An Assessment of Selected Programs at the National .

Institute of Standards and Technology Engineering 

Laboratory

Fiscal Year 2020

E. Sarah Slaughter, Ph.D., chair

Panel on Review of the Engineering Laboratory 

June 8, 2021

NIST Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology
Selected Programs Reviewed at NIST Engineering 

Laboratory

• Community Resilience Program (CRP)

• Structural Performance Under Multi-hazards (SPUMH) Program

• Earthquake Risk Reduction in Buildings and Infrastructure (ERR) 

Program

• Engineered Materials for Resilient Infrastructure Program

• Fire Research Programs

• Net-Zero Energy High-Performance Buildings Program

• Embedded Intelligence in Buildings (EIB) Program.
Key Conclusions

• EL Programs have contributed major advancements in 

measurement science, standards, and technology over the past 

decade; and

• Recent high-hazard events have heightened awareness of an 

urgent need for NIST EL’s work.
2020 Extreme Events

• Pandemic: COVID-19

22 Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters:

• Western Wildfires

• Atlantic Basin Hurricanes

• Tornadoes and Derechos

• Flooding

• Drought and Heat Waves
2020 US Billion-dollar Weather and Climate 

Disasters

Source: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2020-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climatedisasters-historical
Common Themes Across EL

Increasing urgency for:

• Strategic planning for national and program priorities, human 

resources, facilities renewal;

• Multi-disciplinary collaboration and coordination across NIST 

and with other organizations; and

• Effective dissemination, implementation, and analysis of 

impacts.
Panel Major Conclusions and Recommendations

• Technical Merit: High research quality and adaptation to evolving 

needs.

– Establish formal procedures to ensure interaction with practicing 

professionals and researchers at other institutions;

– Develop long-term strategic research plan, developed with input from 

independent outside advisory panels.

– Communicate to staff clear goals for the rate of annual publications of 

various types.

• Portfolio of Expertise: High quality and strong industry reputation.

– Assess gaps in its expertise and add new competencies as needed, such as 

social scientists and medical scientists to the technical staff.
Panel Major Conclusions and Recommendations

• Adequacy of Resources: Adequate but stretched thin with 

emerging demands.

– Develop succession planning to ensure areas of expertise are not lost 

within NIST.

– Ensure adequate resources in the budget, human resources, facilities, 

and equipment resources for both continuity and growth.

– Assure appropriate level of diversity of qualified researchers and 

managers adequate funding of facilities maintenance
Panel Major Conclusions and Recommendations

• Effectiveness of Dissemination: High value of outputs, but need 

strengthening

– Develop Stakeholder Engagement and Dissemination Strategic Plan to 

report and interpret results and solicit diverse user input to improve 

effectiveness.

– Provide a primary point of contact for outreach and dissemination to its 

diverse stakeholders

– Develop an Enterprise evaluation system that would promote a holistic 

approach toward product development, implementation, and user 

feedback

– Develop programs and tools that are user-driven, not developer-driven.

– Increase development of partnerships with international organizations.
Examples of Potential NIST EL Collaboration

• Field studies for Community Resilience Program (CRP), 

Structural Performance Under Multi-hazards (SPUMH) 

Program, and Earthquake Risk Reduction (ERR) on earthquake, 

wind, and hurricane damage;

• Public health and social scientists in CRP and Fire Research 

Programs (FRP) on community response and safety; and

• Fire performance in buildings in FRP and Net-Zero Energy HighPerformance Buildings Program.
Panel Members, Virtual Visit 9/29-10/1/2021

E. SARAH SLAUGHTER, NAE, Built Environment Coalition, Chair

MARK G. ADAMIAK, NAE, Adamiak Consulting, LLC

WILLIAM BAHNFLETH, Pennsylvania State University

WILLIAM F. BAKER, NAE, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP

CRAIG L. BEYLER, Hughes Associates and Jensen Hughes

THOMAS A. BIRKLAND, North Carolina State University

MARK E. EBERHART, Colorado School of Mines

GERALD G. FULLER, NAE, Stanford University

RONALD O. HAMBURGER, NAE, Simpson, Gumpertz, and 

Heger, Inc.

JULIA W. P. HSU, University of Texas, Dallas

JAMES E. HUBBARD, JR., NAE, Texas A&M University

HOLLY L. JANOWICZ, J.R. Harris and Company

SRINIVAS KATIPAMULA, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

PHILIP T. KREIN, NAE, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

JOHN J. LEWANDOWSKI, Case Western Reserve University

MAUREEN Y. LICHTVELD, NAM, University of Pittsburgh

RICHARD G. LITTLE, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

BIRGITTE MESSERSCHMIDT COLLINS, National Fire Protection 

Association

THOMAS D. O’ROURKE, NAE, Cornell University

RANDALL W. POSTON, NAE, Pivot Engineers and Purdue 

University

POL D. SPANOS, NAE, Rice University

CHARLES K. WESTBROOK, NAE, Lawrence Livermore National 

Laboratory

THERESA A. WESTON, The Holt Weston Consultancy, LLC

STEVEN R. WINKEL, The Preview Group, Inc.
Backup Slides

10/29/19 (c) Dr. Sarah Slaughter, Built Environment Coalition, 2019 12
Examples of NIST EL 2020 Responsiveness

• COVID-19 Risk in Buildings: Net Zero Energy High Performance 

Buildings Program incorporated CONTAMX engine in the 

FaTIMA tool. 

• Wildfire Assessment and Prediction: The Fire Risk Reduction in 

Communities Program developed and disseminated fire 

assessment and prediction models.