October 24, 2023

NIST Visiting Committee 

on Advanced Technology (VCAT)

Dr. Laurie Locascio

Under Secretary of Commerce 

for Standards and Technology 

and Director of NIST
Meeting Agenda

Session I: Programmatic Updates: NIST Director’s

Overview, Safety, and DEIA

Session II: Programmatic Updates: Standards

Subcommittee and CHIPS R&D

Session III: Discussion with VCAT on CETs: Biotechnology

Session IV: Discussion on New CETs for NIST

Session V: VCAT Progress and Planning

October 24, 2023

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NIST Leadership Changes

Credit: ITA Credit: NIST

Ms. Janelle Johnson

Director, NIST Diversity, Equity, and 

Inclusivity Office

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Dr. James Adams

Director, NIST Center for Neutron 

Research

Credit: B. Hoyes Credit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-adams-03417716/ /NIST
Leadership Changes – Standards* 

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Dr. S. Shyam Sunder

Acting Director

Standards Coordination Office

Credit: NIST

Mr. Gordon Gillerman

Advisor, Standards & 

Conformity Assessment 

Capability Planning

Associate Director for Laboratory 

Programs

Credit: NIST

Dr. Jayne Morrow

Sr. Advisor, Standards Policy

Interim Standards Executive

Credit: NIST

*Pending DOC Approval
CHIPS Leadership Changes

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

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Dr. Subramanian S. Iyer

Director of the National 

Advanced Packaging 

Manufacturing Program 

(APMP)

Dr. Jay Lewis

Director of the National 

Semiconductor 

Technology Center 

(NSTC)

Ms. Briana Frisone

Senior Advisor for CHIPS 

for America

Credit: NIST

Credit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-lewis-1108361/ Credit: UCLA Credit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briana-petyo-frisone-109338183/
I. NIST Programmatic 

Updates
Updates

Selected NIST Highlights

Climate and Environment

Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence

Measurement, Evaluation, 

and Standards

Lead and Convene 

Domestically and 

Internationally

Fundamental and Applied 

AI Research

Guidance, Tools, and 

Frameworks

Credit: Unsplash/Steve Johnson

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Generative AI Public Working Group

Credit: science.house.gov Credit: @SecRaimondo Credit: NIST

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• Announced in July 2023 by Secretary 

Raimondo and led by NIST.

• Nearly 1,000 public and private sector 

volunteers have joined the group to:

• Create a cross-sectoral AI RMF profile 

focusing on four program areas

• Support NIST’s testing, evaluation, 

and measurement efforts

• Explore opportunities to use AI for 

good

• Drafts of four sets of guidelines are 

anticipated for release for public 

comment later this year

Governance

Digital 

Content 

Provenance

PreDeployment 

Verification 

and 

Validation

Incident 

Disclosure
National AI Advisory Committee

Credit: science.house.gov Credit: @SecRaimondo Credit: NIST

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New Focus Areas Working Groups

• Realigned focus areas to explore impacts of AI

Meetings

• Public meetings informing the Committee on 

their Year 2 work

Reports, Recommendations, and NonDecisional Documents

• Recommendation for International Emerging 

Economies

• Three instructive explainer documents on topics 

including the NIST AI RMF, generative AI, and AI 

regulation

AI Futures: Sustaining Innovation in Next Gen AI

AI in Work and the Workforce

AI Regulation and Executive Action

Engagement, Education and Inclusion

Generative and NextGen AI: Safety and 

Assurance

Rights-Respecting AI

AI and the Economy

Procurement of AI Systems

International Arena: Collaboration on AI Policy 

and AI-Enabled Solutions
NIST Leadership in AI

Credit: science.house.gov Credit: @SecRaimondo Credit: NIST

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International Engagement

• October 12: Published a crosswalk between NIST AI RMF and 

Singapore AI Verify as part of Singapore CET Dialogue

Standards Development

• September 28: Hosted a Joint Workshop on Risk Management 

for AI Systems with ANSI

AI Governance Forum

• August 21: Participated at the Forum in Seattle, Washington, 

hosted by Senator Cantwell to discuss AI

Leadership in AI

• September 7: NIST’s Elham Tabassi was included on Time 

Magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in AI

Credit: Time Magazine
What’s Next for NIST

Credit: @SecRaimondo Credit: NIST

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Further International Engagement

• Upcoming joint webinar on AI risk and 

safety with the United Kingdom 

collaborators

• Continue engagement in fora to further 

standards development

Advance AI R&D and 

Measurement

• Including expansion of testing and 

evaluation, standards, and guidelines

• Strengthen engagement and joint R&D 

with stakeholders and community

Lead Domestically

• Upcoming executive action on AI 

potentially coming in the fall

Credit: unsplash.com/Growtika
Updates

Selected NIST Highlights

Climate and Environment

Artificial Intelligence
NIST Prepares Industry for the Future

Climate Monitoring 

and Measurements

Decarbonization of 

the Economy

Adaptation and 

Resilience
Climate Monitoring and Measurements

NOAA-NIST LIDAR system for measuring greenhouse gases atop a 

weather station on the Department of Commerce’s Herbert Clark 

Hoover Building.

Credit: T. Boyle/NIST

• US Greenhouse Gas 

Center

• Expansion of the 

Urban Dome NE 

Corridor

• Low GWP refrigerants 

developed and 

evaluated

Credit: Pixabay
Decarbonization of the Economy

Reduce Recycle Repurpose

Credit: NIST Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST
Ongoing NIST Wildfire Efforts

NIST study of Camp Fire in Paradise, CA in 2018

• Event timeline published in February 2021

• Notification, Evacuation, Traffic, and Temporary 

Refuge Areas (NETTRA) published July 2023

• Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fire Evacuation 

and Sheltering Considerations: Assessment, 

Planning, and Execution (ESCAPE) published 

August 2023

• Hazard Mitigation Methodology website 

launched on August 23, 2023 (report published 

in March 2022)

Credit: CAL FIRE

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: CAL FIRE
NIST Disaster Investigations Update

Credit: NIST

Maui Reconnaissance Team

• August 2023: deployed preliminary reconnaissance team to 

gather information about the event, timeline, and evacuation 

and emergency response

• No NCST investigation planned; options open for research study

Hurricane Maria

• September 2023: NCST data collection complete; data analysis 

well underway

• Target completion of data analysis and draft reports in Fall 2024

Champlain Towers South

• September 2023: Preliminary evaluation revealed how 

construction of pool deck deviated from design

• More than 300 concrete cores and rebar samples extracted 

and materials testing underway

• Computer models extended to represent entire Champlain 

Towers South building 18
Updates

Selected NIST Highlights

Climate and Environment

Artificial Intelligence
A New Limit on the Creation of Matter

The Perfection of the Electron

The JILA research group set an upper bound 

on the electron’s electric dipole moment 

with a 2.4-fold reduction in uncertainty, using 

tabletop equipment.

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST Asymmetry of the Universe

If the universe were perfectly symmetrical, 

with equal amounts of matter and antimatter, we would not exist. The search for an 

explanation to the asymmetry of our universe 

is one of the fundamental physics question of 

our time.

Credit: NIST

Credit: Steven Burrows/JILA

An improved bound on the electron s electric dipole moment

Roussy T.S., L. Caldwell, T. Wright, W. Cairncross, Y. Shagam, K.B. Ng, N. 

Schlossberger, S.Y. Park, A. Wang, J. Ye, and E.A. Cornell, Science 381, 46-50 

(2023). https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg4084
Cybersecurity & Privacy Highlights

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Cybersecurity Framework 2.0

• Draft released August 2023 for public comment.

• Workshops held in September 2023.

• Updated framework anticipated in early 2024.

Internet of Things Labeling Launch

• The White House launched the Cyber Trust Mark in 

July 2023.

Draft Post Quantum Cryptography 

Standards

• In August 2023, NIST released a draft of 

standardized encryption algorithms designed to 

resist quantum computer attacks.

Credit: J. Wang/NIST and Shutterstock
CHIPS Incentives Program Highlights

Large Supply Chain Projects Funding 

Opportunity

• Released June 23, 2023

• For large semiconductor materials and 

equipment facility projects ($300M+)

Memorandum of Agreement with DoD

• Signed July 26, 2023

• Expand collaboration to strengthen the U.S. 

semiconductor defense industrial base

Rule on National Security Guardrails

• Published September 22, 2023

Smaller Supply Chain Projects Funding 

Opportunity

• Released September 29, 2023

• For smaller semiconductor materials and 

equipment facility projects (< $300M)

Credit: White House

Credit: White House
Workforce Development

CHIPS Funding Requirements

Companies seeking CHIPS 

funding are required to 

submit workforce 

development plans

National Initiative for 

Cybersecurity Education 

(NICE)

Cybersecurity Career Week 

promoted the discovery of 

cybersecurity careers

MEP National Network 

Workforce Programs, 

Services and Trainings

New interactive workforce 

map launched

Manufacturing USA

• Issued a WEAVE NOFO

• NIIMBL Awarded $370K 

for 5 programs 
Facilities Updates

Boulder Wing 5 Renovation Ribbon Cutting 

August 17, 2023

• 16 laboratory spaces

• 154 seats for staff members

• Nanofabrication infrastructure

• Indoor & outdoor team spaces

Robot Test Facility Ground Breaking

October 27, 2023

• urban search and rescue

• bomb-disposal

• manufacturing

Credit: NIST

NCNR Updates

• Reactor Operator Exams (July, awaiting 

results from NRC)

• Unplanned power outage initiated 

automatic shutdown Aug. 9

• Continuing to mitigate radioactivity in 

the primary cooling system for low 

power testing

Credit: NIST

New Neutron Spin Echo instrument nearing completion Credit: D. Neumann/NIST
Highlights At-a-Glance

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Manufacturing USA

New, flexible-topic MFG 

USA institute competition 

launching Q4

Finding new solutions to 

pinpointing exact location and 

elevation during rescue missions

MEP program celebrated 

its 35th anniversary

Leading in Quantum 

Standards

Adam Savage will present 

NIST colloquium “Talking 

about Precision“, Oct. 26

Credit: Gage Skidmore, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adam_Savage

_(47956206278).jpg 
Thank you!