Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2004 / Notices 77221

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket No.: 041213349–4349–01] 

Precision Measurement Grants 

Program; Availability of Funds

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

announces that the Precision 

Measurement Grants Program is 

soliciting applications for financial 

assistance for FY 2005. The Precision 

Measurement Grants Program is seeking 

proposals for significant research in the 

field of fundamental measurement or 

the determination of fundamental 

constants.

DATES: Abbreviated proposals must be 

received at the address listed below no 

later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 

on February 4, 2005. Proposals received 

after this deadline will be returned with 

no further consideration. Finalists will 

be selected by approximately March 24, 

2005, and will be requested to submit 

full proposals to NIST. All full 

proposals, paper and electronic, must be 

received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern 

Standard Time on May 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Abbreviated proposals and 

paper applications must be submitted 

to: Dr. Peter J. Mohr; Manager, NIST 

Precision Measurement Grants Program; 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology; 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 

8420; Gaithersburg, MD 20899–8420.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

complete information about this 

program and instructions for applying 

by paper or electronically, read the 

Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) 

Notice at http://www.grants.gov. A 

paper copy of the FFO may be obtained 

by calling (301) 975–6328. Technical 

questions should be addressed to: Dr. 

Peter J. Mohr at the address listed in the 

Addresses section above, or at Tel: (301) 

975–3217; E-mail: mohr@nist.gov.

Grants Administration questions should 

be addressed to: Grants and Agreements 

Management Division; National Institute 

of Standards and Technology; 100 

Bureau Drive, Stop 3580; Gaithersburg, 

MD 20899–3580; Tel: (301) 975–6328. 

For assistance with using Grants.gov 

contact support@grants.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance Name and Number:

Measurement and Engineering Research 

and Standards—11.609. 

Program Description: As part of its 

research program, since 1970 NIST has 

awarded Precision Measurement Grants 

primarily to universities and colleges so 

that faculty may conduct significant 

research in the field of fundamental 

measurement or the determination of 

fundamental constants. NIST sponsors 

these grants and cooperative agreements 

primarily to encourage basic, 

measurement-related research in 

universities and colleges and other 

research laboratories and to foster 

contacts between NIST scientists and 

those faculty members of academic 

institutions and other researchers who 

are actively engaged in such work. The 

Precision Measurement Grants are also 

intended to make it possible for 

researchers to pursue new ideas for 

which other sources of support may be 

difficult to find. There is some latitude 

in research topics that will be 

considered under the Precision 

Measurement Grants Program. The key 

requirement is that the proposed project 

support NIST’s ongoing work in the 

field of basic measurement science. 

Funding Availability: Applicants 

should propose multi-year projects for 

up to three years at no more than 

$50,000 per year. NIST anticipates 

spending $100,000 this year for two new 

grants at $50,000 each for the first year 

of the research projects. NIST may 

award both, one, or neither of these new 

awards. Second and third year funding 

will be at the discretion of NIST, based 

on satisfactory performance, continuing 

relevance to program objectives, and the 

availability of funds. 

Statutory Authority: The authority for 

the Precision Measurement Grants 

Program is as follows: As authorized by 

15 U.S.C. 272 (b) and (c), NIST conducts 

directly, and supports through grants, a 

basic and applied research program in 

the general area of fundamental 

measurement and the determination of 

fundamental constants of nature.

Eligibility: Eligible applicants are 

institutions of higher education; 

hospitals; non-profit organizations; 

commercial organizations; state, local 

and Indian tribal governments; foreign 

governments; organizations under the 

jurisdiction of foreign governments; 

international organizations; and Federal 

agencies with appropriate legal 

authority. 

Review and Selection Process: All 

abbreviated proposals and full 

applications received in response to this 

announcement will be reviewed to 

determine whether or not they are 

complete and responsive to the scope of 

the stated objectives for each program. 

Incomplete or non-responsive 

abbreviated proposals and full 

applications will not be reviewed for 

technical merit. The Program will retain 

one copy of each non-responsive 

abbreviated proposal and full 

application for three years for record 

keeping purposes. The remaining copies 

will be destroyed. 

To simplify the proposal writing and 

evaluation process, the following 

selection procedure will be used: 

Applicants will initially submit 

abbreviated proposals, containing a 

description of the proposed project, 

including sufficient information to 

address the evaluation criteria, with a 

total length of no more than five (5) 

double spaced pages, to the mailing 

address given above in the ADDRESSES

section. These proposals will be 

screened to determine whether they 

address the requirements outlined in 

this notice. Proposals that do not meet 

those requirements will not be 

considered further. Eight independent, 

objective individuals, at least half of 

whom are NIST employees, and who are 

knowledgeable about the scientific areas 

that the program addresses will conduct 

a technical review of each proposal, 

based on the evaluation criteria 

described in the Evaluation Criteria 

section for this program. The proposals 

will then be ranked based on the 

average of the reviewers’ rankings. If 

non-Federal reviewers are used, the 

reviewers may discuss the proposals 

with each other, but the ranking will be 

determined on an individual basis, not 

as a consensus. 

The Chief of the Atomic Physics 

Division of the Physics Laboratory, the 

selecting official, will then select 

approximately four to eight finalists. In 

selecting finalists, the selecting official 

will take into consideration the results 

of the reviewers’evaluations, including 

rank, and relevance to the program 

objectives described above in the 

Program Description section. Applicants 

not selected as finalists will be notified 

in writing. 

Finalists will then be asked to submit 

full proposals containing a description 

of the proposed project, including 

sufficient information to address the 

evaluation criteria, with a length of no 

more than ten (10) double spaced pages 

in addition to the federally mandated 

forms and certifications, to the mailing 

address given above in the ADDRESSES

section. The same independent 

reviewers will then evaluate the 

detailed proposals based on the same 

evaluation criteria, and the proposals 

will be ranked as previously described. 

In selecting proposals that will be 

recommended for funding, the selecting 

official will take into consideration the 

results of the reviewers’ evaluations, 

77222 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2004 / Notices 

including rank, and relevance to the 

program objectives described in the 

Program Description and Objectives 

section for this program. 

The final approval of selected 

applications and award of grants will be 

made by the NIST Grants Officer based 

on compliance with application 

requirements as published in this 

notice, compliance with applicable legal 

and regulatory requirements, 

compliance with Federal policies that 

best further the objectives of the 

Department of Commerce, and whether 

the recommended applicants appear to 

be responsible. 

Applicants may be asked to modify 

objectives, work plans, or budgets and 

provide supplemental information 

required by the agency prior to award. 

The decision of the Grants Officer is 

final. 

Unsuccessful applicants will be 

notified in writing. The Program will 

retain one copy of each unsuccessful 

application for three years for record 

keeping purposes. The remaining copies 

will be destroyed. 

Evaluation Criteria: The evaluation 

criteria to be used in evaluating the 

abbreviated application proposals and 

full proposals are: 

1. The importance of the proposed 

research—Does it have the potential of 

answering some currently pressing 

question or of opening up a whole new 

area of activity?

2. The relationship of the proposed 

research to NIST’s ongoing work—Will 

it support one of NIST’s current efforts 

to develop a new or improved 

fundamental measurement method or 

physical standard, test the basic laws of 

physics, or provide an improved value 

for a fundamental constant? 

3. The feasibility of the research and 

the potential impact of the grant—Is it 

likely that significant progress can be 

made in a three year time period with 

the funds and personnel available and 

that the funding will enable work that 

would otherwise not be done with 

existing or potential funding? 

4. The qualifications of the 

applicant—Does the educational and 

employment background and the quality 

of the research, based on recent 

publications, of the applicant indicate 

that there is a high probability that the 

proposed research will be carried out 

successfully? 

Each of these factors is given equal 

weight in the evaluation process. 

Cost Share Requirements: The 

Precision Measurement Grants Program 

does not require any matching funds. 

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements:

The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for 

Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

contained in the Federal Register notice 

of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), as 

amended by the Federal Register notice 

published on October 30, 2002 (67 FR 

66109), are applicable to this 

announcement. On the form SF–424, the 

applicant’s 9-digit Dun and Bradstreet 

Data Universal Numbering System 

(DUNS) number must be entered in the 

Applicant Identifier block (68 FR 

38402). 

Collaborations with NIST Employees:

All applications should include a 

description of any work proposed to be 

performed by an entity other than the 

applicant, and the cost of such work 

should ordinarily be included in the 

budget. 

If an applicant proposes collaboration 

with NIST, the statement of work 

should include a statement of this 

intention, a description of the 

collaboration, and prominently identify 

the NIST employee(s) involved, if 

known. Any collaboration by a NIST 

employee must be approved by 

appropriate NIST management and is at 

the sole discretion of NIST. Prior to 

beginning the merit review process, 

NIST will verify the approval of the 

proposed collaboration. Any 

unapproved collaboration will be 

stricken from the proposal prior to the 

merit review. 

Use of NIST Intellectual Property: If 

the applicant anticipates using any 

NIST-owned intellectual property to 

carry out the work proposed, the 

applicant should identify such 

intellectual property. This information 

will be used to ensure that no NIST 

employee involved in the development 

of the intellectual property will 

participate in the review process for that 

competition. In addition, if the 

applicant intends to use NIST-owned 

intellectual property, the applicant must 

comply with all statutes and regulations 

governing the licensing of Federal 

government patents and inventions, 

described at 35 U.S.C. sec. 200–212, 37 

CFR part 401, 15 CFR 14.36, and in 

section 20 of the Department of 

Commerce Pre-Award Notification 

Requirements, 66 FR 49917 (2001), as 

amended by the Federal Register notice 

published on October 30, 2002 (67 FR 

66109). Questions about these 

requirements may be directed to the 

Counsel for NIST, 301–975–2803. 

Any use of NIST-owned intellectual 

property by a proposer is at the sole 

discretion of NIST and will be 

negotiated on a case-by-case basis if a 

project is deemed meritorious. The 

applicant should indicate within the 

statement of work whether it already 

has a license to use such intellectual 

property or whether it intends to seek 

one. 

If any inventions made in whole or in 

part by a NIST employee arise in the 

course of an award made pursuant to 

this notice, the United States 

government may retain its ownership 

rights in any such invention. Licensing 

or other disposition of NIST’s rights in 

such inventions will be determined 

solely by NIST, and include the 

possibility of NIST putting the 

intellectual property into the public 

domain. 

Paperwork Reduction Act: The 

standard forms in the application kit 

involve a collection of information 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 

424B, SF–LLL, and CD–346 have been 

approved by OMB under the respective 

Control Numbers 0348–0043, 0348–

0044, 0348–0040, 0348–0046, and 0605–

0001. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection subject to the 

requirements of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, unless that collection of 

information displays a currently valid 

OMB Control Number.

Research Projects Involving Human 

Subjects, Human Tissue, Data or 

Recordings Involving Human Subjects:

Any proposal that includes research 

involving human subjects, human 

tissue, data or recordings involving 

human subjects must meet the 

requirements of the Common Rule for 

the Protection of Human Subjects, 

codified for the Department of 

Commerce at 15 CFR part 27. In 

addition, any proposal that includes 

research on these topics must be in 

compliance with any statutory 

requirements imposed upon the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (DHHS) and other federal 

agencies regarding these topics, all 

regulatory policies and guidance 

adopted by DHHS, FDA, and other 

Federal agencies on these topics, and all 

Presidential statements of policy on 

these topics. 

On December 3, 2000, the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (DHHS) introduced a new 

Federal-wide Assurance of Protection of 

Human Subjects (FWA). The FWA 

covers all of an institution’s Federally 

supported human subjects research, and 

eliminates the need for other types of 

Assurance documents. The Office for 

Human Research Protections (OHRP) 

has suspended processing of multiple 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2004 / Notices 77223

project assurance (MPA) renewals. All 

existing MPAs will remain in force until 

further notice. For information about 

FWAs, please see the OHRP Web site at 

http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/

humansubjects/assurance/fwas.htm.

In accordance with the DHHS change, 

NIST will continue to accept the 

submission of human subjects protocols 

that have been approved by Institutional 

Review Boards (IRBs) possessing a 

current, valid MPA from DHHS. NIST 

also will accept the submission of 

human subjects protocols that have been 

approved by IRBs possessing a current, 

valid FWA from DHHS. NIST will not 

issue a single project assurance (SPA) 

for any IRB reviewing any human 

subjects protocol proposed to NIST. 

On August 9, 2001, the President 

announced his decision to allow Federal 

funds to be used for research on existing 

human embryonic stem cell lines as 

long as prior to his announcement (1) 

the derivation process (which 

commences with the removal of the 

inner cell mass from the blastocyst) had 

already been initiated and (2) the 

embryo from which the stem cell line 

was derived no longer had the 

possibility of development as a human 

being. NIST will follow guidance issued 

by the National Institutes of Health at 

http://ohrp.osophs.dhhs.gov/

humansubjects/guidance/stemcell.pdf

for funding such research. 

Research Projects Involving Vertebrate 

Animals: Any proposal that includes 

research involving vertebrate animals 

must be in compliance with the 

National Research Council’s ‘‘Guide for 

the Care and Use of Laboratory 

Animals’’ which can be obtained from 

National Academy Press, 2101 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20055. In addition, such proposals 

must meet the requirements of the 

Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et 

seq.), 9 CFR parts 1, 2, and 3, and if 

appropriate, 21 CFR part 58. These 

regulations do not apply to proposed 

research using pre-existing images of 

animals or to research plans that do not 

include live animals that are being cared 

for, euthanized, or used by the project 

participants to accomplish research 

goals, teaching, or testing. These 

regulations also do not apply to 

obtaining animal materials from 

commercial processors of animal 

products or to animal cell lines or 

tissues from tissue banks. 

Limitation of Liability: In no event 

will the Department of Commerce be 

responsible for proposal preparation 

costs if these programs fail to receive 

funding or are cancelled because of 

other agency priorities. Publication of 

this announcement does not oblige the 

agency to award any specific project or 

to obligate any available funds. 

Executive Order 12866: This funding 

notice was determined to be not 

significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

It has been determined that this notice 

does not contain policies with 

federalism implications as that term is 

defined in Executive Order 13132. 

Executive Order 12372: Applications 

under this program are not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, 

‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs.’’

Administrative Procedure Act/

Regulatory Flexibility Act: Notice and 

comment are not required under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553) or any other law, for rules relating 

to public property, loans, grants, 

benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553 (a)). 

Because notice and comment are not 

required under 5 U.S.C. 553, or any 

other law, for notices relating to public 

property, loans, grants, benefits or 

contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is not required and 

has not been prepared for this notice, 5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.

Dated: December 17, 2004. 

Hratch G. Semerjian, 

Acting Director, NIST.

[FR Doc. 04–28238 Filed 12–23–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket No.: 041213350–4350–01] 

Summer Undergraduate Research 

Fellowships (SURF) Gaithersburg and 

Boulder Programs; Availability of 

Funds

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

announces that the 2005 Summer 

Undergraduate Research Fellowships 

(SURF) Gaithersburg and Boulder 

programs are soliciting applications for 

financial assistance for FY 2005.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CFDA 

Name and Number: Measurement and 

Engineering Research and Standards—

11.609. 

Program Description: The SURF 

Gaithersburg program is soliciting 

applications in the areas of Electronics 

and Electrical Engineering, 

Manufacturing Engineering, Chemical 

Science and Technology, Physics, 

Materials Science and Engineering, 

Building and Fire Research, and 

Information Technology. 

The SURF Boulder program is 

soliciting applications in the areas of 

Electronics and Electrical Engineering, 

Chemical Science and Technology, 

Physics, Materials Science and 

Engineering, and Information 

Technology. 

Applications for the Gaithersburg and 

Boulder programs are separate. 

Application to one program does not 

constitute application to the other, and 

applications will not be exchanged 

between the Gaithersburg and Boulder 

programs. If applicants wish to be 

considered at both sites, two separate 

applications must be submitted. 

Both SURF programs will provide an 

opportunity for the NIST laboratories 

and the National Science Foundation 

(NSF) to join in a partnership to 

encourage outstanding undergraduate 

students to pursue careers in science 

and engineering. The programs will 

provide research opportunities for 

students to work with internationally 

known NIST scientists, to expose them 

to cutting-edge research and promote 

the pursuit of graduate degrees in 

science and engineering. 

The NIST SURF Gaithersburg and 

Boulder Program Directors will work 

with appropriate department chairs, 

outreach coordinators, and directors of 

multi-disciplinary academic 

organizations to identify outstanding 

undergraduates (including graduating 

seniors) who would benefit from offcampus summer research in a worldclass scientific environment. 

EEEL, MEL, CSTL, PL, MSEL, BFRL, 

and ITL SURF Gaithersburg Programs

DATES: All SURF Gaithersburg Program 

applications, paper and electronic, must 

be received no later than 5 p.m. Eastern 

Standard Time on February 15, 2005.

ADDRESSES: For all SURF Gaithersburg 

Programs, paper applications must be 

submitted to: Ms. Anita Sweigert, 

Administrative Coordinator, National 

Institute of Standards and Technology, 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8400, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–8400. Tel: 

(301) 975–4200, E-mail: 

anita.sweigert@nist.gov. Web site:

http://www.surf.nist.gov/surf2.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

complete information about this 

program and instructions for applying 

by paper or electronically, read the 

Federal Funding Opportunity Notice 

(FFO) at http://www.grants.gov. A paper 

copy of the FFO may be obtained by