Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Notices 66737 

2011 FALL REVISION CYCLE REPORT ON PROPOSALS—Continued 

NFPA 1037 ...................... Standard for Professional Qualifications for Fire Marshal .......................................................................... P 

NFPA 1041 ...................... Standard for Fire Service Instructor Professional Qualifications ................................................................ P 

NFPA 1051 ...................... Standard for Wildland Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications .................................................................. P 

NFPA 1061 ...................... Standard for Professional Qualifications for Public Safety Telecommunicator ........................................... P 

NFPA 1401 ...................... Recommended Practice for Fire Service Training Reports and Records ................................................... P 

NFPA 1402 ...................... Guide to Building Fire Service Training Centers ......................................................................................... P 

NFPA 1403 ...................... Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions .................................................................................................. C 

NFPA 1906 ...................... Standard for Wildland Fire Apparatus ......................................................................................................... C 

NFPA 1911 ...................... Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus.P 

NFPA 1951 ...................... Standard on Protective Ensembles for Technical Rescue Incidents .......................................................... P 

NFPA 1961 ...................... Standard on Fire Hose ................................................................................................................................ P 

NFPA 1971 ...................... Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting ..................... P 

NFPA 1983 ...................... Standard on Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services .................................................... P 

NFPA 1991 ...................... Standard on Vapor-Protective Ensembles for Hazardous Materials Emergencies .................................... P 

NFPA 1992 ...................... Standard on Liquid Splash-Protective Ensembles and Clothing for Hazardous Materials Emergencies .. P 

NFPA 1994 ...................... Standard on Protective Ensembles for First Responders to CBRN Terrorism Incidents ........................... P 

P = Partial revision; W = Withdrawal; R = Reconfirmation; N = New; C = Complete Revision. 

Dated: October 22, 2010. 

Harry Hertz, 

Director, Baldrige Performance Excellence 

Program. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27431 Filed 10–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket Number: 101015516–0516–02] 

Technology Innovation Program (TIP) 

Seeks Comments on White Papers 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology’s (NIST) 

Technology Innovation Program (TIP) 

announces that it is seeking comments 

on white papers prepared by TIP staff 

from any interested party, including 

academia; Federal, State, and local 

governments; industry; national 

laboratories; and professional 

organizations/societies; and others. 

Comments will assist in the further 

refinement of areas of critical national 

need and the associated technical 

challenges that could be addressed in 

future TIP competitions. 

DATES: The dates for submission of 

comments on white papers are: October 

29, 2010 through September 30, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: The white papers are 

available on TIP’s Web site at http:// 

www.nist.gov/tip/wp/index.cfm. 

Comments on white papers may be 

submitted using the comment button 

found on the first and last page of each 

white paper found on TIP’s Web site at 

http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp/index.cfm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Wiggins at 301–975–5416 or by 

e-mail at thomas.wiggins@nist.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background Information: The 

Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at 

the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) was established for 

the purpose of assisting U.S. businesses 

and institutions of higher education or 

other organizations, such as national 

laboratories and nonprofit research 

institutions, to support, promote, and 

accelerate innovation in the United 

States through high-risk, high-reward 

research in areas of critical national 

need. The TIP statutory authority is 

Section 3012 of the America Creating 

Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 

Excellence in Technology, Education, 

and Science (COMPETES) Act, Public 

Law 110–69 (August 9, 2007), codified 

at 15 U.S.C. 278n. The TIP 

implementing regulations are published 

at 15 CFR Part 296. TIP holds 

competitions for funding based on 

addressing areas of critical national 

need. TIP identifies and selects topics 

for areas of critical national need based 

on input from within NIST, the TIP 

Advisory Board, the science and 

technology communities, and from the 

public. TIP is interested in receiving 

input on the identification and 

definition of problems that are 

sufficiently large in magnitude that they 

have the potential to inhibit the growth 

and well-being of our nation today. 

This announcement explains the 

process for submitting comments on TIP 

white papers. Comments on white 

papers from experts in other Federal 

agencies are also valued and welcome, 

and will enable TIP to complement the 

efforts of other mission agencies and 

avoid duplication of their efforts, 

thereby leveraging resources to benefit 

the nation. The key concepts 

enumerated below are the foundation of 

TIP and should assist all commenters in 

providing input that will help TIP 

develop and refine an effective white 

paper: 

a. An area of critical national need 

means an area that justifies government 

attention because the magnitude of the 

problem is large and the associated 

societal challenges that need to be 

overcome are not being addressed, but 

could be addressed through high-risk, 

high-reward research. 

b. A societal challenge is a problem or 

issue confronted by society that when 

not addressed could negatively affect 

the overall function and quality of life 

of the nation, and as such, justifies 

government attention. A societal 

challenge is associated with barriers 

preventing the successful development 

of solutions to the area of critical 

national need. TIP’s purpose is to 

provide funding that will enable U.S. 

businesses and institutions of higher 

education or other organizations, such 

as national laboratories and nonprofit 

research institutions, to tackle technical 

issues that can be addressed through 

high-risk, high-reward research. The 

results of the high-risk, high-reward 

research should have the potential for 

transformational results. 

c. A transformational result is a 

potential project outcome that enables 

disruptive changes over and above 

current methods and strategies. 

Transformational results have the 

potential to radically improve our 

understanding of systems and 

technologies, challenging the status quo 

of research approaches and 

applications. 

For an understanding of how these 

white papers were developed, and for 

detailed instructions on how to prepare 

and submit your own white papers to 

TIP, refer to A Guide for Preparing and 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES

66738 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Notices 

Submitting White Papers on Areas of 

Critical National Need. The Guide is 

available on the TIP Web site at 

http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp/upload/ 

guide_for_white_papers.pdf. 

In this call for comments on white 

papers, TIP is seeking information to 

further develop and refine the areas of 

critical national need that were the 

subject of prior TIP competitions as well 

as the topic areas under development 

for future TIP competitions. TIP may 

use comments received to further 

develop the definition and scope of the 

critical national needs suggested by 

these topic areas, and to additionally 

identify and explain specific societal 

challenges that require a technical 

solution within these critical national 

need areas. Do not include ideas for 

specific proposals in your comments on 

the white paper (i.e., do not discuss 

your specific solution to the problem). 

This solicitation for comments on white 

papers is neither a Request for Proposals 

(RFP) nor a request for pre-proposals. 

Rather, it is a way to include ideas from 

the public to identify problems that 

justify government support and that can 

be addressed by technological 

innovations that are not currently being 

sufficiently supported to meet the 

challenge. 

Comments on white papers must not 

contain proprietary information. 

Submission of comments on a white 

paper means that the author(s) agrees 

that all the information in the comments 

on the white paper can be made 

available to the public. Information 

contained in submitted comments will 

be considered and combined with 

information from other resources— 

including the vision of the 

Administration, NIST, other government 

agencies, technical communities, the 

TIP Advisory Board, and other members 

of the public—to develop the scope of 

future competitions and to shape TIP’s 

collaborative outreach. Comments on 

white papers are a valuable resource 

that adds to TIP’s understanding of the 

significance and scope of critical 

national needs and associated societal 

challenges. 

This current call for comments 

pertains to the white papers that 

describe the areas of critical national 

need as described in the FY 2010 TIP 

competition and the FY 2009 TIP 

competition, as well as four proposed 

critical national need topic areas, as 

described below. 

FY 2010 Competition 

In the FY 2010 TIP competition, the 

topic of Manufacturing was identified as 

an area of critical national need. The 

topic area of Manufacturing, based on 

the white paper Manufacturing and 

Biomanufacturing: Materials Advances 

and Critical Processes, built on the two 

societal challenges addressed in the FY 

2009 TIP competition, which was 

entitled Accelerating the Incorporation 

of Materials Advances into 

Manufacturing Processes, and included 

a third societal challenge for critical 

process advances in manufacturing and 

biomanufacturing. The focus of this 

competition was on the challenges 

associated with agile or intelligent 

manufacturing, sustainable 

manufacturing processes, specific 

manufacturing processes, specifically 

(1) process scale-up, integration, and 

design for materials advances; (2) 

predictive modeling for materials 

advances and materials processing; and 

(3) critical process advances. The white 

paper that was used in the FY 2010 TIP 

competition for the topic area of 

Manufacturing can be found at http:// 

www.nist.gov/tip/wp/index.cfm. 

FY 2009 Competition 

In the FY 2009 TIP competition, the 

topic area of Civil Infrastructure was 

identified as an area of critical national 

need. The topic area of Civil 

Infrastructure, based on the white paper 

Advanced Sensing Technologies and 

Advanced Repair Materials for 

Infrastructure: Water Systems, Dams, 

Levees, Bridges, Roads, and Highways, 

dated March 2009, emphasized 

technologies to detect corrosion, 

cracking, delamination and other 

structural damage as well as repair/ 

retrofit materials and technologies, in 

water resources systems such as water 

and wastewater pipelines, dams, levees 

and waterway locks, as well as bridges 

and roadways. The white paper that was 

used in the FY 2009 TIP competition for 

the topic area of Civil Infrastructure can 

be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp/ 

index.cfm. 

Proposed Topic Areas 

Water: The proposed topic area 

within the critical national need of 

Water is based on the draft white paper, 

Water: New Technologies for Managing 

and Ensuring Future Water Availability, 

which outlines the technologies that 

will be required to lead to improved 

means for better managing the quality 

and quantity of delivered-water supplies 

and for protecting the public from 

waterborne disease sources. Better tools 

are required: for environmentally benign 

disposition of brines and waste streams 

from desalination and water reclamation 

projects; for low-cost methods for 

removal of emerging contaminants from 

wastewater streams and from water 

distribution systems; for resource 

recovery from wastewater; and for 

transformative improvements in the 

energy costs of producing water from 

non-freshwater sources. The draft white 

paper for the proposed topic of Water 

can be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/ 

wp/index.cfm. 

Advanced Robotics and Intelligent 

Automation: The proposed topic area 

Advanced Robotics and Intelligent 

Automation focuses on an area of 

critical national need in Manufacturing, 

it also potentially impacts other 

application areas such as healthcare and 

homeland security. The proposed 

Manufacturing topic Advanced Robotics 

and Intelligent Automation is a draft 

white paper that outlines infrastructural 

technologies that will be required for 

this industry to supply the next 

generation of solutions to 

manufacturers. Potential solutions that 

have been discussed include new 

techniques for manipulation and 

handling objects; new approaches for 

navigation in unstructured 

environments; new strategies for 

monitoring and controlling groups of 

robots; new technologies and 

approaches for the seamless integration 

of the various subsystems that make up 

a robot or intelligent automation system; 

new power and energy storage 

technology; new approaches to 

communication; and new methods for 

ensuring safe interactions between 

robots and humans. The draft white 

paper for the proposed topic of 

Advanced Robotics and Intelligent 

Automation can be found at http:// 

www.nist.gov/tip/wp/index.cfm. 

Energy: The proposed topic area 

within the critical national need area of 

Energy is based on the draft white 

paper, Technologies to Enable a Smart 

Grid, which outlines the technologies 

that will be required to enable a reliable 

smart grid approach to electric power 

distribution, demand, and response 

control, grid connectivity, and the 

integration of renewable energy sources 

into the grid. The proposed topic aims 

to address research in energy storage 

systems and the integration of stored 

energy into the grid system, advanced 

sensors and their energy sources to be 

deployed along the grid, communication 

and control technologies (high voltage 

power electronics), and modeling. The 

draft white paper for the proposed topic 

of Energy can be found at http:// 

www.nist.gov/tip/wp/index.cfm. 

Healthcare: The proposed topic area 

with the critical national need of 

Healthcare is based on the draft white 

paper Advanced Technologies for 

Proteomics, Data Integration and 

Analysis and Biomanufacturing for 

Personalized Medicine, which outlines 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 209 / Friday, October 29, 2010 / Notices 66739 

the platform technologies that will be 

needed to enable a personalized 

approach to safer and more costeffective healthcare. The proposed topic 

specifically aims to address research 

needs for: non-invasively analyzing 

proteins in real-time in live tissues, 

animal models and humans; linking 

genomic, proteomic and other disparate 

datasets with patient-specific data to 

understand disease susceptibility and 

response to treatment; and cost-effective 

high-throughput biopharmaceutical 

manufacturing. The draft white paper 

for the proposed topic of Healthcare can 

be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp/ 

index.cfm. 

Dated: October 20, 2010. 

Harry Hertz, 

Director, Baldrige Performance Excellence 

Program. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27449 Filed 10–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket Number: 101015518–0518–02] 

Technology Innovation Program (TIP) 

Seeks White Papers 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology’s (NIST) 

Technology Innovation Program (TIP) 

announces that it is seeking white 

papers from any interested party, 

including academia; Federal, State, and 

local governments; industry; national 

laboratories; professional organizations/ 

societies, and others. White papers will 

be used to identify and select areas of 

critical national need and the associated 

technical challenges to be addressed in 

future TIP competitions. 

DATES: The due dates for submission of 

white papers are November 29, 2010, 

February 15, 2011, May 10, 2011, and 

July 12, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit white papers 

to National Institute of Standards and 

Technology, Technology Innovation 

Program, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 4750, 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899–4750. 

Attention: Critical National Needs Ideas. 

White papers may also be submitted via 

e-mail to tipwhitepaper@nist.gov. 

If you have previously submitted a 

white paper please do not resubmit the 

same white paper. White papers 

previously submitted continue to be 

considered as part of the selection 

process for future competitions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Wiggins at 301–975–5416 or by 

e-mail at thomas.wiggins@nist.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background Information: The 

Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at 

the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) was established for 

the purpose of assisting U.S. businesses 

and institutions of higher education or 

other organizations, such as national 

laboratories and nonprofit research 

institutions, to support, promote, and 

accelerate innovation in the United 

States through high-risk, high-reward 

research in areas of critical national 

need. The TIP statutory authority is 

section 3012 of the America Creating 

Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote 

Excellence in Technology, Education, 

and Science (COMPETES) Act, Public 

Law 110–69 (August 9, 2007), codified 

at 15 U.S.C. 278n. The TIP 

implementing regulations are published 

at 15 CFR part 296. 

TIP holds competitions for funding 

based on addressing areas of critical 

national need. TIP identifies and selects 

topics for areas of critical national need 

based on input from within NIST, the 

TIP Advisory Board, the science and 

technology communities, and from the 

public. TIP is interested in receiving 

input on the identification and 

definition of problems that are 

sufficiently large in magnitude that they 

have the potential to inhibit the growth 

and well-being of our nation today. This 

announcement explains the 

requirements and process for interested 

parties to submit white papers to TIP. 

White papers from experts in other 

Federal agencies are valued and 

welcome and will enable TIP to 

complement the efforts of other mission 

agencies and avoid duplication of their 

efforts, thereby leveraging resources to 

benefit the nation. 

The key concepts, enumerated below, 

are the foundation of TIP and should 

form the basis of an effective white 

paper: 

a. An area of critical national need 

means an area that justifies government 

attention because the magnitude of the 

problem is large and the associated 

societal challenges that need to be 

overcome are not being addressed, but 

could be addressed through high-risk, 

high-reward research. 

b. A societal challenge is a problem or 

issue confronted by society that when 

not addressed could negatively affect 

the overall function and quality of life 

of the nation, and as such, justifies 

government action. A societal challenge 

is associated with barriers preventing 

the successful development of solutions 

to the area of critical national need. 

TIP’s mission is to tackle the technical 

issues that can be addressed through 

high-risk, high-reward research. The 

results of the high-risk, high-reward 

research should have the potential for 

transformational results. 

c. A transformational result is a 

potential project outcome that enables 

disruptive changes over and above 

current methods and strategies. 

Transformational results have the 

potential to radically improve our 

understanding of systems and 

technologies, challenging the status quo 

of research approaches and 

applications. 

The white papers are expected to 

contain: A description of an area of 

critical national need and the associated 

societal challenge(s) (what is the 

problem, why is it a problem, and why 

is it challenging); why government 

support is needed and what could 

happen if that support is not provided 

in the proposed time frame; a high-level 

discussion of potential scientific 

advancements and/or technologies that 

are needed to address the societal 

challenges; and an indication of the 

types of entities or groups who might be 

interested in developing proposal 

submissions to fund these scientific 

and/or technology approaches. Do not 

include ideas for specific proposals in 

the white paper (i.e., do not include 

your specific solution to the problem). 

This solicitation for white papers is 

neither a Request for Proposals (RFP) 

nor is it a request for pre-proposals. 

Rather, it is a way to include ideas from 

the public to identify problems that 

justify government support and can be 

addressed by technological innovations 

that are not currently being sufficiently 

supported to meet the challenge. 

White papers must not contain 

proprietary information. Submission of 

a white paper means that the author(s) 

agrees that all the information in the 

white paper can be made available to 

the public. 

Information contained in these white 

papers will be considered and combined 

with information from other resources— 

including the vision of the 

Administration, NIST, other government 

agencies, technical communities, the 

TIP Advisory Board, and other 

stakeholders—to develop the scope of 

future competitions and to shape TIP’s 

collaborative outreach. White papers are 

a valuable resource that adds to TIP’s 

understanding of the significance and 

scope of critical national needs and 

associated societal challenges. The 

white papers submitted could be shared 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES