SUPPLEMENT TO:

Department of Commerce, FY 2004 Annual Budget Submission

Annual Report on Technology Transfer: 

Approach and Plans, FY 2002 Activities and Achievements

U.S. Department of Commerce

Report prepared by:

Office of Technology Policy, Technology Administration;

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Administration;

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration 

In response to: 

the Technology Transfer and Commercialization Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-404)

March 2003
Background. This is the 2003 edition of a report series summarizing the technology transfer 

activities and achievements of the Department of Commerce’s federal laboratories. This report 

responds to the statutory requirement for an annual “agency report on utilization” [15 U.S.C. 

Section 3710 (f)] under the revised federal-wide reporting process established by the Technology 

Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-404). All federal agencies that direct one or 

more federal laboratories or conduct other activities under Section 207 and 209 of Title 35, 

United States Code are subject to the requirements of this statute.

 

At the Department of Commerce, technology transfer is a part of the mission and program 

activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Technology Administration), 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Institute for Telecommunication 

Sciences (National Telecommunications and Information Administration). Accordingly, this 

report focuses on the activities of these three agencies.

 

Each of the major sections of this report is organized to summarize the agency’s technology 

transfer approaches and plans and to provide specific information about the activities and 

accomplishments for FY 2002 and several earlier comparative years. The report begins with a 

summary of this information for the Department of Commerce as a whole.

__________ 

This report has been organized and prepared by the Office of Technology Policy (Technology 

Administration), along with the extensive participation of technology transfer personnel at the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (Technology Administration), the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences 

(National Telecommunications and Information Administration). 

Table of Contents

 I. Department of Commerce Overview ....................................................................1 

II. Technology Administration -- National Institute of Standards and Technology

1. Agency Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer .......................................10 

2. Performance in FY 2002: Activities and Achievements .....................................15 

III. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

1. Agency Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer ...................................... 25 

2. Performance in FY 2002: Activities and Achievements .....................................26 

IV. National Telecommunications and Information Administration -- Institute for

 Telecommunication Sciences

1. Agency Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer ........................................33 

2. Performance in FY 2002: Activities and Achievements .................................... 36 
March 2003 Page 1 

I. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE OVERVIEW

Technology Transfer by the Department’s Federal Laboratories – 

Summary of Approaches and FY 2002 Activities/Achievements

The Department of Commerce works in partnership with businesses, universities, communities, 

and workers to promote U.S. competitiveness. The department pursues this objective through a 

host of policy and program activities directed at strengthening the nation’s economic 

infrastructure, facilitating the development of cutting-edge science and technology, providing an 

information base, and managing national resources. 

At the department, research and development (R&D) in numerous areas of contemporary science 

and technology is underway at the federal laboratories of the Technology Administration (the 

National Institute of Standards and Technology -- NIST), National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (various lab facilities across NOAA’s bureaus), and the National 

Telecommunications and Information Administration (Institute for Telecommunication Research 

– ITS). Technology transfer is part of the program activities at each of these federal agencies. 

In reviewing the technology transfer plans and activity statistics below, it is important to 

recognize there are significant differences among the agencies in the level of resources 

supporting R&D activities. For NIST, budget authority (actual, excluding congressional add-ons 

in the construction appropriation) in FY 2002 for R&D (basic research, applied research, 

development, R&D facilities and equipment) totaled $461 million. The corresponding NIST 

estimate for FY 2003 (February 2003 action by Congress) is $476 million. For NOAA, the FY 

2002 figure for R&D is $677 million and that for FY 2003, $684 million. For ITS, the FY 2002 

figure is $6 million, and also $6 million in FY 2003. 

¦ Agency Missions and Main Channels for Technology Transfer 

Mission Tech Transfer

Technology Administration – National Institute of Standards 

and Technology 

 

NIST’s mission is to develop and promote measurement, 

standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate 

trade, and improve the quality of life. NIST laboratories develop 

and disseminate measurement techniques, reference data, test 

methods, standards, and other infrastructural technologies and 

services that support U.S. industry, scientific research, and the 

activities of many federal agencies. In carrying out its mission, 

NIST works directly with industry partners (and consortia), 

universities, associations, and other government agencies.

 

? The focus of NIST’s technology transfer 

activities in general is the broad dissemination 

of research results to industry, rather than the 

creation of patents and associated licenses. 

As such, NIST utilizes a diverse group of 

mechanisms to transfer the knowledge and 

technologies that result from its laboratory 

research.

Principal tech tranfer mechanisms:

CRADAs,

Patents and licenses,

Technical publications,

Standard Reference Materials,
March 2003 Page 2 

Mission Tech Transfer

Standard Reference Data,

Calibration services,

Documentary standards

Conferences, workshops, and inquiries

Guest researchers and facilities users.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

NOAA’s primary mission is to transfer environmental data on a 

wide range of time and space scales in order to protect life and 

property, and provide industry and government decision-makers 

with a reliable base of scientific information. As part of this 

mission, almost half of the organization works to produce the 

daily weather forecast, which advises and warns the general 

public and, at the same time, provides a base of scientific and 

technical information for engineers and managers in federal and 

state governments and in the heating, construction, 

manufacturing, transportation, and health industries.

? NOAA’s broad approach to tech transfer 

involves licensing intellectual property, 

cooperative research relationships with 

industry, and/or direct transfer. NOAA works 

with each of its laboratories based on its 

ability to provide the necessary resources. 

Principal tech tranfer mechanisms:

Dissemination

CRADAs,

Patents and licenses

National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration -- Institute for Telecommunication Sciences 

NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) supports 

agency telecommunications objectives such as promoting 

advanced telecommunications and information infrastructure 

development in the United States, enhancing domestic 

competitiveness, improving foreign trade opportunities for U.S. 

telecommunications firms, and facilitating more efficient and 

effective use of the radio spectrum. ITS also serves as a principal 

federal resource for solving the telecommunications concerns of 

other federal agencies, state and local governments, private 

corporations and associations, and international organizations.

 

? ITS participates in tech transfer and 

commercialization by fostering cooperative 

research with industry where benefits can 

directly facilitate U.S. competitiveness and 

market opportunities.

Principal tech tranfer mechanisms:

CRADAs,

Patents and licenses,

Telecommunications analysis services.

For a more detailed discussion, see the initial section of each of the three agency chapters below. 

¦ Summary of Departmental Technology Transfer Activities and 

Achievements, FY 2002 and Recent Years 

? Selected Activity Measures 

Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

FY 

1999 2000 2001 2002

FY FY FY 

? CRADAs, total active in the FY(1) 

 ? Traditional CRADAs(2) Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

275

261

8

6

221

208

10

3

183

174

3

6

132

125

1

6
March 2003 Page 3 

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

 ? Non-traditional CRADAs(3) Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

 

 

 

 

 

--

--

0

--

--

--

0

--

59

0

0

59

1,744

1,687

0

57

? Other types of collaborative R&D relationships(4) 

 ? Facility use agreements NIST -- -- 372 391

 ? Guest scientists and engineers NIST -- -- 1,200 1,300

 ? Collaborative standards contributions ITS -- -- 3 3

CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. -- = Data not requested from agency in previous 

years’ reports.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. “Total active” is comprehensive of all agreements 

executed under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

(2) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a federal laboratory and non-federal partners.

(3) CRADAs used for special purposes -- such as, material transfer or technical assistance that may result in 

protected information. 

(4) For details on these measures see the respective agency’s chapter later in this report.

Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? New inventions disclosed in the FY(1) Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

38

35

3

0

34

32

2

0

26

24

1

1

17

16

1

0

? Patent applications filed in the FY(2) Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

30

27

2

1

20

18

2

0

12

9

3

0

12

11

0

1

? Patents issued in the FY Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

28

26

2

0

18

14

2

2

21

20

1

0

20

15

5

0

(1) Inventions arising at the federal lab. 

(2) Tally includes: U.S. patent applications, foreign patent applications filed on cases for which no U.S. application 

was filed, divisional applications, and continuation-in-part applications. Excludes: provisional, continuation, 

duplicate foreign, and PCT applications. 
March 2003 Page 4 

Licensing -- Profile of Active Licenses

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? All licenses, number total active in the FY (1) Department 41 41 39 40

 ? Invention licenses, total active in the FY Department 41 41 39 40

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

41

40

0

1

41

39

0

2

39

36

1

2

40

35

2

3

 - Material transfer licenses (inventions) 0 0 0 0

 - Other invention licenses 0 0 0 0

 ? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY Department 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses (fee bearing) 0 0 0 0

 - Material transfer licenses (non-inventions) 0 0 0 0

 - Other 0 0 0 0

Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents and copyrights 

(hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses -- and not included in the count of copyright licenses.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. 

Note: For simplicity, sub-departmental detail is suppressed in this table, where the appropriate disaggregated figures 

are straightforwardly evident from data listed in other rows.

Licensing -- Profile of Active Licenses (cont.)

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY

2002

? Licenses which are income bearing, total number Department 19 17 21 38

 ? Invention licenses which are income bearing Department 19 17 21 38

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

19

18

0

1

17

16

0

1

21

19

1

1

38

33

2

3

 ? Exclusive/part-excl./non-excl. Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

--

--

--

0/0/1

--

--

--

0/0/1

13/5/3

12/5/2

1/0/0

0/0/1

19/2/17

18/2/13

1/0/1

0/0/3

 ? Other IP licenses which are income bearing 0 0 0 0

 
March 2003 Page 5 

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY

2002

? Licenses which are royalty bearing, total number 19 17 21 35

 ? Invention licenses which are royalty bearing 19 17 21 35

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

 

 

 

19

18

0

1

17

16

0

1

21

19

1

1

35

33

2

0

 ? Other IP licenses which are royalty bearing 0 0 0 0

-- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ reports.

*This number includes two royalty-free research licenses. Thus, in FY 2002, NIST had 35 active licenses, with 33 

producing royalty income. 

Note: For simplicity, sub-departmental detail is suppressed in this table, where the appropriate disaggregated figures 

are straightforwardly evident from data listed in other rows.

Income from Licensing

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY

2002

? Total income received, all licenses active in the FY (1) $405,369 $186,268 $268,468 $163,189

 ? Invention licenses $405,369 $186,268 $268,468 $163,189

 - Patent (and patent app.) licenses Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

$405,369

$394,387

$0

$10,982

$186,268

$122,575

$0

$63,693

$268,468

$261,968

$1,500

$5,000

$163,189

$89,750

$7,969

$65,470

 ? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $0 $0 $0 $0

 

? Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (2) $405,369 $186,268 $263,468 $97,719

 ? Invention licenses $405,369 $186,268 $263,468 $97,719

 - Patent (and patent app.) licenses Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

 

 

 

$405,369

$394,387

$0

$10,982

$186,268

$122,575

$0

$63,693

$263,468

$261,968

$1,500

$0

$97,719

$89,750

$7,969

$0

 ? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY $0 $0 $0 $0

n/a = Data not available from agency at time of this report. -- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ 

reports.

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the lab to the licensee including patent 

costs.

(2) “Earned royalty” = royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 
March 2003 Page 6 

Note: For simplicity, sub-departmental detail is suppressed in this table, where the appropriate disaggregated figures 

are straightforwardly evident from data listed in other rows.

Disposition of License Income

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY

2002

? Income distributed(1) 

 ? Invention licenses, total distributed Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

$421,635

$394,387

$0

$10,982

$186,268

$122,575

$0

$63,693

$268,468

$261,968

$1,500

$5,000

$163,189

$89,750

$7,969

$65,470

 - To inventor(s) Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

$146,957

(36%)

$142,262

(36%)

$0

(0%)

$4,695

(43%)

$77,931

(43%)

$57,423

(47%)

$0

(0%)

$20,508

(32%)

$106,440

(39%)

$102,040

(39%)

$1,500

(100%)

$2,900

(58%)

$74,660

(46%)

$45,650

(51%)

$7,969

(100%)

$21,041

(32%)

 - To other(2) Department

 NIST

 NOAA

 ITS

 

$258,412

(64%)

$252,125

(64%)

$0

(0%)

$6,287

(57%)

$108,337

(57%)

$65,152

(53%)

$0

(0%)

$43,185

(68%)

$162,028

(61%)

$159,928

(61%)

$0

(0%)

$2,100

(42%)

$88,529

(54%)

$44,100

(49%)

$0

(0%)

$44,429

(68%)

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the FY.

(2) To internal purposes, in the case of each agency.

Other Important Mechanisms for Technology and Knowledge Transfer(1)

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available NIST 1,288 1,292 1,335 1,353

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) sold NIST 33,347 34,020 31,985 30,996

Standard Reference Data (SRD) titles available NIST 60 63 65 90

Number of items calibrated NIST 3,118 2,969 3,192 2,924

Technical publications produced NIST

 ITS

2,270

32

2,250

20

2,207

17

2,236

17
March 2003 Page 7 

(1) See the NIST and ITS chapters later in this report for definitions and further information on these measures.

Further detail on all these measures, as well as additional activity statistics, can be found in the 

individual agency chapters later in this report.

? Illustrative Outcomes from Technology Transfer Cited by the Agencies

The following cases were selected and described by the agencies in their 2003 reports as 

examples of “downstream” outcomes resulting from agency technology transfer efforts:

Agency Downstream Outcomes Listed

Technology Administration -- National 

Institute of Standards and Technology

 

? Nobel Prize (2001) to NIST researcher, Eric A. Cornell – member of 

physics research team that created the first Bose-Einstein condensate 

(a new form of matter).

? New device to study material weathering – collaboration of NIST 

researchers with industry and government partners yielded a 

revolutionary new device to quickly and accurately determine the 

damage to polymer coatings, materials, and structures from exposure 

to solar ultraviolet rays, temperature, and humidity. 

? Reference sample chip carrier– transfer and deployment to all the 

world’s major semiconductor fabrication facilities of a new, NIST 

designed/developed “reference sample chip carrier” to aid in 

semiconductor manufacture. 

? Glass Standard Reference Material (SRM) for identification of 

chemical substances – a new NIST standard that reduces the cost to 

calibrate Raman spectrometers by up to 20-fold, which makes Raman 

much more feasible for applications such as crime scene analysis or 

other out-of-lab chemical identifications. 

? Irradiation applications for bioterror mitigation – NIST worked with 

the U.S. Postal service and industrial radiation processors, in the wake 

of the late 2001anthrax threat, to establish effective procedures for 

using radiation processing technology to sanitize large volume U.S. 

mail flows.

? Software for smoke management guide – NIST developed software 

to model how pollutants, smoke, and other contaminants are 

transported throughout a building and predict the effects of building 

design changes on airflow now part of widely -used ASHRAE 

guidelines for heating/refrigeration/air-conditioning engineers. 

? NIST gas standards – equipment calibration standards developed by 

NIST for accurate, real-time monitoring of pollution gases provides 

significant public benefit in emission standards for electric utilities, 

automobiles, and other sources. 

? Suite of international standards that reduce interoperability problems 

in the exchange of digital product information – NIST activities have 
March 2003 Page 8 

Agency Downstream Outcomes Listed

accelerated the development and adoption of the Standard for 

Exchange of Product Model data (STEP – formally, ISO 10303). 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

? Receptor technologies for harmful algal bloom toxins – receptor 

based assays developed by NOAA scientists for each class of algal 

toxin found in U.S. coastal waters transferred to several government 

(federal, state) and university organizations for field application. 

? Verification system to improve aviation forecasts – transfer to 

government and private sector users of new interactive, Web-based 

verification system (which consistently, independently, and in near 

real time computes statistical results for aviation forecasts) developed 

by NOAA scientists in cooperation with the Federal Aviation 

Administration and National Center for Atmospheric Research.

? Real-time radar data archival and internet delivery system -- transfer 

to public and private sector users of NOAA’s CRAFT (Collaborative 

Radar Acquisition Field Test) system, which provides relatively 

inexpensive, real-time access to high resolution radar data to support 

critical decisions related to severe weather and flood forecasts.

National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration -- Institute 

for Telecommunication Sciences 

 

? Cellular test equipment – licensing of ITS-developed MNB speech 

quality estimation algorithm to a U.S. manufacturer for incorporation 

in test equipment for cellular phone service providers. 

? Personal communications services – cooperative R&D with a major 

IT industry research laboratory on multiple input/multiple output 

antenna arrays (a technology targeted to dramatically increase the 

capacity of wireless communications systems). 

? Local multipoint distribution services – continuing cooperative R&D 

with industry partners on radio propagation for LMDS, which (among 

other results) has provided a data foundation for domestic and 

international standards development and efficient allocation of radio 

frequency spectrum resources. 

? Digital video communication research – continuing cooperative 

research with university partners on digital video communication 

applications including video telephony and teleconferencing, 

telemedicine, and interactive video distribution.

? Video quality assessment system – cooperative research with a 

partner that is developing a Windows-based video quality 

management system for wide commercial use. 

See the agency chapters below for further details on these cases.
March 2003 Page 9 

¦ Progress in Improving the Agencies’ Performance Metrics for Technology 

Transfer 

This year’s performance report is revised and somewhat enlarged, in keeping with the updated 

guidelines on reporting published by the Interagency Working Group on Technology 

Transfer/Department of Commerce in December 2002. These new guidelines incorporated a 

number of data/process revisions intended to respond to issues arising in last year’s (CY 2002) 

reporting cycle -- the first under the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act. Attention to a 

more sharply defined array of license types was also requested. 

This year’s report provides a comprehensive set of statistics for each of the agencies on 

“mainstream” technology transfer activities: cooperative research and development 

relationships, invention disclosure/patenting, and licensing. There is also a new round of case 

illustrations of downstream outcomes (e.g., commercially significant technologies) resulting 

from federal lab technology transfer activities.

Also further developed this year are the agencies’ discussions of their technology transfer 

through mechanisms beyond these mainstream approaches – activities such as transfer through 

technical publications, development of industrial standards, other forms of public dissemination, 

and opportunities for guest scientists and engineers to participate in federal lab activities. Each 

of the agencies now indicate the important roles these “other” mechanism play in their overall 

approaches to technology transfer. The agencies’ plans for improving the performance reports in 

future years particularly emphasize the development of better metrics in this arena. 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 10 

II. TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION -- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 

STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY 

Technology Transfer at the Agency’s Federal Laboratories – Approach and 

Plans, FY 2002 Activities/Achievements

1. Agency Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

The mission of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is to develop and 

promote measurements, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and 

improve the quality of life. NIST’s laboratories develop and disseminate measurement 

techniques, reference data, test methods, standards, and other infrastructural technologies and 

services that support U.S. industry, scientific research, and the activities of many federal 

agencies. In carrying out its mission, NIST works directly with industry partners (and consortia), 

universities, associations, and other government agencies.

NIST’s technology transfer activities are designed to disseminate the Institute’s measurements 

and standards research results broadly to industry and other customers. NIST pursues patents, 

licensing agreements, and related technology transfer as one of several means for transferring the 

knowledge and technologies that result from its laboratory research. Generally, NIST has the 

broadest possible downstream leverage when it uses diverse technology dissemination channels, 

ranging from reference materials and calibration services to technical publications and guest 

researchers, as well as patents, licensing agreements, CRADA’s, and the like.

Leading-edge scientific and technical work requires multiple disciplines, high levels of 

collaboration among organizations and people with diverse capabilities, and highly specialized 

facilities and tools. For more than a century, the NIST laboratories have successfully 

collaborated with industry and universities to provide the measurement techniques and technical 

tools needed by America’s innovators. NIST uses many mechanisms—including, but not limited 

to, CRADAs and patent licensing—to collaborate with industry and to ensure that the resulting 

knowledge and infrastructural technologies are broadly disseminated. 

While NIST does conduct “traditional” technology transfer activities (participate in CRADAs, 

hold patents, and engage in licensing), its laboratories create patents and licenses, where 

appropriate, as tools to accomplish NIST’s mission. These and other technology transfer 

mechanisms such as workshops, conferences, and partnering tools, as well as SRM’s, 

calibrations, and participation in documentary standards committees, enable NIST to disseminate 

its measurement capabilities to customers. Together, they represent major outputs that NIST’s 

customers use in their R&D activities, production processes, service delivery methods, market 

transactions, and other economically valuable activities. This sequence of activities, along with 

the methods NIST uses to evaluate them, are depicted in the following logic model:
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 11 

Inputs

Funding

Appropriated and 

reimbursable funds

Staff

3000+ employees

Guest 

researchers/year

Facilities and 

Equipment

State-of-the-art 

measurement and 

standards 

laboratories (ACSL, 

AML construction)

Activities

Laboratory 

research

Measurement 

services and 

product 

dissemination

Conferences and 

workshops

Participation in 

standards 

committees and 

working groups

Outputs

Contributions to 

basic measurement 

science

Measurement and 

test methods

Standards 

development

Calibration services

Reference 

materials

Evaluated data

Technical 

publications 

Advisory services 

and other 

knowledge transfer 

mechanisms

Evaluation of Performance: Outputs

Assessment of production and 

dissemination of key product and service 

outputs as indicators of progress along 

value chain; includes:

Standard Reference Materials

Standard Reference Databases

Items calibrated

Technical publications

Evaluation of Performance: Quality, Relevance, and Effectiveness

National Research Council (NRC) peer review : External assessment of Laboratory 

programs, focusing on: the technical quality relative to the state-of-the-art 

worldwide; the effectiveness with which the laboratory programs are carried out 

and the results disseminated to their customers; and the relevance of the 

laboratory programs to the needs of their customers.

Impacts on Primary 

Customers

Facilitate new R&D 

and technical 

capabilities

Increase R&D 

productivity

Develop new 

products, processes & 

services

Improve product or 

service quality and 

performance

Improve process 

quality and efficiency

Reduce technical 

barriers to trade

Lower transaction 

costs

Outcomes

Supply Chain 

Impacts

Improvements in 

sales, profits, and 

employment

Socioeconomic 

Impacts

Productivity gains

Increased market 

access and 

efficiency

Public benefits: 

higher standard 

of living; better 

quality of life 

Evaluation of Performance:

Long-term Impacts

Economic impact studies: Projectlevel estimates of the net present 

value, benefit-cost ratio, and social 

rate-of-return

The set of outputs that NIST uses to transfer its measurement capabilities and technologies to 

customers includes standard reference materials, calibration services, and other products and 

services that are described below. 1 

• Standard Reference Materials

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) are the definitive source of measurement traceability 

in the United States. All measurements using SRMs can be traced to a common and 

recognized set of basic standards that provides the basis for compatibility of measurements 

among different laboratories. As economic exchange has become more global, customers 

increasingly use SRMs to achieve measurement quality and conformance to process 

requirements that address both national and international needs for commerce and trade. 

NIST produces and disseminates (sells) SRMs to a large and diverse group of customers, 

including private sector laboratories, universities, and other federal agencies. NIST SRMs 

support industrial materials production and analysis, environmental analysis, health 

measurements, and basic measurements in science and metrology. 

 

1

 Please note that NIST’s authority to perform its technology/knowledge transfer activities does not rest solely in the 

Bayh-Dole Act, Stevenson-Wydler Act, Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) and related legislation. It also 

resides in NIST’s Organic Act (15 USC 272) and the Standard Reference Data Act (15 USC 290).
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 12 

The number of SRMs available for sale -- currently over 1,300 -- illustrates the breadth of 

measurements supported by NIST. Over time, NIST expects slight growth in the number of 

SRMs available, given its current strategy of focusing on those SRMs that cannot be 

produced by secondary laboratories and which have broad and/or high downstream impact. 

In establishing its out-year projections, the NIST SRM Program monitors, among other 

things, trends in emerging technologies, new regulations that will depend on SRMs for 

enforcement, and the reference material needs of other federal agencies. Several 

microeconomic studies of NIST SRM programs have shown the technology transfer 

mechanisms built into these efforts to be effective with resulting high economic benefits 

delivered to industry.

• Calibration Services

The NIST laboratories provide physical measurement services for their customers, including 

calibration services, special tests, and measurement assurance programs (MAPs). Calibration 

services and special tests are characterizations of particular instruments, devices, and sets of 

standards with respect to international and national standards. MAPs are quality control 

programs for calibrating entire measurement systems. NIST’s calibration services are 

designed to help the makers and users of precision instruments achieve the highest possible 

levels of measurement quality and productivity. The services constitute the highest order of 

calibration services available in the United States. NIST offers more than 500 different types 

of physical calibrations covering the following measurement areas: dimensional; mechanical, 

including flow, acoustic, and ultrasonic; thermodynamic; optical radiation; ionizing 

radiation; electromagnetic; and time and frequency. 

Over the past several years, NIST has calibrated approximately 3,000 items annually. Over 

the next several years, NIST expects to realize a relatively high but slightly declining number 

of items calibrated. This is in keeping with a long-term trend, over the past several decades, 

of a decline in the number of items calibrated by NIST. Despite this overall trend, individual 

years may fluctuate slightly due to multi-year calibration cycles. NIST expects to provide 

fewer but more highly leveraged calibration services over time. NIST’s strategy is driven by 

the need to effectively manage trends in demand from its major industry and government 

customers for these services. NIST is pursuing three strategies: (1) performing only those 

calibrations that require a direct connection to the national standards; (2) improving 

calibration accuracy in those areas where new industry demands are emerging; and (3) 

accrediting primary and secondary calibration laboratories to meet on-going industry needs. 

Through this overall approach, NIST can efficiently leverage its primary calibration services 

to support a broader base of secondary calibrations conducted within the private sector. 

Several microeconomic studies of NIST calibration programs have shown the technology 

transfer mechanisms built into these efforts to be effective with resulting high economic 

benefits delivered to industry.

• Standard Reference Data

NIST produces and makes available (i.e., sells or distributes for free) many Standard 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 13 

Reference Data titles (SRDs). SRDs provide numeric data to scientists and engineers for use 

in technical problem solving, research, and development. These recommended values are 

based on data extracted from scientific and technical literature or on measurements done at 

NIST laboratories, which are then assessed for reliability and evaluated to select the preferred 

values. NIST’s SRD databases cover many areas of science, including analytical chemistry, 

atomic and molecular physics, biotechnology, and materials sciences.

Historically, NIST has produced two new SRD titles per year. At the same time, NIST also 

provides numerous upgrades to existing databases. Each year, however, some database titles 

are eliminated from the NIST catalog. Over time, NIST expects continued modest growth in 

the total number of SRD titles available. Of those titles currently available, about 50% are 

available for sale, and 50% are free online systems. Over time, a larger percentage of these 

titles will be distributed via the Internet. Several microeconomic studies of NIST SRD 

programs have shown the technology transfer mechanisms built into these efforts to be 

effective with resulting high economic benefits delivered to industry.

• Technical Publications

NIST uses publications as a key mechanism to transfer the results of its work to the U.S. 

private sector and to other government agencies that need cutting-edge measurements and 

standards. Many of these publications appear in prestigious scientific journals and withstand 

peer review by the scientific community. Others appear in technological forums where 

measurement standards and technologies developed by NIST staff (at times in collaboration 

with private sector partners) are disseminated. Of the technical publications produced 

annually, approximately 80% are approved for external publication (such as in scientific 

journals), while the remaining 20% are NIST reports and special publications.

Over time, NIST expects a relatively constant level of high quality publications (2,000-2,300 

per year) to be produced by its technical staff.

 

• Guest Researchers and Facilities Users

Each year hundreds of researchers visit NIST to participate in collaborative projects and/or to 

use NIST’s research facilities. NIST makes its facilities available for limited periods of time 

to domestic and foreign guest researchers to collaborate with NIST staff on research and 

development projects of mutual interest or to transfer NIST techniques, procedures, and best 

practices. NIST also sponsors several formal collaboration programs with universities, 

among them JILA, an interdisciplinary institute for research and graduate education in the 

physical sciences, located on the main campus of the University of Colorado (CU) in 

Boulder, and operated jointly by CU and NIST; and the Center for Advanced Research in 

Biotechnology (CARB). CARB conducts research and provides interdisciplinary training in 

fundamental problems at the forefront of biotechnology through collaborations with scientists 

at its parent institutions, the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and NIST.
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 14 

• Conferences, Workshops, and Inquiries

NIST also transfers technology through the hosting of numerous conferences and workshops, 

as well as through answering inquiries. In FY 2002, NIST Public and Business Affairs 

handled about 10,000 inquiries. In addition, during FY 2002, this office managed 120 

conferences at the NIST sites in Gaithersburg and Boulder.

• Participation in Documentary Standards Committees

Still another means by which NIST transfers technology is through staff participation in the 

activities of documentary standards committees, which develop consensus standards on a 

host of technologies. NIST participation enables NIST scientists and engineers to bring 

NIST technology directly into a standard, which could involve test methods and procedures 

for protecting health, safety, and/or the environment, or specifications for performance or 

interoperability, to name a few. During CY 02, a total of 440 NIST staff participated in 1426 

activities of 968 standards committees, including 470 American Society for Testing and 

Materials (ASTM) committees, 93 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 

committees, 53 Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and 73 International 

Organization for Standardization (ISO) committees. These activities are also reported by 

NIST to the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress as required by the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995.

Progress in Improving the Agency’s Performance Metrics for Technology Transfer. 

NIST continues to evaluate the effectiveness of its mechanisms for technology transfer. 

In the FY 2002 report, NIST has added new categories for non-traditional CRADA's to cover 

NIST calibration services, provide greater detail on licenses and license income, address 

workshops and conferences, and include participation by NIST staff in documentary standards 

committees. 

The NIST Director has also asked the National Research Council Board on Assessment, as part 

of its annual assessment of the NIST laboratories, to examine the effectiveness of 

communication of its intellectual property policy to technical staff at all levels so that IP 

protection is sought when it is appropriate to do so.
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 15 

2. Performance in FY 2002: Activities and Achievements

The data below describe the many ways through which NIST transfers knowledge and 

technology to the private sector. 

In response to the reporting requirements of the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 

2000 and other relevant legislation, data are provided for collaborative relationships for research 

and development relationships (CRADAs and other kinds of relationships), invention disclosures 

and patenting, and licensing. In addition, in keeping with the previous discussion, data are also 

provided for some of the other technology transfer mechanisms utilized by the NIST 

laboratories: such as Standard Reference Materials available, technical publications produced, 

items calibrated, and guest researcher collaborations. A number of examples of downstream 

outcomes from NIST technology transfer activities are also provided at the end.

¦ Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? CRADAs, total active in the FY(1) 261 208 174 1,812

 - New, executed in the FY 62 40 22 1,712

 ? Traditional CRADAs,(2) total active in the FY 261 208 174 125*

 - New, executed in the FY 62 40 22 25**

 ? Non-traditional CRADAs,(3) total active in the FY -- -- 0 1,687

 - New, executed in the FY -- -- 0 1,687***

? Other types of collaborative R&D relationships 

 ? Facility use agreements, total in effect a end of FY(4)-- -- 372 391

 -New, executed in the FY -- -- 172 62

 ? Guest scientists and engineers during the FY(5)-- -- 1,200  1,300** **

CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. n/a = Data not available from agency at time of 

this report. -- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ reports.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. “Total active” is comprehensive of all agreements 

executed under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

(2) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a federal laboratory and non-federal partners.

(3) CRADAs used for special purposes -- such as, material transfer or technical assistance that may result in 

protected information. 

(3) NIST authorizes individuals to use designated facilities. The numbers reported here represent the Facility Use 

Agreements in effect for the NIST Center for Neutron Research.

(4) “Guest scientists and engineers” includes foreign and domestic guest researchers, and researchers working at 

NIST under Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Agreements and CRADAs.

*Includes CRADA’s associated with all NIST programs, including Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), 

Technology Services (TS), and the Director of Administration/Chief Financial Officer (DA/CFO).

** Includes 3 new CRADAs in the MEP program. 

*** 1,687 “non-traditional” CRADAs were issued in FY 2002 to protect the results (under CRADA authority) of 

2,924 calibrated items from disclosure for a period of five years after development.

**** Figures are approximate.
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 16 

¦ Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? New inventions disclosed in the FY(1) 35 32 24 16

? Patent applications filed in the FY(2) 27 18 9 11

? Patents issued in the FY 26 14 20 15

? Active patents, end of the FY -- -- -- 199

? Patents purposely dropped (triaged) during the FY -- -- -- 34

-- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ reports.

(1) Inventions arising at the federal lab. 

(2) Tally includes: U.S. patent applications, foreign patent applications filed on cases for which no U.S. application 

was filed, divisional applications, and continuation-in-part applications. Excludes: provisional, continuation, 

duplicate foreign, and PCT applications. 

¦ Licensing

Profile of Active Licens es

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? All licenses, number total active in the FY(1) 40 39 36 35

 ? New, executed in the FY 7 3 4 2

 ? Invention licenses, total active in the FY 40 39 36 35

 ? New, executed in the FY 7 3 4 2

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses, total active in FY 40 39 36 35

 ? New, executed in the FY 7 3 4 2

 - Material transfer licenses (inventions), total active in FY 0 0 0 0

 ? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

 - Other invention licenses,total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

 ? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

 ? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

 ? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses (fee bearing) 

 ? New, executed in the FY 

 - Material transfer licenses (non-inventions), total active

 in the FY

 

 ? New, executed in the FY 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 17 

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

 - Other 

 ? New, executed in the FY

Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents and copyrights 

(hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses -- and not included in the count of copyright licenses.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. 

Profile of Active Licenses (cont.)

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY

2002

? Licenses which are income bearing, total number 18 16 19 33

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive n/a n/a 12/5/2 18/2/13

 ? Invention licenses which are income bearing 18 16 19 33

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive n/a n/a 12/5/2 18/2/13

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses 18 16 19 33

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive n/a n/a 12/5/2 18/2/13

 ? Other IP licenses which are income bearing 0 0 0 0

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive

 - Copyright licenses (fee bearing)

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive

? Licenses which are royalty bearing, total number 18 16 19 33*

 ? Invention licenses which are royalty bearing 18 16 19 33

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses 18 16 19 33

 ? Other IP licenses which are royalty bearing 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses (fee bearing)

*Of the 35 active licenses in FY 2002 (see the previous table above), two are royalty-free research licenses.

Licensing Management 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Elapsed execution time,(1) licenses granted in the FY

 ? Invention licenses 

 ? average (or median) / min-max (months) -- -- 4.75 / 2-5 5.4 / 2.5-5

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses

 ? average (or median) / min-max (months) -- -- 4.75 / 2-5 5.4 / 2.5-5
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 18 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

 

? Number of licenses terminated for cause in the FY

 ? Invention licenses -- -- 7 3

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses -- -- 7 3*

-- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ reports.

(1) Date of license application to the date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the lab 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

*In addition to the cited 3 licenses terminated “for cause” in FY 2002, 4 licenses were terminated by mutual 

agreement and 4 expired with the end of their original term.

License Income

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Total income received, all licenses active in the FY (1) $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

 ? Invention licenses $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

 ? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

 - Copyright licenses

? Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (2) $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

 ? Median ERI -- -- n/a $2,300

 ? Minimum, Maximum ERI -- -- $1,000- $700-

135,927 20,000

 ? ERI from top 1% of licenses -- -- n/a $20,000

 ? ERI from top 5% of licenses -- -- n/a $20,000

 ? ERI from top 20% of licenses -- -- n/a $50,000

 ? Invention licenses $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

 ? Median ERI -- -- n/a $2,300

 ? Minimum, Maximum ERI -- -- $1,000- $700-

135,927 20,000

 ? ERI from top 1% of licenses -- -- n/a $20,000

 ? ERI from top 5% of licenses -- -- n/a $20,000

 ? ERI from top 20% of licenses -- -- n/a $50,000

 - Patent (and patent application) licenses $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

 ? Median ERI -- -- n/a $2,300

 ? Minimum, Maximum ERI -- -- $1,000- $700-

135,927 20,000

 ? ERI from top 1% of licenses -- -- n/a $20,000

 ? ERI from top 5% of licenses -- -- n/a $20,000
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 19 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? ERI from top 20% of licenses -- -- n/a $50,000

? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

- Copyright licenses

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

n/a = Data not available from agency at time of this report. -- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ 

reports.

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the lab to the licensee including patent 

costs.

(2) “Earned royalty” = royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 

Disposition of License Income

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Income distributed(1)

$394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

- To inventor(s) $142,262 $57,423 $102,040 $45,650

(36%) (47%) (39%) (51%)

- To other(2) $252,125 $65,152 $159,928 $44,100

(64%) (53%) (61%) (49%)

- Patent (and patent app.) licenses, total distributed $394,387 $122,575 $261,968 $89,750

- To inventor(s) $142,262 $57,423 $102,040 $45,650

(36%) (47%) (39%) (51%)

-To other(2) $252,125 $65,152 $159,928 $44,100

(64%) (53%) (61%) (49%)

 ? Invention licenses, total distributed

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the FY.

(2) NIST
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 20 

¦ Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

Other Important Mechanisms for Technology and Knowledge Transfer(1)

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) available (2) 1,288 1,292 1,335 1,353

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) sold(3) 33,347 34,020 31,985 30,996

Standard Reference Data (SRD) titles available (4) 60 63 65 90

Number of items calibrated(5) 3,118 2,969 3,192 2,924*

Technical publications produced(6) 2,270 2,250 2,207 2,236

(1) See Section 1 above for additional information about the measures listed here. See also the Department of 

Commerce’s annual submissions under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) for detailed 

information about each of these measures, analysis of trends, and future-year performance projections 

(http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/02APPR/02ta.pdf).

(2) Direct and verifiable count of SRMs available to customers at the close of the fiscal year. The number of SRMs

available for sale illustrates the breadth of measurements supported by NIST. Over time, NIST expects slight 

growth in the number of SRMs available.

(3) Direct and verifiable count of NIST SRM units sold during the fiscal year.

(4) Direct and verifiable count of SRD products developed and disseminated by NIST. NIST expects continued 

modest growth in the total number of SRD titles available. Of those titles currently available, about 70% are 

available for sale, and 30% are free online systems. Over time, a larger percentage of SRDs will be distributed via 

the Internet.

(5) Direct and verifiable count of items calibrated by the NIST laboratories. Over the next several years, NIST 

expects to realize a relatively high but slightly declining number of items calibrated. This is in keeping with a longterm trend, over the past several decades, of a decline in the number of items calibrated by NIST. NIST expects to 

provide fewer but more highly leveraged calibration services over time.

(6) Annual number of technical publications generated by NIST’s technical staff. The number is a direct count of 

the number of technical publications cleared for publication by the NIST Editorial Review Boards at the 

Gaithersburg and Boulder sites. Over time, NIST expects a relatively constant level of high quality publications 

(2,000-2,200 per year) produced by its technical staff. Of the publications produced annually, approx. 80% are 

approved for external publication (such as in scientific journals); the other 20% are NIST reports and special 

publications.

* These 2,924 calibrated items were covered by 1,687 “non-traditional” CRADAs that protect the results from 

disclosure.

¦ Outcomes from Technology Transfer

NIST develops and disseminates infrastructural technologies and services required by the U.S. 

private sector and other non-profit and government partners. The outputs of the NIST 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 21 

laboratories provide a foundation for industry in all stages of commerce—research, development, 

testing, production, and marketing—and in turn enable socio-economic impacts, such as 

productivity gains, increased market access and efficiency, and improved quality of life. These 

impacts are long-term, accruing years after the original infrastructural technologies were 

developed by NIST (often in conjunction with industry partners).

The examples below show how NIST’s various technology transfer mechanisms – here, 

CRADA’s, Standard Reference Materials, joint research facilities, software, and documentary 

standards – have, over the long term, produced outcomes that significantly benefit consumers 

and improve the quality of life. Most of these examples are linked to the NIST 2010 Strategic 

Plan, which identified five strategic focus areas: measurements and standards essential to 

established industries; health care quality assurance; nanoscale measurements and data; 

information and knowledge management; and measurements and standards for Homeland 

Security.

· Nobel Prize awarded to NIST researcher. Eric A. Cornell of NIST and Carl E. Wieman of 

the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder led a team of physicists in a research effort that 

culminated in 1995 with the creation of the world's first Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) —a 

new form of matter. The work, conducted at JILA, which is a joint research institute of NIST and 

CU-Boulder, earned them, along with Wolfgang Ketterle, a researcher at the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology who did early studies on the properties of the BEC, the 2001 Nobel Prize 

in physics.

Predicted in 1924 by Albert Einstein, who built on the work of Satyendra Nath Bose, the Bose 

Einstein condensation occurs when individual atoms meld into a "superatom" behaving as a 

single entity at just a few hundred billionths of a degree above absolute zero. The 71-year quest 

to confirm Bose and Einstein's theory was likened by many physicists to the search for the 

mythical Holy Grail. The BEC allows scientists to study the strange and extremely small world 

of quantum physics as if they are looking through a giant magnifying glass. Its creation 

established a new branch of atomic physics that has proven to be a treasure-trove of scientific 

discoveries. Future applications of the BEC include its use in nanotechnology and precision 

measurement. Cornell is the second Nobel laureate for NIST. William Phillips, a NIST fellow, 

shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in physics.

· Cooperative efforts led to new device to study weathering. NIST researchers, in 

collaboration with industry and government partners, developed a revolutionary device to 

determine quickly and accurately the damage to polymer coatings, materials and structures from 

exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays, temperature and humidity. The National Association 

of Home Builders estimates that Americans spend between $65 billion and $75 billion annually 

on maintenance, repair and replacement, often due to the premature failure of a material exposed 

to outdoor weathering. The new device, the NIST SPHERE, developed as the result of a 

CRADA with industry and government partners, will speed the introduction of new products into 

the market and reduce building repair costs, by avoiding the need for multiyear exposure to 

outdoor or simulated indoor weathering. The device accelerates weathering by generating 

controlled temperature, humidity and UV exposure environments up to 50 times faster than 

outdoor weathering, and allows rapid testing of the same material under a wide variety of 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 22 

weathering environments at the same time. Using the NIST SPHERE will enable manufacturers 

to rapidly develop innovative products tailored for specific environments and will enable 

consumers to choose products based not only on cost but also on performance life. 

· Reference sample chip carrier. To keep pace with competitive demands, the semiconductor 

industry has turned to larger wafers and high volume manufacturing tools, including automated 

material handling equipment now indispensable for processing the large st 300mm wafers. In 

order to calibrate these state-of-the-art tools, reference samples, in the form of standard chips, 

must be integrated onto a wafer to be compatible with the equipment. To avoid the high cost and 

inefficiency of processing an entire wafer to produce a single reference sample, NIST researchers 

designed and developed a reference sample chip carrier (RSCC) that allows reference samples to 

be manufactured in quantity on a single wafer, but then separated and mounted into this novel 

carrier to be compatible with automated wafer handling equipment. To facilitate technology 

transfer, NIST (1) established a consortium of 17 integrated circuit wafer manufacturers and tool 

suppliers involved in the development of single-crystal critical dimension reference materials to 

establish technical requirements; (2) partnered with Sandia National Laboratories to prototype 

the system; and (3) collaborated with a private enterprise now commercializing the technology. 

At present, RSCC technology has been deployed in some form at all major semiconductor 

fabrication facilities around the world.

· Glass SRM for identification of chemical substances. The capability to identify chemical 

substances easily and accurately at a crime scene or other location outside a laboratory, without 

handling the material or opening containers, would be a boon for many in science. A new NIST 

standard that reduces calibration costs as much as 20-fold represents a major step toward making 

such a tool practical. A small piece of chromium-doped glass, Standard Reference Material 

(SRM) 2241, will enable users to calibrate the output of Raman spectrometers. Without this 

SRM, full calibration of these instruments is so expensive that many users skip it and, therefore, 

may get inaccurate results. Raman spectroscopy reveals the chemical composition of a sample by 

illuminating it with a laser and then identifying color changes in a very small amount of the 

scattered light. The technique is simple enough to use in the field and, unlike some competing 

methods, can be used to measure samples through transparent containers. 

· Irradiation applications for bioterror mitigation. In late October 2001, terrorism reached 

every home and workplace in the United States, as it became clear that the lives being lost due to 

anthrax in the mail, and the mundane task of opening the daily mail became life threatening. 

Even more threatened were the 700,000 postal workers who were required to handle large 

volumes of mail. To re-establish public trust in the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), as well as 

protect the workers that support it, the President’s science advisors asked NIST to develop new 

irradiation technologies that would allow the USPS workers to resume their services to the U.S. 

public safely. Since NIST maintains and disseminates the national standards for radiation 

measurements, it was in a unique position to provide authoritative guidance on electron and xray technologies for mail irradiation.

With more than two million articles of contaminated mail of all types, the task of irradiating the 

mail was daunting. Working as a technical coordinator between the USPS and several industrial 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 23 

radiation-processors, NIST assessed available industrial capabilities and defined postal sorting, 

handling, and processing guidelines that were optimized for the throughput, quality and 

effectiveness demands of the USPS. NIST experts designed and performed test experiments to 

validate the technology. NIST was also part of an industry-government team that wrote a 

documentary standard for mail-irradiation process control. From concept to completion, more 

than two million pieces of mail were sanitized in seven months. NIST continues to play a role in 

the on-going operation of this technology with more than sixty million pieces of mail sanitized as 

an ongoing preventative measure against unexpected attacks on members of the White House, 

Congress and the few hundred thousand Federal government employees that work in Washington 

D.C. NIST is currently adapting the radiation-processing technology to the needs of other 

federal agencies with a role in homeland security.

· NIST airflow software featured in smoke management guide. Being able to simulate how 

pollutants, smoke and contaminants are transported throughout a building and predict the effects 

that building design changes will have on airflow is becoming increasingly important to building 

designers and operators. Software known as CONTAM, developed several years ago by NIST 

researchers, can do just that. Now, CONTAM is featured in a new version of Principles of 

Smoke Management, a widely used publication issued by the American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The ASHRAE publication explains 

how CONTAM can be used to design and analyze smoke control systems in applications 

including elevator shafts, stairwells and exhaust systems. In addition to CONTAM’s traditional 

application to the design or renovation of buildings, the software took on an unexpected role in 

the fall of 2001 when NIST engineers used it to understand how anthrax spores may have spread 

throughout the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. The results of the modeling 

aided the development of decontamination strategies for the structure. 

· Study finds NIST gas standards yield substantial benefits. Accurate, real-time monitoring 

of polluting gases emitted by electric utilities, automobiles and other sources depends heavily on 

equipment calibration standards made by or traceable to NIST. A new study now available from 

NIST, The Economic Impact of the Gas-Mixture NIST-Traceable Reference Materials Program

(NIST Planning Report 02-4), found that the gas-mixture NIST-Traceable Reference Materials 

(NTRM) program, an innovative mechanism for meeting a high demand for standards, returns 

between $21 and $27 in benefits for every dollar spent, with substantial benefits extending into 

the future. 

The NTRM program was created in the early 1990s by NIST, the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA), and specialty gas companies to increase the availability of NIST-certified 

reference materials needed to monitor compliance with environmental regulations. Most EPA 

regulations for stationary source, mobile source and ambient air monitoring require that 

measurements be traceable to NIST. Under the program, gas companies manufacture standards 

according to NIST technical specifications and submit these mixtures to NIST for certification. 

In addition to greatly increasing the supply of gas-mixture standards, the NTRM program, after 

an initial start-up investment by NIST, minimizes on-going costs to taxpayers because industry 

fees now support it. According to the study, benefits of the program include reduced 

measurement uncertainty, helping users of the reference materials to avoid some operations and 
NIST/TA

March 2003 Page 24 

maintenance costs and reducing credit expenditures in emissions trading (an innovative approach 

to environmental regulation that is generally believed to reduce total pollution-abatement costs). 

· NIST study shows industries taking a big STEP to savings. A number of U.S. industries 

already are saving millions of dollars a year, and could save a total of more than $900 million 

annually, by using a suite of international standards that reduce interoperability problems 

encountered in the exchange of digital product information. A NIST study assessed the 

economic impact of the STandard for Exchange of Product model data (STEP, formally known 

as ISO 10303), which provides a neutral format that enables the exchange of data between 

proprietary systems. Some parts of STEP already are international standards, and other parts are 

still in development. The study also evaluated NIST’s contributions to the development, testing 

and implementation of STEP. Data from industry surveys and case studies were used to estimate 

that, within the industries studied, full implementation of STEP could save $928 million (in 2001 

dollars) per year. More than half of the projected savings would be realized in the automotive 

and aerospace industries—which have been leaders in STEP development and implementation 

—with the remainder going to the aerospace, shipbuilding, and the tool and die industries. 

Many other industries worldwide could achieve similar savings. To date, STEP has been 

partially implemented, with approximately 17 percent ($156 million per year) of the potential 

benefits realized in the industries studied. Much of the savings is due to the avoidance of labor 

costs associated with the use and support of redundant software applications. The study found 

that NIST’s administrative and technical activities accelerated the development and adoption of 

STEP, yielding a net present value economic impact of $180 million (in 2001 dollars) which 

translates into a benefit-to-cost ratio of almost 8 to 1 and a social (internal) rate of return of 62 

percent. These figures reflect only part of NIST’s contributions, which also enhanced the quality 

and reduced the costs of STEP development and deployment.
NOAA

March 2003 Page 25 

III. NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

Technology Transfer at the Agency’s Federal Laboratories – Approach and 

Plans, FY 2002 Activities/Achievements

1. Agency Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to understand 

and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage marine resources to 

meet the Nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. NOAA's primary mechanism for 

technology transfer has historically been the open dissemination of scientific information to the 

public, industry, government, and universities. This means of technology transfer is consistent 

with the agency’s mission and has been found to be more efficient and economical than transfer 

through patenting and licensing. Also, NOAA scientists have found that the time and expense 

required to set-up Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) often 

outweigh their advantages. Consequently, NOAA’s technology transfer program should not be 

measured solely in terms of CRADAs, patents, and licenses. Rather, it should be viewed in 

terms of meeting the primary agency mission and its benefits to the public. An example of 

beneficial information disseminated to the public is the daily weather forecast.

In FY 2002, NOAA carried out an extensive technology transfer program by not only providing 

weather forecasts and warnings but also by applying numerous environmental technologies 

directly to the public, industry, government, and universities. 

The NOAA web page at www.noaa.gov details the voluminous amount of technology made 

available to all in the form of data and information products and services, such as weather and 

climate data, climate forecasts, predictions of El Nino and local tides and currents, satellite 

imagery, fishery statistics, and information on protected species, air quality, real time coastal 

information, nautical charts, as well as extensive data bases on the oceans, geophysics, and the 

sun. 

In future years, NOAA will continue to carry out its considerable technology transfer activities, 

while working towards four mission goals: 1. Protect, restore, and manage the use of coastal and 

ocean resources through ecosystem management approaches; 2. Understand climate variability 

and change to enhance society’s ability to plan and respond; 3. Serve society’s needs for 

weather and water information; 4. Support the Nation’s commerce with information for safe and 

efficient transportation. 

To advance the agency's mission and benefit the competitiveness of U.S. industry, NOAA will 

continue to facilitate the transfer of intellectual property to industry through licenses, CRADAs, 

and by direct transfer. As stated in the NOAA Administrative Order 201-103, “It is NOAA’s 

policy that laboratory directors and research managers at all levels seek opportunities for 

collaborative research when such collaboration could lead to commercial exploitation of research 

results and contribute to NOAA’s mission. It is also NOAA policy that laboratory directors 

encourage their employees to promote commercial development on their innovations.” 
NOAA

March 2003 Page 26 

However, historically there has been little interest in marketing NOAA inventions because they 

seldom have any significant commercial appeal. Declining resources and the increasing costs of 

obtaining patents have become major obstacles to patenting NOAA technologies. NOAA 

scientist will continue to strive to secure Intellectual Property rights for innovations with 

commercial promise. Their success will be, in part, dependent on the individual’s laboratory 

ability to provide the necessary resources. 

NOAA’s Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA), which functions as the 

agency Technology Transfer clearing house, has recently hired a full time employee to work on 

Technology Transfer. In FY 2003, ORTA plans to create a Web site to help educate and 

encourage NOAA scientists to develop patents, licenses and CRADAs for their innovations as 

well as keeping scientists informed on NOAA’s progress in these areas. In addition, ORTA 

plans to brief the Laboratory scientists on technology transfer responsibilities and discuss 

alternatives for funding their technology transfer activities.

Progress in Improving the Agency’s Performance Metrics for Technology Transfer 

NOAA conducts its technology transfer through activities (as described above) beyond the 

“traditional” mechanisms of holding patents, engaging in licensing, and participating in 

CRADAs. NOAA is presently in the process of developing techniques to measure the effects of 

these capabilities and technologies for our customers; we expect to have such data available for 

our annual report next year.
NOAA

March 2003 Page 27 

2. Performance in FY 2002: Activities and Achievements

¦ Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

FY FY FY FY 

1999 2000 2001 2002

? CRADAs, total active in the FY(1) 8 10 8 8

- New, executed in the FY 1 3 3 1

? Traditional CRADAs,(2) total active in the FY 8 10 8 8

- New, executed in the FY 1 3 3 1

? Non-traditional CRADAs,(3) total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

- New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

? Other types of collaborative R&D relationships 0 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

 

CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. “Total active” is comprehensive of all agreements 

executed under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

(2) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a federal laboratory and non-federal partners.

(3) CRADAs used for special purposes -- such as, material transfer or technical assistance that may result in 

protected information. 

¦ Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? New inventions disclosed in the FY(1) 3 2 1 1

? Patent applications filed in the FY(2) 2 2 3 0

? Patents issued in the FY 2 2 1 5

(1) Inventions arising at the federal lab. 

(2) Tally includes: U.S. patent applications, foreign patent applications filed on cases for which no U.S. application 

was filed, divisional applications, and continuation-in-part applications. Excludes: provisional, continuation, 

duplicate foreign, and PCT applications. 
NOAA

March 2003 Page 28 

¦ Licensing

Profile of Active Licenses

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? All licenses, number total active in the FY(1) 0 0 1 2

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 1 1

? Invention licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 1 2

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 1 1

- Patent (and patent application) licenses, total active in FY 0 0 1 2

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 1 1

- Material transfer licenses (inventions), total active in FY 0 0 0 0

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

- Other invention licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

- Copyright licenses (fee bearing)

? New, executed in the FY

- Material transfer licenses (non-inventions), total active

? New, executed in the FY

- Other

? New, executed in the FY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 in the FY

 

 

 

Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents and copyrights 

(hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses -- and not included in the count of copyright licenses.

 

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. 

Profile of Active Licenses (cont.)

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Licenses which are income bearing, total number 0 0 1 2

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive -- -- 1/0/0 1/0/1

? Invention licenses which are income bearing 0 0 1 2

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive -- -- 1/0/0 1/0/1

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 0 0 1 2

 ? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive -- -- 1/0/0 1/0/1

? Other IP licenses which are income bearing 0 0 0 0

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive

- Copyright licenses (fee bearing)

 

 

 

 

 

 
NOAA

March 2003 Page 29 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive

? Licenses which are royalty bearing, total number 0 0 1 2

? Invention licenses which are royalty bearing 0 0 1 2

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 0 0 1 2

? Other IP licenses which are royalty bearing 0 0 0 0

- Copyright licenses (fee bearing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- = Data not requested from agency in previous years’ reports. 

Licensing Management 

 

 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Elapsed execution time,(1) licenses granted in the FY

? Invention licenses 

? average (or median) / min-max (months) * * 8** 8**

- Patent (and patent application) licenses

? average (or median) / min-max (months) * * 8** 8**

? Number of licenses terminated for cause in the FY

? Invention licenses 0 0 0 0

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 0 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Date of license application to the date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the lab 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

*No new licenses were executed in FYs 1999 and 2000.

** In FY 2001 and 2002, only a single license was executed. Thus, there is no min-max range for elapsed execution 

time to report. 

License Income

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Total income received, all licenses active in the FY (1) 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

? Invention licenses 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

- Patent (and patent application) licenses $1,500 $7,969

? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0

- Copyright licenses

? Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (2) 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

 

 

 

 

 
NOAA

March 2003 Page 30 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

? Invention licenses 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 0 0 $1,500* $7,969*

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

- Copyright licenses

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the lab to the licensee including patent 

costs.

(2) “Earned royalty” = royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 

*In FY 2001 and 2002, there was only one license receiving income. Thus, there are no distributional statistics on 

Earned Royalty Income to report for either of these years. 
NOAA

March 2003 Page 31 

Disposition of License Income

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Income distributed (1)

? Invention licenses, total distributed 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

- To inventor(s) 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

(100%) (100%)

- To other 0 0 0 0

(0%) (0%)

- Patent (and patent application) licenses, total distributed 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

- To inventor(s) 0 0 $1,500 $7,969

(100%) (100%)

-To other 0 0 0 0

(0%) (0%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the FY.

¦ Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

None cited in this year’s report.

¦ Outcomes from Technology Transfer

· Receptor technologies for harmful algal bloom toxins. NOAA scientists developed 

receptor-based assays for each class of algal toxin found in U.S. coastal waters: domoic acid-the 

amnesic shellfish poison (ASP), saxitoxin-the paralytic shellfish poison (PSP), brevetoxin-the 

neurotoxic shellfish poison (NSP), and ciguatoxin-the ciguatera fish poison (CFP). The method 

was directly transferred and training provided to the EPA Gulf Breeze Laboratory, NMFS 

Northwest Fisheries Center, Florida Marine Research Institute, California Department of Health 

Services, University of California at Santa Cruz, and Maine Department of Marine Resources. 

The economic loses due to harmful algal blooms average $19 million per year in commercial 

fisheries, while the costs to public health in the U.S. averages $22 million per year. International 

trade has been facilitated by receptor technology projects with eleven southeast Asian countries 

and with countries in South America and Africa. 

· Verification system to improve aviation forecasts. Real-Time verification system 

technology was transferred into operations at the National Weather Service Aviation Weather 

Center from NOAA's Forecast Systems Laboratory. NOAA scientists working with the FAA and 

the National Center for Atmospheric Research developed an interactive, easy-to-use Web-based 

verification system (http://wwwad.fsl.noaa.gov/afra/rtvs), which consistently, independently, and 

in near real time computes statistical results for aviation forecasts. Now, before a forecast of inflight icing, turbulence, or convective weather is approved, its output can be objectively 

compared with every pilot report, every radar image, or every other observation taken. This can 
NOAA

March 2003 Page 32 

be done for a day, a week, or for any short period over any user-defined geographic area. The 

system has also been directly transferred to multiple research teams in multiple organizations, 

not only to users in the Government but also to private sector users, such as the National 

Business Aviation Association, Inc.

· Real-time radar data archival and internet delivery system. The NOAA developed 

CRAFT (Collaborative Radar Acquisition Field Test) provides relatively inexpensive, real-time 

access to high-resolution radar data for government, university, and private sector use in support 

of critical decision making applications such as those used in forecasting severe weather and 

floods. Abeliene, the Country's high-speed research network, is providing free, state-of-thescience network bandwidth. Through this network, CRAFT is delivering high quality radar data 

to a geographically diverse group of users. Also. the University of Oklahoma, NOAA’s primary 

collaborator, has developed a distribution center to directly transfer high-resolution radar data 

that is being used by private companies like Baron Services, Weather Data, and Weather 

Decision Technologies. They are developing high resolution forecast products for their clients. 

In a spinoff project, NOAA is developing a hydrologic decision support system to help forecast 

and mitigate the effects of hurricanes and tropical storms. NOAA is working to directly transfer 

this system to several foreign governments.
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 33 

IV. NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION 

ADMINISTRATION -- INSTITUTE FOR TELECOMMUNICATION 

SCIENCES 

Technology Transfer at the Agency’s Federal Laboratories – Approach and 

Plans, FY 2002 Activities/Achievements

I. Agency Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) is the chief research and engineering arm of 

the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). 

ITS supports such NTIA telecommunications objectives as promotion of advanced 

telecommunications and information infrastructure development in the United States, 

enhancement of domestic competitiveness, improvement of foreign trade opportunities for U.S. 

telecommunications firms, and facilitation of more efficient and effective use of the radio 

spectrum. ITS also serves as a principal federal resource for solving the telecommunications 

concerns of other federal agencies, state and local governments, private corporations and 

associations, and international organizations.

ITS uses three principal means for achieving technology transfer: cooperative research and 

development, technical publications, and leadership and technical contributions to 

telecommunications standards. 

Cooperative research and development. Cooperative research and development agreements 

(CRADAs), based upon the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) of 1986, are a principal 

means through which ITS aids the private sector. The FTTA provides the legal basis for and 

encourages shared use of government facilities and resources with the private sector in advanced 

telecommunications technologies. These partnerships aid in the commercialization of new 

products and services; they also enhance the capabilities of ITS laboratories.

In FY 2002, ITS participated in technology transfer and commercialization efforts by fostering 

cooperative telecommunications research with industry where benefits can directly facilitate U.S. 

competitiveness and market opportunities. These efforts will continue in future years. ITS also 

participated – as it has for a number of years -- in CRADAs with private sector organizations to 

design, develop, test, and evaluate advanced telecommunication concepts. The private industry 

partner benefits through such cooperative relationships, as does the Institute, as it is able to 

undertake research in commercially important areas that it would not otherwise be able to do.

To date, major contributions to personal communication services (PCS) and local multipoint 

distribution service (LMDS) technologies have been achieved through CRADAs, which have 

aided U.S. efforts to rapidly introduce socially-beneficial new communications technologies. 

More recently, CRADAs in the areas of objective audio and video quality and advanced antennas 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 34 

for wireless systems have allowed ITS to contribute to the development of new products and 

services.

In addition, ITS plans to continue using patents to secure intellectual property rights in 

laboratory innovations with commercial promise. ITS plans to advance its mission and benefit 

the competitiveness of U.S. industry by pursuing opportunities to commercially license patents to 

CRADA partners and other interested parties. As an example, ITS is targeting software 

implementing a video quality metric for commercial development. This software incorporates 

technology covered by two patents and one patent application owned by ITS. A beta version of 

the software will be made available on-line for testing purposes and to generate interest in 

licensing.

Technical publications. Publication has, historically, been the means through which ITS has 

transferred research results to other researchers, the commercial sector, and government 

agencies. Many of these publications – both internal reports and monographs and external, peer 

reviewed, scientific journal articles – have become standard references in several 

telecommunications areas. 

Technical publication remains at present a principal means for ITS’ technology transfer. Most of 

these technical publications are released only after going through an internal peer review process 

managed by the ITS Editorial Review Board (ERB). Of the publications released through the 

ERB process in recent years, approximately two thirds were approved for external publication in 

the scientific literature and one third were NTIA reports. 

Development of telecommunication standards. This third principal means of ITS technology 

transfer directly addresses improvement of U.S. competitiveness in telecommunications. For 

several decades, ITS has provided leadership and technical contributions to organizations, both 

national and international, responsible for developing telecommunication standards. For 

example, a plurality of the technical recommendations of the International Telecommunications 

Union (ITU -- a treaty organization) are based on research conducted at ITS. Also, key national 

quality of service standards developed under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 

T1 committee for video, audio, and digital data incorporate research results obtained at ITS.

ITS continues to chair numerous committees and working groups in the ITU, ANSI T1, and 

other telecommunication standards organizations, providing technical leadership that is trusted 

by the commercial sector participants. ITS’ technical inputs are relied upon as technically 

advanced and sound, and unbiased by commercial interests. 

In FY 2002, ITS continued its technical leadership and contributions to communications 

standards for public safety, particularly for first responders. ITS’ primary area of contribution 

has been interoperability standards and testing procedures. 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 35 

Progress in Improving the Agency’s Performance Metrics for Technology Transfer 

ITS’ annual performance reporting this year has been revised somewhat, in line with the updated 

Department of Commerce guidelines of December 2002. 

In addition, the number of publications approved through the Editorial Review Board (ERB) 

process has been added as a new metric in the “Other Performance Measures” category. While 

not perfect, this metric provides a useful, working measure of the number of quality publications 

released to the public. 

Also, an effort is presently underway to identify metrics for ITS’ technology transfer through 

telecommunication standards development activities. Possible metrics include the number of 

standards committee leadership positions, the number of documents submitted, and the number 

of standards adopted that include ITS technology. It is anticipated that a metric (or metrics) will 

be selected that is (are) both measurable and as well as possible reflects the value of ITS’ 

standards activities. (ITS standards documents do not go through the ERB process.) 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 36 

II. Performance in FY 2002: Activities and Achievements

¦ Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

FY FY FY FY 

1999 2000 2001 2002

? CRADAs, total active in the FY(1) -- -- 66 63

- New, executed in the FY -- -- -- 7

? Traditional CRADAs,(2) total active in the FY 6 3 6 6

- New, executed in the FY 4 3 1 0

? Non-traditional CRADAs,(3,4) total active in the FY -- -- 59 57

- New, executed in the FY -- -- -- 6

? Other types of collaborative R&D relationships

 Collaborative standards(5) contributions, total active in FY -- -- 3 3

-New, executed in the FY -- -- 3 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRADA = Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. -- = Data not requested from agency in previous 

years’ reports.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. “Total active” is comprehensive of all agreements 

executed under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

(2) CRADAs involving collaborative research and development by a federal laboratory and non-federal partners.

(3) CRADAs used for special purposes -- such as, material transfer or technical assistance that may result in 

protected information. 

(4) ITS’ “Telecommunication Analysis Services” (TA Services) is Internet accessible through Web-based electronic 

CRADAs. TA Services provides analysis support to private industry and public agencies in the areas of wireless 

system design and evaluation, and site selection. The service is provided on a cost reimbursable basis, 24 hours a 

day/7 days a week throughout the year. TA Services currently reaches numerous government and private sector 

users across the nation, providing the latest versions of ITS-developed telecommunications models, databases, and 

tools. The use of CRADAs makes TA Services available to users in a short time and on a cost reimbursable basis. 

Additionally, CRADA partners provide useful evaluations of the ITS software used. This information aids ITS to 

improve existing software tools for wireless system design and analysis, and develop new ones – benefiting both 

ITS’ own research capabilities and the resources that outside users can draw upon. The CRADA agreement also 

allows ITS to gain valuable insights from users’ feedback about the rapidly changing needs of industry and 

government in telecommunications technology.

(5) ITS works with industry, through a number of standards fora, to apply research results to the development of 

telecommunication performance standards and guidelines. In FY 2002, ITS worked collaboratively with Sarnoff, 

Tektronix, and SBC, under the ANSI accredited committee T1A1, to produce a series of five technical reports for 

assessing the accuracy and cross-calibration of video quality metrics. 

Benefits of collaborative research for lab performance. Cooperative research with private 

industry has helped ITS accomplish its mission to support industry’s productivity and 

competitiveness by providing insight into industry needs. And this has led to adjustments in the 

focus and direction of other Institute programs to improve their effectiveness and value.

 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 37 

¦ Invention Disclosure and Patenting

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? New inventions disclosed in the FY(1) 0 0 1 0

? Patent applications filed in the FY(2) 1 0 0 1

? Patents issued in the FY 0 2 0 0

? Active patents, end of the FY 3 5 5 5

(1) Inventions arising at the federal lab. 

(2) Tally includes: U.S. patent applications, foreign patent applications filed on cases for which no U.S. application 

was filed, divisional applications, and continuation-in-part applications. Excludes: provisional, continuation, 

duplicate foreign, and PCT applications. 

¦ Licensing

Profile of Active Licenses

FY 

1999

FY

2000

FY

2001

FY 

2002

? All licenses, number total active in the FY(1) 1 2 2 3

? New, executed in the FY 0 1 0 2

? Invention licenses, total active in the FY 1 2 2 3

? New, executed in the FY 0 1 0 2

- Patent (and patent application) licenses, total active in FY 1 2 2 3

? New, executed in the FY 0 1 0 2

- Material transfer licenses (inventions), total active in FY 0 0 0 0

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

- Other invention licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

? New, executed in the FY 0 0 0 0

? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY 0 0 0 0

? New, executed in the FY

- Copyright licenses (fee bearing)

? New, executed in the FY

- Material transfer licenses (non-inventions), total active

? New, executed in the FY

- Other

? New, executed in the FY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 in the FY

 

 

 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 38 

Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents and copyrights 

(hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses -- and not included in the count of copyright licenses.

(1) “Active” = legally in force at any time during the FY. 

Profile of Active Licenses (cont.)

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Licenses which are income bearing, total number 1 1 1 3

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive 0/0/1 0/0/1 0/0/1 0/0/3

? Invention licenses which are income bearing 1 1 1 3

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive 0/0/1 0/0/1 0/0/1 0/0/3

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 1 1 1 3

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive 0/0/1 0/0/1 0/0/1 0/0/3

? Other IP licenses which are income bearing 0 0 0 0

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive -- -- -- 0/0/0

- Copyright licenses (fee bearing) 0 0 0 0

? Number exclusive/partially-exclusive/non-exclusive -- -- -- 0/0/0

? Licenses which are royalty bearing, total number 1 1 1 0

? Invention licenses which are royalty bearing 1 1 1 0

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 1 1 1 0

? Other IP licenses which are royalty bearing 0 0 0 0

- Copyright licenses (fee bearing) 0 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Licensing Management 

 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Elapsed execution time,(1) licenses granted in the FY

? Invention licenses 

? average (or median) / min-max (months) * 6** * 5**

- Patent (and patent application) licenses

? average (or median) / min-max (months) * 6** * 5**

? Number of licenses terminated for cause in the FY

? Invention licenses 0 0 0 0

- Patent (and patent application) licenses 0 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 39 

(1) Date of license application to the date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the lab 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

*No new licenses were executed in FYs 1999 and 2001. 

**In FY 2000 and 2002, only a single new license was executed. Thus, there is no min -max range for elapsed 

execution time to report.

License Income

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Total income received, all licenses active in the FY (1) $10,892 $63,693 $5,000 $65,470

? Invention licenses $10,892 $63,693 $5,000 $65,470

- Patent (and patent application) licenses $10,892 $63,693 $5,000 $65,470

? Other IP licenses, all active licenses in the FY $0 $0 $0 $0

- Copyright licenses

? Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (2) $10,892 $63,693 $0 $0

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

? Invention licenses $10,892 $63,693 $0 $0

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

- Patent (and patent application) licenses $10,892* $63,693* $0 $0

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

? Other IP licenses, total active in the FY

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

- Copyright licenses

? Median ERI

? Minimum, Maximum ERI

? ERI from top 1% of licenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 40 

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? ERI from top 5% of licenses

? ERI from top 20% of licenses

 

 

(1) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the lab to the licensee including patent 

costs.

(2) “Earned royalty” = royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold). Not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 

* In FYs 1999, 2000, 2001, there was only one active license. Thus, there are no distributional statistics on Earned 

Royalty Income to report for either of these years.

Disposition of License Income

FY FY FY FY

1999 2000 2001 2002

? Income distributed (1)

? Invention licenses, total distributed $10,982 $63,693 $5,000 $65,470

- To inventor(s) $4,695 $20,508 $2,900 $21,041

(43%) (32%) (58%) (32%)

 - To other (2) $6,287 $43,185 $2,100 $44,429

(57%) (68%) (42%) (68%)

- Patent (and patent application) licenses, total distributed $10,982 $63,693 $5,000 $65,470

- To inventor(s) $4,695 $20,508 $2,900 $21,041

(43%) (32%) (58%) (32%)

-To other (2) $6,287 $43,185 $2,100 $44,429

(57%) (68%) (42%) (68%)

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the FY.

(2) ITS/NTIA

¦ Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

Other Important Mechanisms for Technology and Knowledge Transfer(1)

FY FY FY FY 

1999 2000 2001 2002

Technical publications produced 32 20 17 17

(1) See section 1 above for additional information about the measures listed here. 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 41 

¦ Outcomes from Technology Transfer

• Comarco cellular test equipment. Comarco, Inc. (a U.S. test equipment manufacturer), 

signed a patent license for the use of ITS’ MNB speech quality estimation algorithm. Comarco 

based their Q-MOS algorithm on the ITS MNB algorithm and offered it for sale as an available 

software tool in several of the Comarco cellular test equipment product lines. This test 

equipment is used by major cell phone service providers to test, diagnose, and maintain their 

cellular radio systems.

• Personal communication services (PCS). Much of ITS’ work in PCS, over several years, has 

been accomplished through CRADAs with partners such as U.S. West, Bell South, Telesis 

Technology Laboratory, and Motorola. Collaboration between ITS and Motorola was 

instrumental in Motorola receiving a license (valued at $100,000,000) to provide PCS in Hong 

Kong. PCS has now been commercialized worldwide, and new developments continue as PCS is 

extended to third generation PCS and beyond. ITS has continued this work in FY 2002 through a 

CRADA with Lucent Technologies’ Bell Laboratories that is investigating multipleinput/multiple-output antenna arrays, a technology that is targeted to dramatically increase the 

capacity of wireless systems and, therefore, reduce the problem of spectrum crowding. This 

technology is 3 to 5 years from commercial application.

• Local multipoint distribution services (LMDS). ITS has been a premier laboratory in 

millimeter wave research for two decades. CRADAs with private industry have enabled ITS to 

apply this unique expertise while conducting research into radio propagation for LMDS. LMDS 

will provide broadband wireless communications for business and residential applications and is 

now being commercialized. Systems have been deployed in the U.S. and a number of U.S. 

companies are exporting systems and services. Research into LMDS has been conducted with 

CRADA partners such as Hewlett Packard, U.S. WEST, and Lucent Technologies.

Data derived from these CRADAs provided a foundation for domestic and international 

standards development and efficient allocation of radio frequency spectrum resources. To date, 

major contributions to PCS and LMDS technologies have been and will continue to be carried 

out under these CRADAs to aid U.S. efforts to rapidly introduce new communications 

technologies for the benefit of society.

• Digital video communication research. In FY 2002, ITS continued to perform research with 

two university CRADA partners (University of Pennsylvania and East Carolina University) that 

provided the laboratory access to Internet 2 capabilities and medical imaging, which would not 

have been otherwise available to the laboratory. Through these CRADAs, ITS continued related 

research in digital video communication performance, addressing such emerging and future 

applications as video telephony and teleconferencing, telemedicine, and interactive video 

distribution. The lab was also able to continue its development of multimedia test capabilities. 

These user-oriented test capabilities are extremely valuable in implementing and optimizing the 

national and international information infrastructure, including the Next Generation Internet 

(NGI). 
ITS/NTIA

March 2003 Page 42 

• Video quality assessment system. A CRADA during FY 2002 was targeted at research 

relating to the development of a Windows-based video quality assessment system. The 

Windows-based system will provide a user friendly video quality assessment system that will be 

usable by anyone concerned with video quality, without the need for large computer systems. 

This CRADA provided the laboratory with a computer system for this development and software 

that was developed by the CRADA partner, greatly increasing the capabilities of the laboratory. 

The Windows-based video quality assessment system, that was developed under this CRADA, 

incorporates technology covered by two patents and one patent application owned by ITS/NTIA. 

It is targeted for commercial development, with the potential of producing a royalty income for 

the laboratory within one years.