Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 4875 

4An SME is defined as a firm with 500 or fewer 

employees or that otherwise qualifies as a small 

business under SBA regulations (see http://

www.sba.gov/services/contractingopportunities/

sizestandardstopics/index.html). Parent companies, 

affiliates, and subsidiaries will be considered when 

determining business size. The dual pricing reflects 

the Commercial Service’s user fee schedule that 

became effective May 1, 2008 (see http://

www.export.gov/newsletter/march2008/

initiatives.html for additional information). 

PROPOSED TIME TABLE—Continued 

June 2 ............................................. Zacatecas ...................................... • Individual One-on-One Company Appointments. 

June 3 ............................................. Zacatecas ...................................... • Departure. 

Participation Requirements 

All parties interested in participating 

in the Trade Mission to Zacatecas, 

Mexico must complete and submit an 

application package for consideration by 

the Department of Commerce. All 

applicants will be evaluated on their 

ability to meet certain conditions and 

best satisfy the selection criteria as 

outlined below. Approximately 10–15 

companies will be selected to 

participate in the mission from the 

applicant pool. U.S. companies doing 

business in Mexico, as well as U.S. 

companies seeking to enter the Mexican 

market for the first time, may apply. 

Fees and Expenses 

After a company has been selected to 

participate on the mission, a payment to 

the Department of Commerce in the 

form of a participation fee is required. 

The fee schedule for the mission is 

below: 

• $2,000 for large firms 

• $1,500 for a small or medium-sized 

enterprises (SMEs) 4

• $700 each additional firm 

representative 

Expenses for air travel, lodging, some 

meals, local transportation, and 

incidentals will be the responsibility of 

each mission participant. 

Conditions of Participation 

An applicant must submit a 

completed and signed mission 

application and supplemental 

application materials, including 

adequate information on the company’s 

products and/or services, primary 

market objectives, and goals for 

participation. If the Department of 

Commerce receives an incomplete 

application, the Department may reject 

the application, request additional 

information, or take the lack of 

information into account when 

evaluating the applications. Each 

applicant must also certify that: 

• The goods and/or services it seeks 

to export through the mission are either 

produced in the United States, or, if not, 

contain at least 51% U.S. content; 

• The export of its goods, software, 

technology, and services would be in 

compliance with U.S. export control 

laws and regulations, including those 

administered by the Department of 

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and 

Security; 

• It has identified any matter pending 

before any bureau or office of the 

Department of Commerce; 

• It has identified any pending 

litigation (including any administrative 

proceedings) to which it is a party that 

involves the Department of Commerce; 

• It and its affiliates (1) have not and 

will not engage in the bribery of foreign 

officials in connection with its 

involvement in this Mission, and (2) 

maintain and enforce a policy that 

prohibits the bribery of foreign officials; 

and 

• It meets the minimum requirements 

as stated in this announcement. 

Selection Criteria for Participation: 

Selection will be based on the following 

criteria, listed in decreasing order of 

importance: 

• Suitability of a company’s products 

or services to the Mexican market and 

the likelihood of a participating 

company’s increased exports to or 

business interests in the target markets 

as a result of this mission; 

• Demonstrated export-readiness; and 

• Consistency of company’s products 

or services with the scope and desired 

outcome of the mission’s goals. 

Additional factors, such as balance of 

company size, type, location, and 

demographics, may also be considered 

during the review process. 

Timeframe for Recruitment and 

Applications 

Recruitment will begin immediately 

and conclude no later than Friday, April 

10, 2015. The Department of Commerce 

will evaluate applications and inform 

applicants of selection decisions on a 

rolling basis. Applications received after 

the deadline will be considered only if 

space and scheduling constraints 

permit. 

Contacts 

CS Pittsburgh 

Ryan Russell, Senior International 

Trade Specialist, U.S. Commercial 

Service Pittsburgh, (412) 644–2817, 

ryan.russell@trade.gov. 

CS Monterrey 

John Howell, Principal Commercial 

Officer, U.S. Commercial Service 

Monterrey, +52 81 8047 3223, 

john.howell@trade.gov. 

Mario Vidan ̃ a, Senior Commercial 

Specialist, U.S. Commercial Service 

Monterrey, +52 81 8047 3118, 

mario.vidana@trade.gov. 

Frank Spector, 

International Trade Specialist. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01636 Filed 1–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket Number: 150123071–5071–01] 

Announcement of Requirements and 

Registration for Head Health Advanced 

Materials Prize Competition—Head 

Health Challenge III 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST), a 

non-regulatory agency of the United 

States Department of Commerce, in a 

cooperative partnership with the 

National Football League (NFL), the 

General Electric Company (GE) and 

Under Armour, Inc. (UA), is conducting 

a prize competition funding initiative to 

support the discovery, design and 

deployment of materials that improve 

the protection of athletes, members of 

the military, and society overall. 

The Head Health Advanced Materials 

Prize Competition (Head Health 

Challenge III, Challenge III, or 

Competition) is being conducted to 

broadly advance the science of materials 

for impact protection, as well as 

measurements and standards for 

assessing the performance of such 

materials. These advances are essential 

for the health of athletes of every age, 

and they will have a broad positive 

impact on the range of activities and 

occupations in our society that require 

protective gear. It is hoped that Head 

Health Challenge III will stimulate 

engagement with diverse science and 

technology communities across 

industry, academia and government (e.g. 

automotive, aerospace, light-weighting, 

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4876 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 

and physical security) that can realize 

innovative approaches to this problem. 

Efforts to speed diagnosis and 

improve prevention, protection and 

treatment for mild traumatic brain 

injury hold promise for improved safety 

of athletes, members of the military and 

the American public. The NFL, GE and 

UA share a commitment to the 

importance of research and technology 

development to better understand, 

diagnose, prevent and protect against 

brain injury, as reflected in 

collaborations, including the Head 

Health Initiative. In this context, the 

development of energy-absorbing 

materials is highly aligned with the 

broader efforts of NIST under the 

President’s Materials Genome Initiative, 

aimed at accelerating innovation in 

advanced materials to address critical 

national needs, and in keeping with 

NIST’s mission. 

Previous Head Health Challenge 

collaborations by the NFL, GE and UA 

have addressed the detection and 

management of mild traumatic brain 

injuries, focused on discovering imaging 

and algorithms to better detect and 

analyze subtle changes in the brain 

(Head Health Challenge I: Methods for 

Diagnosis and Prognosis of Mild 

Traumatic Brain Injuries), and on novel 

technologies, system designs, or 

materials that can quantify head impact 

in real time, detect, track or monitor 

biologic or physiological indicators of 

traumatic brain injury, protect the brain 

from traumatic injury, mitigate or 

prevent short or long-term consequences 

of brain trauma, and assist in training to 

prevent traumatic brain injury (Head 

Health Challenge II: Innovative 

Approaches For Preventing And 

Identifying Brain Injuries). Information 

on Head Health Challenges I and II may 

be found at www.HeadHealth

Challenge.com. 

The National Football League, Under 

Armour, GE and the National Institute 

of Standards and Technology have 

established a joint effort to advance the 

state-of-the-art in advanced materials for 

impact mitigation. The objective of 

Challenge III is to stimulate the 

development of a range of materials that 

provide excellent energy absorbing and 

energy dissipating properties. The NFL, 

Under Armour, GE and NIST look 

forward to receiving submissions 

consistent with the listed specifications 

that will aid in advancing safety and 

protection for athletes, the warfighter, 

and civilians. 

DATES: 

Abstract Submission Period: February 

2, 2015–March 13, 2015. 

Invitations to Submit Full Proposals 

and Materials for First Round 

Competition: April 15, 2015 

Announcement of First Round Award 

Winners: September, 2015 

Announcement of Grand Prize Award 

Winner: September, 2016 

The Abstract Submission Period 

begins February 2, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. 

EST and ends March 13, 2015, at 5:00 

p.m. EST. Competition dates are subject 

to change at the discretion of the 

Competition Sponsors. Entries 

submitted before or after the Abstract 

Submission Period will not be reviewed 

or considered for award. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Changes or updates to the Competition 

rules will be posted and can be viewed 

at the Head Health Challenge III 

Competition Web site at 

www.HeadHealthChallenge.com. 

Questions about the Competition can 

be directed to the Competition Sponsors 

at www.HeadHealthChallenge.com, or 

by email to Michael Fasolka of NIST at 

HHCIII@nist.gov, phone 301–975–8301. 

Results of the Competition will be 

announced on the competition Web site 

at www.HeadHealthChallenge.com. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Competition Sponsors 

The National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST; www.nist.gov) is 

a non-regulatory Federal agency within 

the United States Department of 

Commerce. Founded in 1901, NIST’s 

mission is to promote U.S. innovation 

and industrial competitiveness by 

advancing measurement science, 

standards, and technology in ways that 

enhance economic security and improve 

our quality of life. NIST carries out its 

mission through its programs, which 

include: The NIST Laboratories, 

conducting world-class research, often 

in close collaboration with industry, 

that advances the Nation’s technology 

infrastructure and helps U.S. companies 

continually improve products and 

services; the Hollings Manufacturing 

Extension Partnership (MEP), a nationwide network of local centers offering 

technical and business assistance to 

smaller manufacturers to help them 

create and retain jobs, increase profits, 

and save time and money; and the 

Baldrige Performance Excellence 

Program, which promotes performance 

excellence among U.S. manufacturers, 

service companies, educational 

institutions, health care providers, and 

nonprofit organizations; conducts 

outreach programs; and manages the 

annual Malcolm Baldrige National 

Quality Award, which recognizes 

performance excellence and quality 

achievement. The agency operates in 

two locations: Gaithersburg, Maryland 

(headquarters—234-hectare/578-acre 

campus) and Boulder, Colorado (84- 

hectare/208-acre campus). NIST 

employs about 3,000 scientists, 

engineers, technicians, and support and 

administrative personnel. NIST also 

hosts about 2,700 associates from 

academia, industry, and other 

government agencies, who collaborate 

with NIST staff and access user 

facilities. In addition, NIST partners 

with more than 1,300 manufacturing 

specialists and staff at more than 400 

MEP service locations around the 

country. 

The NIST Material Measurement 

Laboratory (MML) is one of two 

metrology laboratories within NIST, and 

supports the NIST mission by serving as 

the national reference laboratory for 

measurements in the chemical, 

biological and material sciences. MML 

activities range from fundamental and 

applied research on the composition, 

structure and properties of industrial, 

biological and environmental materials 

and processes, to the development and 

dissemination of tools including 

reference measurement procedures, 

certified reference materials, critically 

evaluated data, and best practice guides 

that help assure measurement quality. 

MML research and measurement 

services support areas of national 

importance that include advanced 

materials, bioscience and healthcare, 

electronics, energy, environment and 

climate, food safety and nutrition, 

physical infrastructure, and forensics. 

The National Football League: 

Throughout its history, the NFL has 

made the health and safety of its players 

a priority. This commitment extends to 

football played at all ages and also 

benefits other sports. At the youth level, 

the NFL’s partnership with the Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention and 

the NFL’s support for USA Football, 

including their Heads Up Football 

initiative, helps parents, coaches, 

clinicians and athletes understand the 

signs and symptoms of possible head 

injuries. The League has successfully 

advocated for the passage of youth 

concussion laws in nearly all 50 states. 

Through funding for medical studies, 

including a $30 million grant to the 

Foundation for the National Institutes of 

Health for medical research; 

collaboration with the military on 

research and recognizing and reporting 

potential head injuries; and the work of 

the NFL’s medical committees, the NFL 

is committed to supporting and 

advancing science that will have an 

impact far beyond football. With a 

continued emphasis on improved 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 4877 

equipment, rule changes, and in-game 

policies, the NFL fosters a culture that 

promotes health and safety at every 

level of the game. 

The General Electric Company: At GE 

we have a relentless drive to build 

things that matter. As a leader in the 

development of brain diagnostic tools, 

we are at work to improve the speed and 

accuracy of concussion evaluation. We 

invite innovators around the world to 

join us. There is real power in 

partnership. True breakthroughs and 

innovation happen faster when we come 

together. The power of collaboration 

between diverse networks cannot be 

overstated. Our experience has shown 

us that at GE we don’t have all of the 

solutions, but rather the unique 

opportunity to seek out great ideas and 

accelerate their growth. We can leverage 

our scale and expertise to nurture 

innovation wherever its seeds grow. 

We’ve seen this in our partnership to 

accelerate early detection and 

personalized treatment of breast cancer 

and we know we will see it again in 

cooperating with the NFL on the Head 

Health Initiative. 

Under Armour, Inc.: As a global 

leader in sports performance and 

innovation, Under Armour is proud to 

outfit athletes around the world with 

transformative designs and 

technologies. Every fabric, every stitch 

of every Under Armour product, on 

every field of play exists for one 

singular purpose—to make all athletes 

better. To continue fulfilling this longstanding brand mission, our 

responsibility doesn’t end there. We 

believe in advancing innovation, 

awareness, and education to create safer 

playing fields and competition 

environments for all. With this in mind, 

we have collaborated with the NFL and 

GE to increase our access to some of the 

best minds in the world and empower 

others to join the Head Health Challenge 

movement. 

Collectively, NIST, the NFL, GE and 

UA are the ‘‘Head Health Challenge III 

Sponsors,’’ or the ‘‘Competition 

Sponsors.’’ The Competition Sponsors 

will make all decisions related to the 

development, management, and 

implementation of the Head Health 

Advanced Materials Prize Competition. 

Eligibility Rules for Participating in the 

Competition 

The Head Health Advanced Materials 

Prize Competition is open to all 

individuals over the age of 18 that are 

residents of the 50 United States, the 

District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and 

American Samoa, and to for-profit or 

non-profit corporations, institutions, or 

other validly formed legal entities 

organized or incorporated in, and which 

maintain a primary place of business in, 

any of the preceding jurisdictions. An 

individual, whether participating singly 

or with a group, must be a citizen or 

permanent resident of the United States, 

and must not have been convicted of a 

felony or a crime of moral turpitude. A 

legal entity must not be owned or 

managed by any individual who has 

been convicted of a felony or a crime of 

moral turpitude. 

To be eligible to win a Competition 

prize, a participant (whether an 

individual or legal entity) must have 

registered to participate, must have 

complied with all the requirements 

under section 3719 of title 15, United 

States Code (‘‘Prize competitions’’), 

must not be in active bankruptcy, must 

not be subject to a filed Notice of 

Federal Tax Claim, and must not be 

suspended, debarred, or otherwise 

excluded from doing business with the 

U.S. Federal Government. 

A participant shall not be deemed 

ineligible because the participant used 

Federal facilities or consulted with 

Federal employees in preparing its 

submission to the Competition if the 

facilities and employees are made 

available to all participants on an 

equitable basis. 

Multiple entries are permitted. Each 

entry will be reviewed independently. 

Multiple individuals and/or legal 

entities may collaborate as a group to 

submit a single entry, in which case all 

members of the group must satisfy the 

eligibility requirements, and a single 

individual from the group must be 

designated as an official representative 

for each entry. That designated 

individual will be responsible for 

meeting all entry and evaluation 

requirements. Participation is subject to 

all U.S. federal, state and local laws and 

regulations. Void where prohibited or 

restricted by law. Participants are 

responsible for checking applicable laws 

and regulations in their jurisdiction(s) 

before participating in this Competition, 

to ensure that their participation is 

legal. Individuals entering on behalf of 

or representing a company, institution 

or other legal entity are responsible for 

confirming that their entry does not 

violate any policies of that company, 

institution or legal entity. 

Employees and contractors of the 

Competition Sponsors and/or any of 

their respective affiliates or subsidiaries, 

and any other individuals or legal 

entities involved with the design, 

production, execution, distribution or 

evaluation of the Competition, are not 

eligible to enter. NIST employees and 

NIST Guest Researchers, as well as 

direct recipients of NIST funding 

awards through any Center of 

Excellence established by NIST, are not 

eligible to enter. Federal entities and 

non-NIST Federal employees acting in 

their official capacities are not eligible 

to enter. Non-NIST Federal employees 

acting in their personal capacities 

should consult with their respective 

agency ethics officials to determine 

whether their participation in this 

Competition is permissible. 

Entry Process for Participants 

To enter, visit 

HeadHealthChallenge.com (the ‘‘Event 

Web site’’), and submit a completed 

abstract (‘‘Abstract’’ or ‘‘Entry’’) 

following the instructions provided on 

the Event Web site. Participants may 

begin submitting Competition Entries at 

9:00 a.m. EST on February 2, 2015, to 

the Event Web site. Competition Entries 

must be submitted no later than 5:00 

p.m. EST on March 13, 2015, to the 

Event Web site. 

Entries submitted before the start date 

and time, or after the end date and time, 

will not be evaluated or considered for 

award. Entries sent to the Competition 

Sponsors in any manner other than 

through the Event Web site will not be 

evaluated or considered for award. 

Entries that do not comply with the 

formatting requirements set forth in this 

Notice and the Event Web site will not 

be evaluated or considered for award. 

Entries must be complete, nonconfidential and in English. 

In general, each Entry: 

(a) Must affirmatively represent that 

the participant (and each participant if 

more than one) has read and consents to 

be governed by the Competition rules 

and meets the eligibility requirements; 

(b) Describes in reasonable detail an 

advanced material that, in the 

participant’s good faith opinion, is 

innovative and original in the context of 

Head Health Challenge III. If the 

participant has already filed a patent 

application or been issued a patent for 

any aspect of the participant’s material, 

or if the participant has licensed or 

believe that it will need to license any 

third-party intellectual property in order 

to make, use, sell, offer for sale, or 

import into the United States the 

participant’s material, that fact must be 

included; 

(c) Describes the value proposition of 

the material discussed in the Entry; 

(d) Provides information (including 

but not limited to expertise and 

capabilities) about the individual 

innovators, business team, company or 

institution, as applicable, that created or 

developed the material discussed in the 

Entry; 

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4878 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 

(e) Describes a material that the 

participant is able to produce for testing 

within 12 weeks of the Entry 

submission deadline; and 

(f) Confirms that the material has the 

potential to meet the following 

minimum performance levels: 

(1) Withstand a force range of 3–12kN; 

(2) Have the potential for 

withstanding 1200 impacts above 20 KE 

(J); 

(3) Perform in the impact velocity 

range of 3.4 m/s to 11.2 m/s; and 

(4) Maintain performance under the 

following environmental conditions: 

i. Temperature range of 0 °C to 40 °C; 

and 

ii. Relative humidity range of 40% to 

100%. 

Competition Award(s) 

The Prize Purse is a combined pool 

from the Competition Sponsors of $2 

million. The Prize Purse may increase, 

but will not decrease. Any increases in 

the Prize Purse will be posted on the 

Event Web site and published in the 

Federal Register. The Prize Purse will 

be used to fund one or more awards. 

The Competition Sponsors will 

announce via the Event Web site any 

Entry(ies) as to which the Judges have 

made an award (each, an ‘‘Award’’). The 

anticipated number and amount of the 

cash awards that will be awarded for 

Head Health Challenge III will be set 

forth as part of the announcement of 

Head Health Challenge III at the Event 

Web site; however, the Judges reserve 

the right to award fewer than the 

anticipated number of cash awards in 

the event an insufficient number of 

eligible Entries meet the Judging Criteria 

for Challenge III, in the Judges’ sole 

discretion. Awards will be made based 

on the Judges’ analysis of an Entry’s 

compliance with the Judging Criteria for 

Challenge III. All potential winners will 

be notified by the email address 

provided in the submission document 

and may be required to complete further 

documentation confirming their 

eligibility. Return of any notification as 

‘‘undeliverable’’ will result in 

disqualification. After verification of 

eligibility, awards will be distributed in 

the form of a check addressed to the 

official representative specified in the 

winning entry. That official 

representative will have sole 

responsibility for further distribution of 

any cash Award among participants in 

a group Entry or within a company or 

institution that has submitted an Entry 

through that representative. Each list of 

Entries receiving cash Awards for 

Challenge III will be made public 

according to the timeline outlined on 

the Event Web site 

[www.headhealthchallenge.com]. 

The initial round of cash Awards 

(First Round Awards) will be offered by 

the First Round Competition Sponsors 

(the NFL, GE and UA) to Entries 

selected by the Judges (the First Round 

Winners) and will be disbursed in two 

equal installments. The first installment 

of a First Round Award will be awarded 

after each First Round Winner meets 

with the First Round Competition 

Sponsors to agree upon a progress plan. 

The progress plan will include a 

progress report due six months from the 

first installment award date (or such 

other time as may be set by the First 

Round Competition Sponsors), and the 

second installment of the First Round 

Award will be awarded following 

approval by the First Round 

Competition Sponsors of the First 

Round Winner’s progress report. A final 

progress report, summarizing the results 

and comparing the outcomes to the 

progress plan, will be required at the 

end of the First Round Award Period in 

order for a First Round Winner to be 

eligible for the single Grand Prize 

Award, which will be awarded to a First 

Round Winner selected by the Judges at 

the conclusion of the second round of 

judging. Use of NIST facilities, and 

consultation with NIST employees, may 

be made available by NIST on an 

equitable basis to all First Round 

Winners during the First Round Award 

Period. The Grand Prize Award 

winner’s cash Award will be awarded 

by NIST to the Grand Prize Winner. 

All cash Awards are a one-time offer 

and there is no offer of licensure, 

royalty, or other financial compensation 

implied beyond the initial round of cash 

Awards. Winners are responsible for all 

taxes and reporting related to any 

Award received as part of Challenge III. 

All costs incurred in the preparation 

of Competition Entries are to be borne 

by participants. 

Evaluation, Judging, and Selection of 

Winner(s) 

Submission Evaluation Criteria 

This section discusses how 

participant submissions will be 

evaluated. 

Abstract Submission and Review 

The first step in this Competition is 

submission, via the Event Web site, of 

an Abstract, which describes the 

proposed work and material that a 

participant intends to submit. Initial 

Evaluations of Abstracts will be 

conducted by Subject Matter Experts, 

described below. Subject Matter Experts 

will use the following criteria to 

determine whether a participant will be 

invited to submit a full proposal and 

material samples into the next round of 

the Competition: 

(1) Abstract completeness and 

participant eligibility: Participant 

Abstracts that are incomplete—that do 

not provide all information required by 

this Notice and the Abstract submission 

template (available at the Event Web 

site)—will not be evaluated and will not 

move forward in the Competition. In 

addition, Entries from a participant(s) 

who does not meet the eligibility criteria 

as described elsewhere in this document 

will not be evaluated or move forward 

in the Competition. For complete 

Abstracts from eligible participants, the 

Subject Matter Experts will conduct a 

double blind evaluation using the 

following criteria (Items 2–4), and the 

weighting percentage for each criterion 

is given in parentheses: 

(2) Evidence that the material will 

meet minimum performance levels 

(25%): The Subject Matter Experts will 

evaluate preliminary data and narrative 

evidence provided by the participant to 

determine whether the proposed 

material can: 

• Withstand a force range of 3 kN to 

12 kN; 

• Have the potential for withstanding 

1200 impacts above 20 KE (J); 

• Perform in the impact velocity 

range of 3.4 m/s to 11.2 m/s; and 

• Maintain performance under the 

following environmental conditions: 

Æ Temperature range of 0 °C to 40 °C; 

Æ Relative humidity range of 40% to 

100%. 

(3) Innovation of the Material for 

Impact Protection (50%): Subject Matter 

Experts will evaluate narrative evidence 

and data provided by the participant 

that demonstrates that the material is an 

advancement over existing materials 

used in impact mitigation. 

(4) Quality and Capabilities of the 

Participant (25%): Subject Matter 

Experts will evaluate narrative evidence 

and data provided that demonstrates 

that the participant (or, if more than 

one, the participant’s team) is 

technically capable of excelling in 

further stages of the Challenge. 

First Round: Full Proposal and Material 

Submission 

Based upon Abstract evaluations by 

the Subject Matter Experts, participants 

ranked highly according to the criteria 

described will be invited to submit more 

detailed proposals and material samples 

to the First Round of the Competition. 

The proposal format, proposal and 

material submission deadlines, 

submission instructions and other 

necessary information will be detailed 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 4879 

in the invitations to submit full 

proposals. 

If invited to propose, a participant’s 

proposal submission must include a 

sample of the participant’s material for 

testing, in accordance with the 

submission instructions. Proposal 

submissions that fail to include a 

material sample for testing in 

accordance with the submission 

instructions (including but not limited 

to any submission deadlines), will not 

be evaluated and will not move forward 

in the Competition. 

Proposals in the First Round will be 

evaluated by Subject Matter Experts, 

described below, and representatives of 

the First Round Competition Sponsors. 

The Subject Matter Experts and 

representatives of the First Round 

Competition Sponsors will conduct a 

double blind evaluation of proposals 

using the following criteria (the 

weighting percentage for each criterion 

is given in parentheses): 

(1) Significance (30%): The proposed 

material addresses the problem of 

impact protection, and extends the 

current state of the art in materials in 

this field. 

(2) Participant Capabilities (10%): The 

participant (or, if more than one, the 

participant team) has, as appropriate, 

the technical capabilities, scientific 

expertise, resources, management 

structure, business awareness, and 

collaborations necessary to execute its 

proposal, and a demonstrated track 

record of success in scientific, 

engineering and business enterprises as 

appropriate. 

(3) Innovation (40%): The proposed 

material employs or embodies novel 

materials science concepts or novel 

repurposing of a material, and/or the 

participant/participant team is 

employing new approaches and 

methodologies to materials engineering 

in order to create exceptional impact 

protection. 

(4) Approach (10%): The overall 

strategy, and methodologies employed 

by the participant/participant team are 

scientifically sound and technically 

feasible. 

(5) Material Readiness (10%): It is 

technically feasible that production of 

the proposed material can be scaled to 

commercial volumes. 

Based upon proposal evaluations by 

the Subject Matter Experts and 

representatives of the First Round 

Competition Sponsors, highly ranked 

participants will be selected for 

Materials Testing. These materials will 

be tested by NIST for energy absorption/ 

dissipation performance. Up to six of 

the participants will be selected by a 

panel of Judges for First Round Awards 

(described above) based upon materials 

testing results and the Judges’ reviews of 

full proposal submissions. 

Materials Testing will be conducted at 

NIST facilities, or at other facilities 

arranged for by NIST, using methods 

determined by NIST in consultation 

with experts from industry, academia 

and other government agencies. 

Materials testing will assess the ability 

of materials to absorb impact energy and 

dissipate the transfer of momentum 

under impact. The key measure to be 

assessed will be energy absorption or 

dissipation per unit mass or volume of 

material under the impact velocity 

ranges and environmental conditions 

described above. 

Final Round and Grand Prize Awards: 

First Round Award Winners will 

enter into the Final Round and will 

have the opportunity to improve their 

materials for a period of approximately 

one year with guidance from the First 

Round Competition Sponsors. A final 

progress report, due at the end of the 

one-year period, will be evaluated by 

the Judges. The evaluation criteria for 

the final progress report will be the 

same as those used to evaluate full 

proposals. In addition, NIST will 

conduct a final round of materials 

testing. 

One Grand Prize Winner will be 

selected from among the Final Round 

competitors by the Judges, based on the 

Judges’ professional assessment of the 

total potential of submitted materials to 

improve impact protection, with 

proposal and report evaluations and 

material testing data being the 

assessment criteria. 

Subject Matter Experts and Judges 

Subject Matter Experts, to be selected 

by the First Round Competition 

Sponsors, as well as any representatives 

of the First Round Competition 

Sponsors involved in evaluating full 

proposals, will, as a body, represent a 

high degree of expertise in materials 

science and impact protection 

technology, scientific stature 

commensurate with this part of the 

Challenge, and a balance of perspectives 

from technology sectors relevant to the 

Competition. Subject Matter Experts 

will provide assessments of Abstracts 

and full proposals using the criteria 

described herein. Neither Subject Matter 

Experts nor representatives of the First 

Round Competition Sponsors will select 

winners of any cash prizes. 

A panel of highly qualified Judges 

appointed by the NIST Director will 

select winners of cash prizes to be 

awarded to First Round Award Winners 

and to the Grand Prize Winner using the 

criteria described herein. The Judges, 

acknowledged experts in materials 

science and impact protection 

technology, may not have personal or 

financial interests in, or be an employee, 

officer, director, or agent of any entity 

that is a registered participant in this 

Competition, and may not have a 

familial or financial relationship with 

an individual who is a registered 

participant. In the event of such a 

conflict, a Judge must recuse himself or 

herself. A participant(s) should review 

the list of the Judges available at the 

Event Web site, and must identify, as 

part of their Entry submission, any 

Judge who has personal or financial 

interests in, or is an employee, officer, 

director, or agent of any entity that is a 

participant in this Competition, or who 

has a familial or financial relationship 

with an individual who is a participant. 

Thereafter, a participant(s) must 

immediately inform the Competition 

Sponsors through the Event Web site of 

a change in status resulting in a conflict 

for any Judge as described above. 

Failure to do so may disqualify a 

participant(s) from receiving a cash 

award. 

Intellectual property rights: 

Other than as set forth herein, none of 

the Competition Sponsors makes any 

claim to ownership of your Entry or any 

of your intellectual property or third 

party intellectual property that it may 

contain therein. By participating in 

Challenge III, you are not granting any 

rights in any patents or pending patent 

applications related to the technology 

described in your Entry; provided that 

by submitting an Entry, you are granting 

the Competition Sponsors certain 

limited rights as set forth herein. 

By submitting an Entry, you grant to 

the Competition Sponsors the right to 

review your Entry, to describe your 

Entry in connection with any materials 

created in connection with Challenge III 

and to have the Subject Matter Experts, 

representatives of the First Round 

Competition Sponsors, and Judges, and 

the designees of any of them, review 

your Entry. 

By submitting an Entry, you grant a 

non-exclusive right and license to the 

Competition Sponsors and their 

respective affiliates, subsidiaries, 

parents, and licensees, to use your 

name, likeness, biographical 

information, image, any other personal 

data submitted with your Entry and the 

contents in your Entry (including any 

created works, such as YouTube®

videos, but not including any material(s) 

submitted with or as part of your Entry), 

in connection with (i) Challenge III, and 

(ii) the Competition Sponsors’ 

initiatives to develop new materials in 

any media or format now known or 

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4880 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 

hereafter invented, in any and all 

locations worldwide, without any 

payment to or further approval from 

you. You also agree that this license is 

perpetual and irrevocable. For uses 

beyond the license that you grant above, 

you agree that any use of your personal 

data by the Competition Sponsors will 

be governed by the Privacy Policy 

posted on the Event Web site. 

You agree that nothing in this Notice 

grants you a right or license to use any 

names, trademarks or service marks of 

the Competition Sponsors, or any other 

intellectual property or proprietary 

rights of the Competition Sponsors. You 

grant to the Competition Sponsors the 

right to include your company or 

institution name and logo (if your Entry 

is from a company or institution) as an 

entrant on the Event Web site and in 

materials from the Competition 

Sponsors announcing winners or 

prospective winners of Challenge III. 

Other than these uses or as otherwise set 

forth herein, you are not granting the 

Competition Sponsors any rights to your 

trademarks. 

Entries containing any matter which, 

in the sole discretion of the Competition 

Sponsors, is indecent, defamatory, in 

obvious bad taste, which demonstrates a 

lack of respect for public morals or 

conduct, which promotes 

discrimination in any form, which 

shows unlawful acts being performed, 

which is slanderous or libelous, or 

which adversely affects the reputations 

of the Competition Sponsors, will not be 

accepted. If the Competition Sponsors, 

in their sole discretion, finds any Entry 

to be unacceptable, then such Entry 

shall be deemed disqualified and will 

not be evaluated or considered for 

award. The Competition Sponsors shall 

have the right to remove any content 

from the Event Web site in their sole 

discretion at any time and for any 

reason, including, but not limited to, 

any online comment or posting related 

to Challenge III. 

Nothing in this Competition requires 

you to negotiate or do business with the 

Competition Sponsors. You are free to 

discuss your Entry and the ideas or 

technologies contained therein with 

other parties and you are free to contract 

with any third parties; provided that 

you do not sign any agreement, grant 

any license or undertake any obligations 

that conflicts with any agreement that 

you have entered into, agreed to enter 

into or do enter into with the 

Competition Sponsors regarding your 

Entry (including as set forth herein). For 

the purpose of clarity, you acknowledge 

that the intent of Challenge III is to 

encourage people to suggest their ideas 

and innovations, but your participation 

in Challenge III does not create an 

obligation on either your part, or the 

Competition Sponsors’ part, to enter 

into any further business relationship 

with you or to sign any commercial 

agreement with you. 

Confidential information: 

By making a submission to Challenge 

III, you agree that no part of your 

submission includes any confidential or 

proprietary information, ideas or 

products. Since none of the Competition 

Sponsors wishes to receive or hold any 

submitted materials ‘‘in confidence,’’ it 

is agreed that, with respect to your 

Entry, no confidential or fiduciary 

relationship or obligation of secrecy is 

established between the Competition 

Sponsors and you, your Entry team, the 

company or institution you represent 

when submitting an Entry, or any other 

person or entity associated with any 

part of your Entry. 

Warranties: 

By submitting an Entry, you represent 

and warrant that all information you 

submit is true and complete to the best 

of your knowledge, that you have the 

right and authority to submit the Entry 

on your own behalf or on behalf of the 

persons and entities that you specify 

within the Entry, and that your Entry 

(both the information and materials 

submitted in the Entry and the 

underlying technology/method/idea/

treatment protocol/solution described in 

the Entry): 

(a) Is your own original work, or is 

submitted by permission with full and 

proper credit given within your Entry; 

(b) does not contain confidential 

information or trade secrets (yours or 

anyone else’s); 

(c) does not knowingly, after due 

inquiry (including, by way of example 

only and without limitation, reviewing 

the records of the United States Patent 

and Trademark Office and inquiring of 

any employees and other professionals 

retained with respect to such matters), 

violate or infringe upon the patent 

rights, industrial design rights, 

copyrights, trademarks, rights of 

privacy, publicity or other intellectual 

property or other rights of any person or 

entity; 

(d) does not contain malicious code, 

such as viruses, malware, timebombs, 

cancelbots, worms, Trojan horses or 

other potentially harmful programs or 

other material or information; 

(e) does not and will not violate any 

applicable law, statute, ordinance, rule 

or regulation, including, without 

limitation, United States export laws 

and regulations, including, but not 

limited to, the International Traffic in 

Arms Regulations and the Department 

of Commerce Export Regulations; and 

(f) does not trigger any reporting or 

royalty or other obligation to any third 

party. 

Limitation of liability: 

By participating in Challenge III, you 

agree to assume any and all risks and to 

release, indemnify and hold harmless 

the Competition Sponsors each of the 

Judges and Subject Matter Experts, and 

their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, 

advertising and promotions agencies, as 

applicable, and each of their respective 

agents, representatives, officers, 

directors, shareholders, and employees 

(collectively, ‘‘Competition Sponsor 

Entities’’) from and against any injuries, 

losses, damages, claims, actions and any 

liability of any kind (including 

attorneys’ fees) resulting from or arising 

out of your participation in, association 

with or submission to Challenge III 

(including any claims alleging that your 

Entry infringes, misappropriates or 

violates any third party’s intellectual 

property rights). In addition, you agree 

to waive claims against the Federal 

Government and its related entities, 

except in the case of willful misconduct, 

for any injury, death, damage, or loss of 

property, revenue, or profits, whether 

direct, indirect, or consequential, arising 

from your participation in this 

Competition, whether the injury, death, 

damage, or loss arises through 

negligence or otherwise. 

The Competition Sponsor Entities are 

not responsible for any 

miscommunications such as technical 

failures related to computer, telephone, 

cable, and unavailable network or server 

connections, related technical failures, 

or other failures related to hardware, 

software or virus, or incomplete, late, 

damaged or misdirected Entries or 

material samples. Any compromise to 

the fair and proper conduct of Challenge 

III may result in the disqualification of 

an Entry or participant, termination of 

Challenge III, or other remedial action, 

at the sole discretion of the Competition 

Sponsors. The Competition Sponsors 

reserve the right in their sole discretion 

to extend or modify the dates of 

Challenge III, and to change the terms 

set forth herein governing any phases 

taking place after the effective date of 

any such change. By entering, you agree 

to the terms set forth herein and to all 

decisions of the Competition Sponsors, 

the Judges, the Subject Matter Experts, 

and/or all of their respective agents, 

which are final and binding in all 

respects. 

The Competition Sponsor Entities are 

not responsible for: (1) Any incorrect or 

inaccurate information, whether caused 

by a participant, printing errors, or by 

any of the equipment or programming 

associated with or used in the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 19 / Thursday, January 29, 2015 / Notices 4881 

Competition; (2) unauthorized human 

intervention in any part of the Entry 

process for the Competition; (3) 

technical or human error that may occur 

in the administration of the Competition 

or the processing of Entries; or (4) any 

injury or damage to persons or property 

that may be caused, directly or 

indirectly, in whole or in part, from a 

participant’s participation in the 

Competition or receipt or use or misuse 

of a cash award. If for any reason an 

Entry is confirmed to have been deleted 

erroneously, lost, or otherwise 

destroyed or corrupted, the participant’s 

sole remedy is to submit another Entry 

in the Competition. 

No obligation: 

You acknowledge that multiple 

participants may submit Entries that 

contain concepts or technologies similar 

to your Entry and that the Competition 

Sponsors or their subsidiaries and 

business partners may already be 

investigating or developing technical 

solutions or business activities that are 

related or similar to those that you 

disclose in your Entry. You 

acknowledge and agree that any actions 

or omissions of the Competition 

Sponsors with respect to another Entry 

or one of its own solutions or business 

activities, even if similar to your Entry, 

shall not create in the Competition 

Sponsors, as applicable, any liability to 

you or others. Further, none of the 

Competition Sponsors is or shall be 

restricted in any way from pursuing, 

developing, or commercializing, in any 

way that such Competition Sponsor sees 

fit, independent of you and at the 

Competition Sponsor’s sole discretion, 

any technology that is created 

independent of your Entry. You 

acknowledge that none of the 

Competition Sponsors is obligated to 

take any action whatsoever with regard 

to your Entry. You agree that these 

terms and the relationship between you 

and the Competition Sponsors shall be 

governed by the laws of the United 

States. 

Termination and Disqualification: 

The Competition Sponsors reserve the 

authority to cancel, suspend, and/or 

modify the Competition, or any part of 

it, if any fraud, technical failures, or any 

other factor beyond the Competition 

Sponsors’ reasonable control impairs 

the integrity or proper functioning of the 

Competition, as determined by 

Competition Sponsors in their sole 

discretion. 

The Competition Sponsors reserve the 

right to disqualify any participant or 

participant team it believes to be 

tampering with the Entry process or the 

operation of the Competition or to be 

acting in violation of any applicable rule 

or condition. 

Any attempt by any person to 

undermine the legitimate operation of 

the Competition may be a violation of 

criminal and civil law, and, should such 

an attempt be made, the Competition 

Sponsors reserve the authority to seek 

damages from any such person to the 

fullest extent permitted by law. 

Verification of Potential Winner(s): 

All potential winners of a First Round 

Award or Grand Prize Award are subject 

to verification by the Competition 

Sponsors, whose decisions are final and 

binding in all matters related to the 

Competition. 

Potential winner(s) must continue to 

comply with all terms and conditions of 

the Competition rules, and winning is 

contingent upon fulfilling all 

requirements. In the event that a 

potential winner, or an announced 

winner, is found to be ineligible or is 

disqualified for any reason, the 

Competition Sponsors may make award, 

instead, to another participant, as may 

be determined by the Judges. 

Prior to awarding the Grand Prize 

Award, NIST will verify that the 

potential winner is not suspended, 

debarred, or otherwise excluded from 

doing business with the U.S. Federal 

Government. Suspended, debarred, or 

otherwise excluded participants will not 

be eligible to win the Grand Prize 

Award. 

Privacy and Disclosure under FOIA: 

Personal and contact information is 

not collected for commercial or 

marketing purposes. Except as provided 

herein, information submitted 

throughout the Competition will be 

used only to communicate with 

participants regarding Entries and/or the 

Competition. Participant Entries and 

submissions to the Competition may be 

subject to disclosure under the Freedom 

of Information Act (‘‘FOIA’’). 

Authority: 15 U.S. C. 3719. 

Richard Cavanagh, 

Acting Associate Director for Laboratory 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01743 Filed 1–28–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD513 

Draft 2014 Marine Mammal Stock 

Assessment Reports 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS reviewed the Alaska, 

Atlantic, and Pacific regional marine 

mammal stock assessment reports 

(SARs) in accordance with the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act. SARs for 

marine mammals in the Alaska, 

Atlantic, and Pacific regions were 

revised according to new information. 

NMFS solicits public comments on the 

draft 2014 SARs. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 29, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: The 2014 draft SARs are 

available in electronic form via the 

Internet at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/

pr/sars/draft.htm. 

Copies of the Alaska Regional SARs 

may be requested from Dee Allen, 

Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, 

7600 Sand Point Way, NE BIN 15700, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070. 

Copies of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, 

and Caribbean Regional SARs may be 

requested from Gordon Waring, 

Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 

Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543. 

Copies of the Pacific Regional SARs 

may be requested from Jim Carretta, 

Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 

8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 

92037–1508. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0117, by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Mail: Send comments or requests for 

copies of reports to: Chief, Marine 

Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 

East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910–3226, Attn: Stock Assessments. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http://

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannon Bettridge, Office of Protected 

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