other agencies,

and universities in projects ranging

from nuclear theory to analysis of

food contaminants. Another facility,

the Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation

Facility (SURF), is one of the few of its kind in North America. Having been

converted into a storage ring, SURF is now capable of producing intense

short wavelength ultraviolet radiation, which is especially useful for

radiometry in studies of controlled ; nuclear fusion energy sources and at- mospheric and space science

programs. | Among other NBS facilities are a

{ cryogenic flow research facility, a fire , research laboratory, an experimental I computer facility, and anechoic and | reverberation chambers. In addition,

j an extensive instrument shops divi- ' sion answers specialized research

needs. Shop capabilities include glass

blowing, optics, and metalworking.

{ Many of the Bureau's facilities j' are available for use by the scientific i and engineering communities. These j facilities are described more fully in. i Special Technical Facilities at the National | Bureau of Standards. This 50-page

booklet is available from the

Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, , Washington, D.C. 20402, and may be | ordered by Stock No. 003-003-01601-

' 2/1976 Ed., for $1.35. i The Bureau's budget for FY 1977 I was $123.4 million. Direct Congressional appropriations accounted for about 5 5 percent of NBS funds, with

^ an additional 40 percent resulting

from work performed by NBS for other government agencies. The sale of NBS goods and services, such as / Standard Reference Materials and

calibrations, provided the final 5 percent. Support for Bureau programs ; from other agencies reflects NBS' role : as a major physical sciences research I laboratory for the entire Federal i government. [

32
TOTAL NBS OPERATING FUNDS (All Sources)

(in million of dollars)

Fiscal 1976

(actual)

Fiscal 1977

(actual)

Fiscal

1 7 / o

(est.)*

Provide a national system for physical measurement 39.4 41.0 41.7

Physical measurements, units and

standards 26.7 28.9 28.7

Reference measurements for physical

quantities 12.7 12.1 13.0

Provide services to improve use of

materials 28.2 32.1 33.2

Properties and performance of materials 21.3 24.0

Reference materials 2.5 3.0 J . 1 Environmental pollution measurements 4.4 5.1 5.6

Provide services to improve the

application of technology 30.3 35.0 36.1

State weights and measures services .7 .7 .8

Voluntary engineering standards 2.0 2.4 2.9

Building science and technology 12.9 14.4 15.6

Electronic technology 3.8 3.8 4.1

Product performance and safety 6.4 7.3 6.0

Fire research 4.5 6.4 6.7 Improve the application of computer technology 7.7 8.8 8.7

Support services to other agencies 3.0 3.4 3.6

Experimental Technology Incentives Program 4.9 3.1 3.2 TOTAL 113.5 123.4 126.5

*Excludes facilities and pending supplementals for pay raise and recycled oil program.

33
People

Guided by the NBS Executive

Board, the Bureau staff works to increase measurement competence

and share its scientific and technical

expertise with the scientific community, industry, and the public.

The NBS Executive Board

oversees the efforts of the entire

Bureau staff. The Executive Board is provided valuable aid in these oversight functions by a series of evaluation panels appointed by the National

Academy of Sciences (National

Research Council). At the top of these

evaluation and advisory functions is the NBS Visiting Committee, created

by the Bureau's Organic Act and

responsible for reporting annually to the Secretary of Commerce "upon the

efficiency of its scientific work and the

condition of its equipment."

The staff has grown from its original 11 in 1901 to about 3 100 full- time employees. Approximately 2600

are located in Gaithersburg,

Maryland, with the remainder in Boulder, Colorado. More than 1400

Bureau staff members are physical

scientists and engineers, and more

than 44 percent of the research and

scientific staff have earned doctorates.

The research and scientific staff, the

largest percentage of the NBS staff, is supported by administrative, clerical,

housekeeping, and groundskeeping

personnel. The staff also includes

almost 300 technicians.

The contributions of NBS

employees to the advancement of

science and technology are often

recognized by outside organizations.

During the fiscal year, those staff members honored by independent

and professional organizations in- cluded:

MARSHALL D. ABRAMS of the Computer Networking Section received

the Honor Roll Award of the Institute

of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

for his active role in support of the

highly successful Trends and Applications Symposia series. ERNEST AMBLER, Director of NBS,

received the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service,

which cited him as an internationally

recognized scientist and scientific administrator, who has made major contributions to the field of physics and

has effectively redirected NBS

programs in such areas of high

national priority as energy and

materials conservation and consumer

product safety. He was also the

recipient of the William G. Wildhack

Award from the National Conference

of Standards Laboratories for out- standing contributions to the field of

metrology.

DAVID B. BALLARD, FIELDING

OGBURN, and JOHN P. YOUNG of

the Metallurgy Division received an

IR-100 award for development of a micrometer scale for calibrating scan- ning electron microscopes as one of

the year's most significant new

technological products from Industrial Research magazine.

JOHN L. HALL of the Joint Institute

for Laboratory Astrophysics with SiuAu Lee of the University of Colorado

received an IR-100 award for development of a laser wavelength meter as one of the year's most significant new

technological products from Industrial Research magazine.

PHILIP E. BLOOMFIELD and : SEYMOUR EDELMAN of the

Polymers Division received the 1976

Army Research and Development

Achievement Award for contributions

to national security through pioneering research on the use of piezoelectric I polymers.

j CAROLYN P. BROWN, chief of the In- ! formation Services Section, received , one of 17 Fellowships awarded to out-

| standing mid-career librarians by The j- Council on Library Resources.

| GRACE G. BURNS of the Institute for | Computer Sciences and Technology was awarded a Princeton University

Fellowship in Public Affairs. ROBERT A. CRIST, chief of the Struc- tures Section, was a joint recipient of

the 1976 Raymond C. Reese award

from the American Society of Civil Engineers for a paper on shear

strength of reinforced concrete. RUTH M. DAVIS, former director of

the Institute for Computer Sciences

and Technology, received one of ten Career Service Awards from the

National Civil Service League for significant contributions and ex- cellence in government service. JOHN M. EVANS, JR., acting manager

of the Office of Developmental

Automation and Control Technology, was presented the 1976 Management

Achievement Award by the Society of

Manufacturing Engineers.

D. WAYNE HANSON, JOSEPH V. CATEORA, and DICKY D. DAVIS of

the Time and Frequency Division

34
David Ballard, John Young, and

Fielding Ogburn (1. to r.) demonstrate the micrometer

scale for calibrating scanning electron microscopes

for which they won an IR-100 award.

received an IR-100 award for development of a highly accurate satellite- controlled clock as one of the year's

most significant new technological

products from Industrial Research

magazine.

LAFAYETTE K. IRWIN of the

Mechanics Division received the

American Society for Testing and

Materials' (ASTM) Award of Merit

and was named Fellow of the ASTM

for accomplishments in advancing the

standardization of methods of

mechanical testing.

MADELEINE JACOBS of the Office of

Information Activities received three

citations from the Society for Technical Communications for authoring a pamphlet, a consumer

booklet, and a DIMENSIONS/NBS article on different NBS programs.

DONALD R. JOHNSON of the Office

of the Associate Director for Programs

received one of the ten Arthur S. Flemming Awards presented each

year to outstanding young people in government by the Washington, D.C.,

Jaycees.

JEROME KRUGER, chief of the Corrosion Section, received the 1976 Willis

Rodney Whitney Award from the

National Association of Corrosion

Engineers for outstanding contributions to the science of corrosion and was the recipient of the Outstanding

Achievement Award of the Corrosion

Division of the Electrochemical

Society for excellence in corrosion

research.

STEPHEN R. LEONE of the Quantum

Physics Division was awarded an

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Fellowship for exceptional potential

to make creative contributions to

scientific knowledge early in his career. FREDERICK P. McGEHAN of the

Program Information Office received an Achievement Award from the

Society for Technical Communications

for preparing the Metric Style Guide for

the News Media.

MELVIN R. MEYERSON, chief of the

Product Systems Analysis Division,

received the American National Stan- dards Institute's Standards Medal for 1976 for leadership in the development and application of voluntary

standards.

GEORGE A. MOORE of the

Metallurgy Division received the

George Kimball Burgess Memorial

Award for 1977 from the American

Society for Metals for outstanding

contributions to the field of

metallurgy.

NORRIS NAHMAN of the

Electromagnetics Division was named

Fellow of the Institute of Electrical

and Electronics Engineers for contributions to time domain metrology.

JOAN R. ROSENBLATT, chief of the

Statistical Engineering Laboratory, was elected to membership in the

International Statistical Institute. THOMAS P. SHEAHEN of the Office

of Energy Conservation was selected

as a Congressional Fellow by the

American Political Science Association.

ROBERT D. STIEHLER in the Center

for Building Technology was elected an Honorary Member of the

35
Inventors Siu-Au Lee and John Hall with the

laser lambda meter for which they won an IR-100 award.

The laser lambda meter is capable of measuring the

wavelength of a laser beam with an accuracy of up to seven significant figures at a rate of four times a second.

American Society for Testing and

Materials (ASTM) for service to many

interest areas of ASTM and contributions that have advanced the progress

of ASTM and its principles.

BARRY N. TAYLOR, chief of the

Electricity Division, was elected

Fellow of the Institute of Electrical

and Electronics Engineers for contributions to the understanding of

electron tunneling in superconductors

and for leadership in the development

of Josephson junction voltage stan- dards.

NBS EXECUTIVE BOARD

Dr. Ernest Ambler

Director

Robert S. Walleigh

Acting Deputy Director

Dr. Arthur O. McCoubrey

Director, Institute for Basic Standards

Dr. John D. Hoffman

Director, Institute for Materials

Research

Dr. James R. Wright

Acting Director

Institute for Applied Technology

M. Zane Thornton

Acting Director

Institute for Computer Sciences and

Technology

Dr. Howard E. Sorrows

Associate Director for Programs

Richard P. Bartlett, Jr. Associate Director for Administration

Dr. Edward L. Brady

Associate Director for Information

Programs

NBS VISITING COMMITTEE

Charles E. Peck

Chairman July 1, 1976 - June 30, 1977

Vice President

Construction Group

Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation

Dr. Edwin A. Gee

Chairman July 1, 1977 - June 30, 1978

Senior Vice President

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and

Company

Dr. Robert H. Dicke

Professor of Physics

Princeton University

Dr. W. Dale Compton

Vice President for Research

Ford Motor Company

William D. Carey

Executive Officer

American Association for the

Advancement of Science

36
Selected Publications

During the fiscal year ending

September 30, 1977, more than

1 1 50 papers appeared in NBS publications and journals. An additional 700

papers were authored by NBS staff members for other journals, books,

and proceedings. The following is a selected list of NBS publications issued

during this period. Unless otherwise

stated, all publications are available at the price indicated from the

Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C. 20402. There is a 25

percent charge for foreign mailings.

For a list of NBS publications, write

for Publications of the National

Bureau of Standards, NBS Special

Publication 305, Supplement 8, Stock

No. 003-003-01743-4, $8.25.

Timely reports of both technical

and general interest on the work of

the National Bureau of Standards are

available in the pages of DIMENSIONS/NBS, the Bureau's monthly

magazine. A year's subscription is available from the Superintendent of

Documents for $12.50.

Measurement Capabilities

Measurements for the Safe Use of Radiation. Sherman P. Fivozinsky, editor. Stock No. 003-

003-01682-9, $5.15.

Accuracy in Trace Analysis: Sampling. Sample

Handling, Analysis. Philip D. LaFleur, editor. Stock No. 003-003-01458-3, (two-volume set) $20.00.

Flow Measurement in Open Channels and Closed Conduits. Lawrence K. Irwin, editor. Stock No. 003-

003-01845-7. (two-volume set) $12.25.

Time and Frequency Users Manual. George Kamas,

editor. Stock No. 003-003-01781-7, $2,80.

Energy

Is Hydrogen Safe?. Jesse Hord. Stock No. PB

262551, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161, $4.50.

LNG Materials and Fluids Users Manual. Cryogenic

Division, National Bureau of Standards,

Boulder, CO 80302. Make check or money

order for $35 payable to National Bureau of Standards, Department of Commerce.

Energy Management Guide for Light Industry and

Commerce. William J. Kelnohofer and Lawrence A. Wood. Stock No. 003-003-01667-

5, $.70.

Waste Heat Management Guidebook. Kenneth G. Kreider. Stock No. 003-003-01669-1, $3.50.

Window Design Strategies to Conserve Energy. S. Robert Hastings and Richard W. Crenshaw.

Stock No. 003-003-01794-9, $3.75.

Applications of Thermography for Energy Conservation in Industry. Charles W. Harley and Kenneth

G. Kreider. Stock No. 003-003-01679-9, $.75.

Thertnophysical Properties of Ethane from 90 to 600

K at Pressures to 700 Bar. Robert D. Goodwin, Hans M. Roder, and Gerald C. Straty. Stock No. 003-003-01732-9, $3.85.

Metric Information

Recommended Practice for the Use of Metric (SI) Units in Building Design and Construction. Hans J. Milton. Stock No. 003-003-01761-2, $1.60.

Metrication and Dimensional Coordination-A Selected Bibliography. Stock No. 003-003-01684-5, $.75.

The International System of Units (SI). 1977 Edition. Stock No. 003-003-01784-1, $1.60.

Computer Science

Data Base Directions-The Next Steps. John L. Berg,

editor. Stock No. 003-003-01662-4, $3.00.

Data Encryption Standard. FIPS PUB 46, National_ Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA

22161, $3.50.

Computer Science and Technology Publications (bibliography) L.P. 84, Institute for Computer

Sciences and Technology, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC 20234, Free.

Computers. Health Records, and Citizen Rights. Alan

F. Westin. Stock No. 003-003-01681-1. $4.55.

Health and Safety

Home Security Alarms: What They Are And How

They Work. Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009, Free. Smoke Detectors: What They Are And How They

Work. Consumer Information Center, Pueblo,

CO 81009, Free. Thermal Analysis-Human Comfort-Indoor Environtnents. B. W. Mangum and James E. Hill, editors. Stock No. 003-003-01849-0, $3,25.

Ultrasonic Tissue Characterization. Melvin Linzer,

editor. Stock No, 003-003-01700-1, $3,55.

Voluntary Product Standard for Toy Safety (PS 72-

76), Stock No. 003-003-01702-7, $1.40.

Building and Construction

Buildings to Resist the Effect of Wind: Volume I, Overview, Noel J, Raufaste, Richard D, Marshall,

and S, A, Kliment. Stock No, 003-003-01717-5,

$1.40,

Volume 2, Estimation of Extreme Wind Speeds and

Guide to the Determination of Wind Forces, Emil

Simiu, and Richard D. Marshall. Stock No. 003- 003-01718-3, $1.30,

Volume 3, A Guide for Improved Masonry and

Timber Connections in Buildings. S. George Fattal, G. E, Sherwood, and T. L. Wilkinson, Stock No, 003-003-01719-1, $2,00,

Volume 4. Forecasting the Economics of Housing

Needs: A Methodological Guide, Joseph G, Kowalski, Stock No. 003-003-01720-5, $1.50,

Volume 5, Socio-Economic Aspects of Housing in Extreme Winds. S. A. Kliment. Stock No. 003-003-

01721-3, $1,50,

Miscellaneous

Science and Technology in America-An Assessment. Papers of the NBS Distinguished Lecture

Series, Stock No, 003-003-01728-1, $2.50.

Color: Universal Language and Dictionary of Names, Kenneth L, Kelly, Stock. No. 003-003-01705-1,

$3,25,

Index of U.S. Nuclear Standards. William J, Slattery. Stock No, 003-003-01822-8, $2,75,

37
Summary of Legislation

Highlights of the NBS

Organic Act

15 U.S.C. 271. Bureau established

The Office of Standard Weights and

Measures shall be known as the

National Bureau of Standards. Mar. 3, 1901.

15 U.S.C. 272, Functions of the

Secretary

The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to undertake the following

functions:

(a) The custody, maintenance,

and development of the national stan- dards of measurement, and the provision of means and methods for making measurements consistent with

those standards, including the comparison of standards used in scientific investigations, engineering, manufacturing, commerce, and educational in- stitutions with the standards adopted

or recognized by the Government.

(b) The determination of physical constants and properties of materials

when such data are of great importance to scientific or manufacturing

interests and are not to be obtained of

sufficient accuracy elsewhere.

(c) The development of methods

for testing materials, mechanisms,

and structures, and the testing of

materials, supplies, and equipment,

including items purchased for use of

Government departments and in- dependent establishments.

(d) Cooperation with other

governmental agencies and with

private organizations in the establishment of standard practices, incorporated in codes and specifications.

(e) Advisory service to Government agencies on scientific and

technical problems.

(f) Invention and development of

devices to serve special needs of the

Government...

15 U.S.C. 273, Functions: for whom

exercised

The Bureau is authorized to exercise

its functions for the Government of

the United States and for inter- national organizations of which the

United States is a member, for governments of friendly countries; for any

State or municipal government

within the United States; or for any

scientific society, educational institu- tion, firm, corporation or individual

within the United States or friendly

countries engaged in manufacturing

or other pursuits requiring the use of

standards or standard measuring in- struments: provided, that the exercise of these functions for inter- national organizations, governments

of friendly cc:)untries and scientific

societies, educational institutions,

firms, corporations or individuals

therein shall be in coordination with

other agencies of the United States Government, in particular, the

Department of State in respect to foreign entities.

Federal Fire Prevention and

Control Act of 1974

(Public Law 93-498)

Fire Research Center

Sec. 18. The Act of March 3, 1901 (15

U.S.C. 271 et seq.), is amended by

striking out sections 16 and 17 (as

added by Title 1 of the Fire Research

and Safety Act of 1968) and by in- serting in lieu thereof the following

new section: Sec. 16 (a) There is hereby established within the

Department of Commerce a Fire

Research Center which shall have

the mission of performing and sup- porting research on all aspects of fire with the aim of providing scientific and technical knowledge applicable

to the prevention and control of

fires. The content and priorities of

the research program shall be determined in consultation with the Administrator of the National Fire

Prevention and Control Administration. In implementing this section,

the Secretary is authorized to conduct, directly or through contracts or

grants, a fire research program,

including

( 1 ) basic and applied fire research

for the purpose of arriving at an un- derstanding of the fundamental

processes underlying all aspects of fire, (2) research into the biological,

physiological, and psychological fac- tors affecting human victims of fire, and the performance of individual

members of fire services, and

(3) operation tests, demonstration projects, and fire investigations in support of the activities set forth in this section.

The Secretary shall ensure that

the results and advances arising from

the work of the research program are disseminated broadly. He shall en- courage the incorporation, to the ex- tent applicable and practicable, of

such results and advances in building

codes, fire codes, and other relevant

codes, test methods, fire service operations and training, and standards. The

Secretary is authorized to encourage

and assist in the development and

adoption of uniform codes, test methods, and standards aimed at reducing fire losses and costs of fire protection.

38
Members of NBS' Office of

Energy-Related Inventions have evaluated thousands

of ideas submitted by inventors and small

businesses in a search for promising energy-related

inventions. Those that are found promising are recommended to the Department of Energy for

financial or marketing assistance.

Other Statutory Authorities of NBS

Programs

Brooks Act (Public Law 89-306)

40 U.S.C. 759(f)

The Secretary of Commerce is authorized

(1) to provide agencies, and the

Administrator of General Services in the exercise of the authority delegated

in this section with scientific and

technological advisory services

relating to automatic data processing

and related systems, and

(2) to make appropriate recom- mendations to the President relating

to the establishment of uniform

Federal automatic data processing

standards. The Secretary of Commerce

is authorized to undertake the neces- sary research in the sciences and

technologies of automatic data processing computer and related systems, as may be required under provisions of

this subsection.

Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act of 1976

(Public Law 94-580)

This Act establishes in the En- vironmental Protection Agency, an

Office of Solid Waste to provide

technical and financial assistance to State and regional agencies and to

utilize information, facilities, personnel, and other resources of Federal

agencies, including the National

Bureau of Standards and the Census

Bureau, on reimbursable basis, to per- form research and analyses and con- duct studies and investigations related

to resource recovery and conservation

and to otherwise carry out the Administrator's functions under this Act. The Secretary of Commerce,

acting through the National Bureau of

Standards, and in conjunction with

national standards-setting organizations in resource recovery, shall, after public hearings, and not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of

this Act, publish guidelines for the

development of specifications for the

classification of materials recovered

from waste which were destined for disposal. The specifications shall pertain to the physical and chemical

properties and characteristics of such

39
materials with regard to their use in replacing virgin materials in various

industrial, commercial, and

governmental uses. In establishing

such guidelines, the Secretary shall

also, to the extent feasible, provide

such information as may be necessary

to assist Federal agencies with

procurement of items containing

recovered materials. The Secretary

shall continue to cooperate with

national standards-setting organizations, as may be necessary, to en- courage the publication, promulgation

and updating of standards for recovered materials and for the use of

recovered materials in various in- dustrial, commercial, and governmental uses.

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act

(Public Law 89-755)

Informed consumers are essential to the fair and efficient functioning of

a free market economy. Packages and

their labels should enable consumers

to obtain accurate information as to the quantity of the contents and

should facilitate value comparisons.

Therefore, it is hereby declared to be

the policy of the Congress to assist consumers and manufacturers in reaching these goals in the marketing

of consumer goods.

Whenever the Secretary of Commerce determines that there is undue

proliferation of the weights, measures,

or quantities in which any consumer commodity or reasonably comparable consumer commodities are being dis- tributed in packages for sale at retail and such undue proliferation impairs

the reasonable ability of consumers to

make value comparisons with respect

to such consumer commodity or commodities, he shall request manufacturers, packers, and distributors of the

commodity or commodities to participate in the development of a voluntary product standard for such

commodity or commodities under the

procedures for the development of

voluntary product standards es- tablished by the Secretary pursuant to section 2 of the Act of March 3, 1901

(31 Stat. 1449, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 272). Such procedures shall provide

adequate manufacturer, packer, dis- tributor, and consumer representation.

If ( 1 ) after one year after the date on which the Secretary of Commerce

first makes the request of manufacturers, packers, and distributors to participate in the development of a voluntary product standard as provided in subsection (d) of this section, he determines that such a stan- dard will not be published pursuant to the provisions of such subsection (d), or (2) if such a standard is published

and the Secretary of Commerce determines that it has not been observed,

he shall promptly report such determination to the Congress with a state- ment of the efforts that have been

made under the voluntary standards

program and his recommendation as

to whether Congress would enact

legislation providing regulatory

authority to deal with the situation in question.

Standard Reference Data Act

(Public Law 90-396)

The Congress hereby finds and

declares that reliable standardized

scientific and technical reference data

are of vital importance to the progress

of the Nation's science and

technology. It is therefore the policy

of the Congress to make critically

evaluated reference data readily

available to scientists, engineers, and

the general public. It is the purpose of

this Act to strengthen and enhance

this policy.

The Secretary is authorized and

directed to provide or arrange for the

collection, compilation, critical evaluation, publication, and dis- semination of standard reference data. In carrying out this program, the

Secretary shall, to the maximum ex- tent practicable, utilize the reference

data services and facilities of other

agencies and instrumentalities of the

Federal Government and of State and

local governments, persons, firms, in- stitutions, and associations, with their

consent and in such a manner as to avoid duplication of those services

and facilities. All agencies and in- strumentalities of the Federal Government are encouraged to exercise their

duties and functions in such manner

as will assist in carrying out the pur- pose of this Act. This section shall be

deemed complementary to existing

authority, and nothing herein is in- tended to repeal, supersede, or diminish existing authority or responsibility of any agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government.

Noise Control Act of 1972

(42 use 4907)

This Act authorizes the En- vironmental Protection Agency to develop improved methods and stan- 40
dards for measuring and monitoring

noise in cooperation with the

National Bureau of Standards.

Federal Nonnuclear Energy

Research and

Development Act of 1974

(Public Law 93-577, Sec. 14. Energy-Related Inventions)

The National Bureau of Stan- dards shall give particular attention to the evaluation of all promising

energy-related inventions, particularly

those submitted by individual inventors and small companies for the pur- pose of obtaining direct grants from

the Administrator (of the Energy

Research and Development Administration which is now a part of

the U.S. Department of Energy). The

National Bureau of Standards is authorized to promulgate regulations

in the furtherance of this section (42

U.S.C. 5913).

Solar Heating and Cooling

Demonstration Act of 1974

(Public Law 93-409)

Under various sections of the Act,

NBS will assist the Department of

Housing and Urban Development

(HUD) in determining interim perfor- mance criteria for solar heating and

combined solar heating and cooling

components and systems to be used in residential dwellings and interim per- formance criteria (relating to

suitability for solar heating and

cooling) for such dwellings

themselves. NBS will also work with

HUD to establish test procedures and

definitive performance criteria for

solar heating and cooling components "

and systems and suitable dwellings. In addition, NBS will aid in monitoring

and evaluating the performance and

operation of solar heating and combined solar heating and cooling

systems installed in residential dwellings under this Act.

Energy Policy and Conservation

Act (Public Law 94-163)

This 1975 Act provides for an

energy conservation program for con- sumer products other than

automobiles. The Act states that the

Administrator of the Federal Energy

Administration (now part of the U.S. Department of Energy) shall direct

NBS to develop test procedures for determination of (A) estimated an- nual operating costs of covered

products....(B) at least one other useful measure of energy consumption of

such products which FEA determines

is likely to assist consumers....

In addition, the Act encourages

the recycling of used oil and promotes

the use of recycled oil. NBS shall develop test procedures for the determination of substantial equivalency of

re-refined or otherwise processed used

oil and new oil or additives with new

oil for a particular end use. As soon as practicable after development of such

test procedures, NBS shall report such

procedures to the Federal Trade Commission.

Energy Conservation and

Production Act

(Public Law 94-385)

This 1 976 Act amends the Energy

Policy and Conservation Act

providing that FEA shall direct NBS

to develop energy efficiency improvement targets for major energy con- suming household products. The Act

requires the Department of Housing

and Urban Development (HUD), in consultation with FEA, Commerce,

NBS, and GSA to develop and

promulgate performance standards

for new commercial and residential

buildings within three years. HUD is also directed to use services of the

National Institute for Building

Sciences.

Metric Conversion Act of 1975

(Public Law 94-168)

Under this law, it is provided

that "Consultation by the Secretary of

Commerce with the National

Conference of Weights and Measures

in order to assure that State and local weights and measures officials are ap- propriately involved in metric conversion and assisted in their efforts to bring about timely amendments to laws .... Financial and administrative

services, .... needed by the Board,

may be obtained by the Board from

the Secretary of Commerce

Consumer Product Safety Act

(15 U.S.C. 2056)

This 1972 law directs the Con- sumer Product Safety Commission to

"utilize the resources and facilities of

the National Bureau of Standards,

to perform research and analyses

related to risks of injury associated

with consumer products, develop test methods, conduct studies and in- vestigations, and provide technical advice and assistance

41
Directory

As we were going to press, the NBS

reorganization was approved and

put into effect. The three major goals

of the reorganization were to organize

the Bureau along major functional

lines, to consolidate technical

competences, and to permit greater

staffing flexibility. Organizational

references made earlier in the text are

to the structure that was in place during fiscal year 1977. This Directory

reflects the new organizational structure. NBS technical work is carried out in the National Measurement

Laboratory, the National Engineering

Laboratory, and the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology. These

groups are supported by the Office of

the Director of Administrative and In- formation Systems; the Office of the

Director, NBS/Boulder Laboratories;

and the Office of the Associate Director for Programs, Budget, and

Finance. This amalgam of people

and programs forms a community

dedicated to service. The interdisciplinary approach allows NBS to provide the Nation with scientific measurements of high precision and

accuracy, coupled with actual solu- tions for current technological

problems.

This report has only highlighted some of the Bureau's programs.

For more information on specific projects contact the people listed in this directory. To reach members of the

Gaithersburg, Md., staff, dial (301 ) 92

+ extension or write to the National

Bureau of Standards, Washington,

D.C. 20234. Bureau staff located in Boulder, Colo., can be contacted on

(303) 499-1000 or at the National

Bureau of Standards, Boulder, Colo.

80303. Boulder staff members are

designated in the directory with

asterisks. General tours of the Gaithersburg

facility are given at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and 9:30 a.m. on Fridays.

Special tours can be arranged by call- ing (301) 921-2721. For tours of the

Boulder site, call (303) 499-1000 ext. 3244 to make arrangements. Members

of the news media should call (301)

921-3181 for assistance.

Office of the Director

Ernest E. Ambler, Director (2411)

Robert S. Walleigh, Acting Deputy

Director (2451)

Office of the Associate

Director for Prograins,

Budget, and Finance

The Office of the Associate Director

for Programs, Budget, and Finance

plans, develops, and evaluates Bureaulevel programs and formulates and

carries out policies and strategies for programmatic, budgetary, and financial matters. It develops techniques

for and coordinates the review of

technical and overhead programs;

serves as the NBS Director's staff for Bureau-level programmatic, budget

formulation and execution, and

finance matters; and develops and

maintains mechanisms to monitor

planned and actual use of resources by

providing integrated, evaluated infor- mation on program progress, opportunities, and resources to the NBS

Director. In addition, the Office advises management on significant

changes and deviations and recom- mends program, budget, finance, and

accounting priorities to the NBS

Director.

Raymond G. Kammer, Acting Associate Director (3130)

Vacant, Program Office

Thomas A. Gary, Budget Office

(2544)

Larry D. Stout, Office of the

Comptroller (2507)

Raymond G. Kammer, Acting, Planing Office (3130)

Office of the Director of

Administrative and

Information Systems

The Office of the Director of Administrative and Information Systems

directs the management of Bureauwide facilities and information and

administrative systems including in- formation and office services, procurement, technical and public information functions. Bureau-wide computing, personnel, and management

consulting services, health, safety, and

security functions, as well as physical

plant, f'acilities, space management,

and instruments shops functions. The

Office also decides on policies and

plans and directs implementation ac- tions to assure the responsiveness of

these services to the needs of the

technical programs.

Richard P. Bartlett, Jr., Director

(2477)

Richard S. Franzen, Chief, Public In- formation Division (3112)

Mati Tammaru, Chief, Personnel Division (3555)

Roger A. Dixon, Chief, Management

and Organization Division (2307)

42
Center for Information Systems

John T. Hall Acting Director (3 567)

Eugene I. Grunby, Chief, Computing

Systems Design Division (3710)

Patricia W. Berger, Chief, Library

Division (3405)

Richard de la Menardiere, Chief, Office Management Division (2113)

W. Reeves Tilley, Chief, Technical In- formation and Publication Division

(2493)

Martin R. Shaver, Chief, Computer

Services Division (2271)

Center for Facilities Management

Karl E. Bell, Acting Director (3444)

John. N. Brewer, Chief, Plant Division

(2825)

David S. Bettwy, Chief, Instrument

Shops Division (2436)

Walter J. Rabbitt, Chief, Facilities Services Division (2525)

Lyman E. Pevey, Chief, Occupational

Health and Safety Division (3366)

Boulder Executive Office

Arthur R. Hauler, Executive Officer

(3955)*

J. S. Roettenbacher, Chief, Supply Services Division (3653)*

William A. Wilson, Chief, Instrument

Shops Division (3855)*

Edgar A. Yuzwiak, Chief, Plant Division (3886)*

Office of the Director,

NBS/Boulder Laboratories

The Office of the Director,

NBS/Boulder Laboratories, which is located in Boulder, Colo., provides administrative support to the technical

programs of the NBS/Boulder

Laboratories. These laboratories con- duct research comprising work on measurement science for the National

Measurement Laboratory in time and

frequency, quantum physics, thermodynamics, materials science, and

the development of essential technical

data in quantum physics, thermodynamics, and materials science.

The laboratories also carry out

programs for the National Engineering Laboratory in electromagnetics

and fluid dynamics.

Bascom W. Birmingham, Director

(3237)*

National Measurement

Laboratory

The National Measurement

Laboratory provides the national

system of physical, chemical, and

materials measurement; coordinates

the system with measurement systems

of other nations; and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and

uniform physical and chemical

measurement throughout the Nation's

scientific community, industry, and

commerce. It conducts materials

research leading to improved methods

of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of materials needed

by industry, commerce, educational

institutions, and government. NML

also furnishes advisory and research

services to other government agencies; develops, produces, and dis- tributes Standard Reference

Materials; and provides calibration

services.

John D. Hoffman, Director (2828)

Emanuel Horowitz, Deputy Director

for Research and Operations (2878)

Donald R. Johnson, Deputy Director

for Programs (2822)

David T. Goldman, Associate Director

for Planning (3304)

Arthur O. McCoubrey, Associate

Director for Measurement Services

(3301)

Harold Berger, Chief, Office of

Nondestructive Evaluation (3331)

Gary C. Gravatt, Acting Chief, Office

of Environmental Measurements

(3775)

J. Paul Call, Chief, Office of Standard

Reference Materials (3479)

David R. Lide, Jr., Chief, Office of

Standard Reference Data (2467)

H. Thomas Yolken, Chief, Office of

Measurements for Nuclear Safeguards

(3747)

Donald R. Johnson, Acting Chief, Office of Recycled Materials (3136)

Albert D. Tholen, Acting Chief, Office

of Weights and Measures (3677)

Brian C. Belanger, Chief, Office of

Measurement Services (2805)

David E. Edgerly, Chief, Office of

Domestic and International Measurement Standards (3662)

Center for Absolute Physical Quantities

Karl G. Kessler, Director (2001)

Barry N. Taylor, Chief, Electrical

Measurements and Standards Division (2701)

James F. Schooley, Chief,

Temperature Measurements and Stan- dards Division (2801)

Karl G. Kessler, Acting Chief, Length

and Mass Measurements and Stan- dards Division (2001)

43
James A. Barnes, Chief, Time and Fre- quency Division (3294)*

Gordon H. Dunn, Chief, Quantum

Physics Division (3518)*

Center for Radiation Research

James E. Leiss, Director (2551)

Wolfgang L. Wiese, Chief, Atomic and

Plasma Radiation Division (2071)

Randall S. Caswell, Chief, Nuclear

Radiation Division (255 1 ) Chris E. Kuyatt, Chief, Radiation

Physics Division (2051)

Jack L. Tech, Chief, Radiometric

Physics Division (3864)

Samuel Penner, Chief, Radiation

Source and Instrumentation Division

(2503)

Center for Thermodynamics and

Molecular Science

Milton D. Scheer, Director (2713)

Cedric Powell, Chief, Surface Science

Division (2053)

Wing Tsang, Chief, Chemical Kinetics

Division (2775)

David Garvin, Chief, Chemical Thermodynamics Division (2771)

Harold J. Raveche, Chief, Thermophysics Division (2831)

Merrill M. Hessel, Chief, Molecular

Spectroscopy Division (2021)

Center for Analytical Chemistry

Philip D. LaFleur, Director (2851)

Ira L. Barnes, Chief, Inorganic

Analytical Research Division (3674)

Harry S. Hertz, Chief, Organic

Analytical Research Division (2154)

John K. Taylor, Chief, Gas and Particulate Science Division (2886)

Center for Materials Science

John B. Wachtman, Jr., Director

(2891)

Thomas D. Coyle, Chief, Chemical

Stability and Corrosion Division

(2847)

Sheldon M. Wiederhorn, Chief, Frac- ture and Deformation Division (2901)

Ronald K. Eby, Chief, Polymer Science

and Standards Division (3734)

Arthur W. Ruff, Jr., Acting Chief,

Metal Science and Standards Division

(281 1) Hans P. R. Frederikse, Chief, Ceramics,

Glass, and Solid State Science Division

(2845)

Robert S. Carter, Chief, Reactor Radiation Division (2421)

Institute for Computer

Sciences and Teclinology

The Institute for Computer Sciences

and Technology conducts research

and provides scientific and technical

services to aid Federal agencies in the

selection, acquisition, application, and

use of computer technology to improve effectiveness and economy in

government operations in accordance

with Public Law 89-306, relevant Ex- ecutive Orders, and other directives.

ICST carries out this mission by

managing the Federal Information

Processing Standards Program,

developing Federal automatic data

processing (ADP) standards

guidelines, and managing Federal participation in ADP voluntary standardization activities. In addition, ICST

provides scientific and technological

advisory services and assistance to Federal agencies; furnishes the

technical foundation for computerrelated policies of the Federal government; and assists in the resolution of

the issues of technology transfer and

exportation of computers in inter- national trade. M. Zane Thornton, Acting Director

(3151)

Seymour Jeffery, Chief, Systems and

Software Division (3531)

Thomas N. Pyke, Jr., Chief, Computer

Systems Engineering Division (3436)

Madeline M. Henderson, Acting Chief,

Information Technology Division

(3553)

National Engineering LalDoratory

The National Engineering Laboratory

furnishes technology and technical

services to users in the public and

private sectors to address national

needs and to solve national problems

in the public interest. NEL conducts

research in engineering and applied

science in support of objectives in these efforts; builds and maintains

competence in the necessary dis- ciplines required to carry out this research and technical service; and

develops engineering data and

measurement capabilities. NEL also

provides engineering measurement

traceability services; develops test methods and proposes engineering

standards and code changes; and

develops and improves mechanisms to transfer results of its research to the

ultimate user. John W. Lyons, Director (3574)

James R. Wright, Deputy Director

(3434)

ii- U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1978-0-266- 146 44
j Samuel Kramer, Associate Director

' for Program Coordination (323 1

)

I George A. Sinnott, Associate Director

for Technical Evaluation (2441)

Center for Applied Mathematics

Burton H. Colvin, Director (2541)

Frederick C. Johnson, Chief,

Mathematical Analysis Division

(2631)

Alan J. Goldman, Chief, Operations

Research Division (3855)

Burton H. Colvin, Acting Chief, Scientific Computing Division (2541)

Harry H. Ku, Chief, Statistical Engineering Division (2315)

Center for Electronics and Electrical

Engineering

Judson C. French, Director (3357)

W. Murray Bullis, Chief, Electron

Devices Division (3786)

Oskars Petersons, Chief,

Electrosystems Division (3121)

Harold S. Boyne, Chief,

Electromagnetic Fields Division

(4343)*

Robert A. Kamper, Chief,

Electromagnetic Technology Division

(3535)*

Center for Mechanical Engineering

and Process Technology

John A. Simpson, Director (2171)

Russell D. Young, Chief, Mechanical

Processes Division (2181)

George E. Mattingly, Chief, Fluid

Engineering Division (3681)

Kenneth G. Kreider, Chief, Thermal

Processes Division (3275)

Vacant, Chief, Industrial Engineering

Division

David S. Pallett, Chief, Acoustical

Engineering Division (3381)

Richard H. Kropschot, Chief, Thermophysical Properties Division

(4108)*

Center for Building Technology

Richard N. Wright, Director (3377)

Edward O. Pfrang, Chief, Structures

and Materials Division (2196)

P. E. McNall, Chief, Building Thermal

and Service Systems Division (3637)

Francis Ventre, Chief, Environmental

Design Research Division (3704)

James G. Gross, Chief, Building

Economics and Regulatory

Technology (3447)

Center for Fire Research

Frederic B. Clarke, Acting Director

(3143)

Robert S. Levine, Chief, Fire Science

Division (3845)

Irwin A. Benjamin, Chief, Fire Safety

Engineering Division (3255)

Center for Consumer Product

Technology

Stanley I. Warshaw, Director (3751)

Vacant, Chief, Consumer Sciences

Division

Andrew J. Fowell, Chief, Product Per- formance Engineering Division (3748)

Walter Leight, Chief, Product Safety

Technology Division (3750)

Center for Field Methods

Richard T. Penn, Acting Director

(3185)

Office of Engineering Standards

Gene A. Rowland, Director (3731)

Lawrence E. Eicher, Chief, Office of

Standards Information, Analysis and

Development (2092)

Norman F. Somes, Chief, Office of

Testing Laboratory Evaluation (2368)

William E. Andrus, Jr., Chief, Office of

International Engineering Stan- dards (3662)

Office of Energy Programs

Jack E. Snell, Director (3235)

George P. Lewett, Chief, Office of

Energy-Related Inventions (3694)