17

NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

N AT I O N A L I N S T I T U T E O F S TA N D A R D S A N D T E C H N O L O G Y 

2017

2019

2017-2019

2017–2019 | 3 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) promotes U.S. innovation and industrial 

competitiveness by advancing measurement 

science, standards, and technology in a range of 

strategic areas critical to the nation’s economy. The 

America COMPETES Act (Pub. L. 110-69, 121 Stat. 572) 

outlines major roles for NIST in promoting national 

competitiveness and innovation, and also calls for NIST 

to submit a three-year programmatic plan concurrent 

with the submission of the President’s budget request 

to Congress. This document summarizes the focus 

of NIST programs for use in planning and prioritizing 

investments over this three-year period. NIST will 

continue to refine this plan as it works with the 

Administration to address national priorities. 

1 INTRODUCTION

Since 1901, NIST (known as the National Bureau of 

Standards until 1988) has developed and maintained 

key standards for the Nation, a role that the U.S. 

Constitution assigns to the Federal government, and 

has been supplying the measurements and tools to help 

U.S. industry compete. As a non-regulatory agency in 

the U.S. Department of Commerce, an experienced 

partner of industry, and the Federal research agency 

specifically focused on promoting U.S. economic 

competitiveness, NIST is well-positioned to accelerate 

and promote innovation and advanced technologies 

through its Laboratory programs and its Innovation 

and Industry Services programs. 

MISSION:

T O P R O M O T E U . S . 

I N N O VAT I O N A N D I N D U S T R I A L 

C O M P E T I T I V E N E S S B Y 

A D VA N C I N G M E A S U R E M E N T 

S C I E N C E , S TA N D A R D S , A N D 

T E C H N O L O G Y I N W AY S 

T H AT E N H A N C E E C O N O M I C 

S E C U R I T Y A N D I M P R O V E 

QUALITY OF LIFE.

2 NIST OVERVIEW AND PROGRAMMATIC 

OBJECTIVES
4 | NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

The following goals will ensure NIST develops the technical 

capabilities and adaptability necessary to carry out its key 

role in the Nation’s innovation ecosystem:

GOALS:

S T R E N G T H E N N I S T ’ S L A B O R AT O R I E S 

A N D F A C I L I T I E S T O E N S U R E U . S . 

L E A D E R S H I P I N M E A S U R E M E N T 

SCIENCE .

The vitality of the NIST Laboratories is crucial to meeting 

the complex and demanding measurement and standards 

challenges associated with new technologies required to 

maintain U.S. economic and national security. NIST will 

continue to invest in high-performing facilities, equipment, 

infrastructure, and personnel.

F O R T I F Y U . S . A D VA N C E D 

MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES.

 The Nation’s long-term competitiveness relies on its global 

leadership in advanced manufacturing capabilities. NIST will 

develop and deploy unique tools to support U.S. advanced 

manufacturing through its laboratory research programs, 

the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the 

National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. 

M A X I M I Z E N I S T ’ S I M P A C T T H R O U G H 

EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION.

NIST has the greatest impact when the knowledge and 

technology generated by its research is transferred to 

industry, universities, standards organizations, and other 

government agencies. NIST will continue to pursue 

partnership opportunities to better deliver measurement 

solutions, provide access to unique measurement 

capabilities, participate in standards-setting organizations, 

convene consortia, license intellectual property, and attract 

and train high-quality research associates. 

D E V E L O P W O R L D C L A S S O P E R AT I O N S 

A N D S U P P O R T S E R V I C E S . 

NIST’s activities are most efficient and effective when 

supported by exceptional business practices, strategic 

planning, safety culture, and operational offices. NIST will 

improve its practices to enhance the business of NIST by 

accelerating the delivery of services critical to operate its 

mission-focused programs at the speed of industry needs.

NIST’s mission to promote innovation and industry 

competitiveness is best served when we support activities 

throughout the research and development pipeline, from 

the most basic science to the deployment of advanced 

technologies. NIST programs are designed to span this 

pipeline, enabling organizational excellence for institutions 

from non-profits, universities, and other federal agencies 

to manufacturers, supporting advanced manufacturing by 

facilitating pre-competitive and applied research as well 

as technology deployment, and performing world-class 

metrology and technology research and services.
2017–2019 | 5 2017-2019

2.1 THE NIST 

LABORATORIES 

The NIST laboratory programs work to advance the 

frontiers of measurement science to ensure that the 

U.S. system of measurements is firmly grounded 

on sound scientific and technical principles. Today, 

the NIST laboratories address increasingly complex 

measurement challenges, ranging from the very small 

(nanoscale devices) to the very large (vehicles and 

buildings), and from the physical (renewable energy 

sources) to the virtual (cybersecurity and cloud 

computing). As new technologies develop, evolve and 

become more complex, NIST’s measurement research 

and services remain central to innovation, productivity, 

trade, and public safety. 

The NIST laboratory programs provide industry, other 

federal agencies, and academia with: 

• Scientific underpinnings for basic and derived 

measurement units, internationally accepted 

standards, measurement and calibration services, 

and certified reference materials; 

• Impartial expertise and leadership in basic and 

applied research that enables development of test 

methods and verified data to support efficient 

commercialization and commerce;

• Expertise and support for consensus-based 

standards development, with associated test 

methods for conformity; and 

• Unique, cutting-edge user facilities that support 

innovation in emerging technology areas. 

NIST’s broad measurement expertise has allowed it to make significant contributions to biology and 

healthcare. In the area of biomedical imaging NIST in partnership with clinical stakeholders is developing 

measurement techniques that allow improved quantification of results, enhanced repeatability, and 

improved safety. Further NIST research efforts are providing needed measurement capabilities to the 

growing biotherapeutic and synthetic biology industries where NIST measurement capabilities and 

standard reference materials are overcoming significant industrial and regulatory challenges including 

the characterization and approval of protein drugs, the validation of whole-genome sequencing, and the 

authentication and verification of cell lines used in both research and biomanufacturing. 

Looking towards the future, NIST is investing in capabilities and partnerships to ensure these industries 

continue to have the measurement infrastructure necessary for competitiveness and quality. For example, 

NIST aims to develop measurement technology for predictability in engineered biological systems 

by applying leading NIST capabilities in photonic and electromagnetic sensors and new biological 

measurement technologies to quantitatively measure biological systems, and by developing databases 

and measurement methodologies to systematically characterize engineered biological systems. 

SPOTLIGHT ON: BIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS
6 | NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

Driving innovation through measurement 

NIST creates the infrastructure necessary to measure the 

performance and quality of products and services. In close 

cooperation with industry, other federal agencies, and 

academia, NIST continually advances measurement science, 

develops standard protocols and test methods, and evaluates 

and generates data. These tools, which the private sector 

cannot provide due to the high cost and unique skills needed, 

are the foundations for interoperability between products 

and systems, enabling global trade. 

Industry relies on NIST for the increasingly demanding 

physical measurements and standards needed to enable 

advanced manufacturing, to develop and test new materials, 

to enable innovation, and to ensure compliance with 

regulations. In addition, NIST provides measurement and 

calibration products and services via its Standard Reference 

Materials®, calibration services, and Standard Reference Data 

programs. These products and services assure the accuracy 

of measurements made daily throughout the United States. 

NIST continuously looks for ways to improve the delivery of its core products and services—from calibrations and 

SRD to access to its user facilities. NIST remains relevant to today’s industry norms to maximize access and use of 

NIST’s products, services, and capabilities essential to U.S. competitiveness. To this end, NIST will be modernizing 

web access to these core services over the coming years. Examples of efforts in this area include:

• Improving the web interfaces for its Standard Reference Data to increase usability and accessibility of 

those products. 

• Creating a calibration customer electronic portal that can process requests for calibrations and quotations 

and provide access to reports and history.

• Developing infrastructure for remote access to the capabilities of the Center for Nanoscale Science and 

Technology’s NanoFab.

These changes in how we interact with our customers via the web are one component of a broader strategy to 

enhance how NIST delivers core services. Through the NIST-on-a-Chip program, NIST is pursuing groundbreaking 

research to develop chip-scale standards and sensors for use in the field, reducing the time and expense associated 

with the shipping of equipment required for remote calibrations. Finally, NIST continues to explore options to 

enhance training to meet the needs of advanced technology metrology in the laboratory and factory floor.

SPOTLIGHT ON: SERVICE DELIVERY

Accelerating the adoption and deployment of 

advanced technology solutions 

Technology is rapidly evolving to integrate new capabilities 

across the economy, including in manufacturing processes, 

transportation systems, critical infrastructure, and healthcare. 

While these innovations will contribute to the U.S. economy 

and quality of life, they have associated challenges in 

interoperability, security, and resiliency. The NIST Laboratory 

programs respond to these challenges by engaging with 

government and industry stakeholders to develop the 

standards, prototypes, and guidelines essential for technology 

adoption and dissemination. In addition, NIST provides testbeds, testing and validation methodologies, and support for 

certification to support technology deployment.
2017–2019 | 7 2017-2019

World class, unique, cutting-edge research 

facilities 

Industry, academia, and other government agencies 

have access to unique NIST user facilities that support 

innovation in emerging technology areas. The NIST 

Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) provides 

world-class neutron measurement capabilities to the 

U.S. research community, and the NIST Center for 

Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) supports 

the U.S. nanotechnology enterprise from discovery 

to production by providing access to world-class 

nanoscale measurement and fabrication methods 

and technology. The customer-focused missions 

of both NCNR and CNST include the development 

and application of entirely new measurement and 

fabrication techniques while ensuring safe and reliable 

facility operations.

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are co-engineered networks of physical and information technology 

components interacting with their environment in real time to optimize performance, safety, security, 

resilience, and reliability. Current CPS applications are emerging from diverse commercial applications, 

the isolation of which hampers interoperability and therefor global growth; a recent report estimated 

that 40% of potential economic impact of CPS technologies relies on system interoperability. Industrial 

efforts in CPS have been growing in response to an expanding market opportunity. Cyber-physical 

systems research efforts take place today in the academic, commercial, and government sectors, but 

are typically mission-based and implementation-focused. NIST is partnering with industry, academia, 

and government through its Public Working Group and its SmartAmerica and Global City Teams 

Challenge to drive development of cross-domain CPS solutions.

SPOTLIGHT ON: CPS

Neutrons have been enormously successful as a unique probe of the structure and dynamics of 

materials for researchers from many different backgrounds, including academia and industry. 

Neutrons can provide information that simply cannot be obtained using more conventional methods 

available in the researchers’ own laboratories. Worldwide, the demand for access to neutron 

measurement capabilities far exceeds the supply, and the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) 

is the only U.S. facility with a focus on enhancing industrial competitiveness. 

The NCNR uses a 20 MW research reactor as a neutron source. The reactor operates 24 hours a day, 

seven days a week for approximately 250 days of the year to support experiments by over 2,000 

research participants annually. Delivery of the NCNR mission—to develop and provide advanced 

neutron measurement techniques and instrumentation for research—requires the research reactor 

to operate safely and reliably. The future operational status of the NCNR is threatened by increasing 

costs of fuel and maintenance and upgrades. 

SPOTLIGHT ON: FUELING INNOVATION
8 | NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

2.2 NIST INNOVATION AND 

INDUSTRY SERVICES (IIS)

In support of the Administration’s emphasis on serving 

industry through outreach services, NIST provides two 

important externally-focused services: The Hollings 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and the 

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP). NIST 

is also the home of the Advanced Manufacturing National 

Program Office, which coordinates the National Network for 

Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). 

NIST’s MEP provides technical and business assistance 

to smaller manufacturers through partnerships between 

Federal and state governments and non-profit organizations 

in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Field agents and programs 

help manufacturers understand, adopt, and apply new 

technologies and business practices, increasing productivity, 

performance, cost savings, reducing waste and creating and 

retaining manufacturing jobs. MEP also is a strategic advisor 

to promote business growth and innovation and to connect 

manufacturers to public and private resources essential for 

expanding into new markets, developing efficient processes, 

and training an advanced workforce. 

NIST plays a coordinating role for the NNMI, serving the 

existing Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) and 

future IMIs. In an IMI, industry, academia, and government 

partners leverage existing resources, collaborate, and coinvest to nurture manufacturing innovation and accelerate 

commercialization. In addition, NIST announced a 

competition seeking applications for new NNMI Institute 

awards. The Federal investment in the NNMI creates an 

effective manufacturing research infrastructure for U.S. 

industry and academia to solve industry-relevant problems. 

The NNMI works to maximize the integrated impact of the 

IMIs on U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. Further, the 

NIST Laboratories are deeply involved in the existing IMIs, 

providing technical input and opportunities for research 

collaboration. 

BPEP manages the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Improvement 

Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-107), in cooperation with senior 

U.S. business, education, health care, government, and 

nonprofit leaders. To enable the further competitiveness and 

success of U.S. organizations, BPEP promotes broad use of 

the Baldrige Excellence Framework, the nation’s standard 

for leadership and management practice. BPEP provides 

organizational assessments, executive development, and 

training to U.S. organizations in all sectors of the economy and 

supports a nationwide network of state, local, and regional 

Baldrige-based programs. Notably, BPEP administers the 

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which recognizes 

high-performing, role-model U.S. organizations. Through 

the award process, conferences, training, social media, and 

other outreach, BPEP helps disseminate their best practices 

to thousands of organizations each year. 

With the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 

2010, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards 

and Technology—the NIST Director—was provided Federal 

government-wide responsibilities for technology transfer, 

which include coordinating Federal agency activities for 

the commercialization of technology developed at Federal 

laboratories. NIST is also the host agency for the Federal 

Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer and plays a 

lead role in evaluating the performance of government efforts 

to develop technology through external partnerships and 

transfer technology to support U.S. economic development.
2017–2019 | 9 2017-2019

SPOTLIGHT ON: NIST’S RESEARCH FACILITIES

NIST’s mission is critically dependent on the quality of the research facilities that house its measurement 

science and technology development efforts. Scientists and engineers working to push beyond the 

limits of today’s advanced technology require stability.

The aging and obsolescence of NIST’s facilities and infrastructure is an ever-pressing issue. These aging 

facilities and their extensive backlog of deferred maintenance put at risk several areas of research. 

When making the world’s most precise measurements or creating quantum-based measurement 

tools that are only a handful of atoms wide, the tiniest variations in temperature, or vibrations from 

increased local traffic, or unreliable electrical current can destroy months of work.

The growth of deferred maintenance needs, which is assessed by an independent team of engineers, 

across NIST’s campuses is a significant strategic issue for NIST that could lead to failing facilities and 

potentially unsafe conditions. The recent investment in Building 245, the Radiation Physics building 

SPOTLIGHT ON: RESEARCH FACILITIES

on the Gaithersburg Campus, will help address a significant portion of this backlog.
10 | NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

To most effectively accomplish its mission, NIST must be 

capable, relevant, and effective. This means that NIST 

must be forward-looking in order to build and maintain 

world-leading scientific capacity in the technology areas 

that will shape future industries, while at the same time 

operating with the agility necessary to build programs 

that apply NIST’s technical capabilities to the Nation’s 

most immediate needs. In addition, NIST must continue 

to strengthen and improve the internal processes 

necessary to accomplish its mission with the greatest 

efficiency and effectiveness possible. 

NIST continually collects information on major national 

issues, shifting trends in science and technology, and 

the performance of key operational processes through 

a variety of mechanisms including meetings, workshops, 

visits to and from industry, and objective peer review of 

its programs. This input is viewed in the context of the 

NIST mission to make decisions on where NIST needs 

to develop specific capabilities, how to best marshal 

existing resources to address current issues, and how 

to continually optimize the organization for improved 

performance.

NIST has identified four long-term trends against which to 

optimize its capacity—precision measurements, systems, 

data and modeling, and partnerships and collaborations. 

These trends reflect broader societal and technological 

changes that may require fundamental changes in 

perspective or focus for maximum effectiveness of 

NIST’s programs over the long-term. Generally, these 

trends are outcomes of a more connected society—one 

where our economy is based on multifaceted systemsof-systems that present challenges of interoperability, 

awareness, prediction, and information-sharing. This 

future requires NIST to continue to develop relevant 

measurement solutions and to provide trusted data, to 

convene stakeholders and be a trusted technical expert, 

and to support highly productive partnerships that 

address shared challenges.

NIST STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

3 THE NIST STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
2017–2019 | 1 1 2017-2019

A prime example of where NIST will expand its capabilities in precision measurement, data and 

modeling, systems, and collaboration is in support of continued U.S. leadership in high-performance 

computing (HPC), as directed in recent Executive Order 13702, “Creating a National Strategic 

Computing Initiative.” 

Growth in both basic and applied aspects of new computing technologies has far-reaching industrial 

applications, national security implications, and economic benefits. Past national investment in HPC 

has contributed substantially to national economic prosperity and rapidly accelerated scientific 

discovery in areas such as neuroscience, industrial systems, astronomy, and energy technologies. 

Leadership in this area is frequently linked to national security and global competitiveness, with 

other nations making significant investments in this area. Foundational research and development is 

essential to discover and establish a path forward for HPC after the limits of current semiconductor 

technology are reached in the next decade. 

NIST is an essential part of the National Strategic Computing Initiative because of its continued 

success pushing measurement science forward to advance computing technologies. NIST will provide 

impartial expertise and cutting-edge research capabilities to provide enabling platforms to advance 

the development and testing of new device architectures and computing platforms. NIST will use its 

strong ties with industry and academia in coordination with other NSCI agencies to ensure that the 

research goals of the NSCI are aligned with end-user requirements.

NIST’s overarching activities supporting the NSCI include:

• Develop measurement science for the physical and materials aspects of future computing 

technologies, including a focus on alternative state variables that provide low latency, low 

energy per operation, improved data/communication band-width, and higher clock speed.

• Leverage strengths in device physics, materials design (Materials Genome Initiative), and 

measurement tool development to address potential logic, memory, storage, and systems 

concepts needed in an exascale HPC platform.

• Develop the measurement science to support alternative computational paradigms. 

Continually evaluate the technology pathways, tools, and measurement science that are 

required to support non-traditional computational paradigms and the classes of problems 

they may efficiently solve.

• Develop measurements, standards, and guidelines for robustness and security of future 

generation computing systems and networks that support data-centric computing at scale. 

• Create and evaluate the measurement technologies necessary to assess the reliability and 

uncertainty of results produced by next/future generation computing systems.

SPOTLIGHT ON: FUTURE COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES
12 | NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

3.1 PRECISION 

MEASUREMENTS

Recent advances in computing, communications, and 

manufacturing technologies have enabled the rapid 

expansion of sensor use. Sensors measuring physical, 

chemical, biological, and material properties are being used 

in everything from military equipment to smartphones. Still, 

the quantitative performance of these sensors is inadequate 

for many applications—for example, improved reliability 

and accuracy are required for manufacturing, defense, and 

health-care. Such high-performance, mobile sensors can 

also unlock untold consumer applications, from quantified 

health to smart-systems for the home. 

NIST has the unique mission to address these challenges—

bringing precision measurement to the ubiquitous sensing 

revolution. While continuing to invest in leading-edge 

metrology research to ensure U.S. leadership in measurement 

science, NIST will begin to not just ask what’s the best 

measurement that can be made in a laboratory, but what’s 

the best measurement that can be made anywhere. 

NIST will use its strong ties to industry, state and local 

governments, and other federal agencies to determine the 

most important sensor qualities for a given application—

for example, size, energy efficiency, robustness, or cost—

ensuring maximum utility and optimizing technology transfer. 

Our proven expertise in nanotechnology, miniaturization, 

quantum devices, and precision measurement will enable 

rapid development in this area.

SPOTLIGHT ON: NIST’S RESEARCH FACILITIES

The ability to precisely control and accurately detect light is indispensable to advanced manufacturing, high-speed 

communications, health care, defense, and research. Photonics is the basis for devices from cell phone cameras 

and night-vision goggles to optical fiber networks for the Internet, sensors used in assembling and operating cars 

and airplanes, and imaging systems and therapies for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. 

The U.S. is the leader in photonics research and applications, but global competition has eroded this leadership, 

causing a substantial loss of U.S. market share and jobs to overseas competitors. Since maintaining world leadership 

in photonics is critical to national security the Department of Defense established an Integrated Photonics 

Institute for Manufacturing Innovation to advance the design and manufacture of photonic integrated circuits.

Ensuring U.S. preeminence in photonics requires significant efforts in the measurement science required to 

generate, control, and sense light at ever smaller dimensions, shorter time scales, and the extremes of intensities. 

NIST is investing in the fundamental research underlying the precision measurements necessary to harness the 

power of light, essentially extracting every possible bit of information from every photon.

SPOTLIGHT ON: PHOTONICS
2017–2019 | 1 3 2017-2019

3.2 SYSTEMS

The complexity of engineered systems is rapidly 

growing beyond what the world has seen before. 

These systems cannot be fully understood with 

conventional analytical and modeling techniques. 

Furthermore, these systems are being applied in 

new application areas, forging new partnerships 

between providers. For example, the proliferation of 

cyber physical systems (CPS), where remote decision 

making and control is enabled by analytical techniques 

and embedded measurements, is expanding the types 

and complexity of systems operating worldwide. 

Furthermore, the ability to combine and integrate 

these new technologies and systems in new and 

unexpected ways are making new communication 

modes and standards more necessary than ever. CPS 

technologies could have an outsized impact on the 

global economy—by one estimate, the deployment of 

interoperable CPS technologies could have an impact 

of $11.1 trillion per year in 2025.1

At the same time, improved measurement, modeling, 

and data analysis techniques are enabling better 

understanding of existing systems and processes, 

whether physical, chemical, engineering, or biological, 

at the system level. Fundamental research into the 

measurement science of these systems—science 

elucidating how to understand, predict, and even 

control such systems—is needed. 

To meet the needs of the future economy, one that is 

increasingly dependent on system-level phenomena, 

NIST must both invest both in fundamental research 

to understand the behaviors of systems, and in its 

convening role to ensure all system stakeholders can 

benefit from these new technologies. 

SPOTLIGHT ON: NIST’S RESEARCH FACILITIES

Natural, technological, and human-caused hazards take a high toll on communities, but the costs 

in lives, livelihoods, and quality of life can be reduced by better managing disaster risks. Through 

planning and implementation of prioritized measures, communities can improve their ability to 

continue or restore vital services faster, and to build back better. That makes them better prepared 

for future events and more attractive to businesses and residents alike.

A significant barrier to such improvements is the lack of measurement science for assessing the 

performance of infrastructure and building assets, along with validated cost-benefit tools. Without 

these tools, there are few options other than to make direct replacements, using the same materials 

and methods, rather than using innovative approaches that could save the Nation’s resources. NIST is 

investing in measurement science necessary to support community resilience—both at the component 

and at the system level. By taking an integrated view of vital infrastructure systems and the social 

and economic realities communities face, NIST is strengthening the resilience of communities across 

the country. 

For example, the NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure 

Systems2 provides a practical and flexible approach to help communities to better set priorities and 

allocate resources to improve their resilience. Using the Guide, communities can integrate resilience 

into their economic development, zoning, mitigation, and other planning activities. 

SPOTLIGHT ON: DISASTER RESILIENCE

1 

 http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/the_internet_of_things_the_value_of_digitizing_the_physical_world 

2 http://www.nist.gov/el/resilience/guide.cfm
14 | NIST THREE YEAR PROGRAMMATIC PLAN

3.3 DATA AND MODELING

Advancements in computing have created new opportunities 

for modeling and simulation to replace or support physical 

experiments and design cycles. This advancement in 

modeling is supported by a rapid increase—40% year over 

year—of global data over the past decade, which could lead 

to research opportunities and business models built on the 

generation, analysis, and use of new and old data sources. 

As processors get faster and less expensive, modeling and 

data analysis techniques become accessible to smaller 

businesses at the same time that they tackle larger and more 

complex problems. Furthermore, while the promise of datadriven innovation is obvious, studies have shown3

 that most 

data resides in silos, is often not interoperable, and is not 

easily accessible or machine/human readable, all of which 

impedes access to the underlying knowledge. 

NIST is investing both to ensure that models and data are 

optimally used to support its own research, and to develop 

the measurement solutions to maximize the economic 

potential of modeling and data on U.S. industry. 

Modeling and simulation permeates the vast majority of 

NIST’s activities—from supporting the development of worldclass measurement techniques, to curating an infrastructure 

connecting measurement data to predictive models of 

biology, to developing verified and validated models for 

industry use. Researchers are able to collect ever increasing 

volumes of data—whether because the measurements 

are higher fidelity, more frequent, or broader—presenting 

both an opportunity and a challenge. NIST is investing in 

organizations, talent, and infrastructures to ensure that 

this data is properly analyzed, curated, stored, and shared, 

maximizing the utility of every measurement.

NIST will develop the measurement science needed to 

foster continued innovation and deployment of data-driven 

technology and will provide leadership in characterization 

and quantification of data quality and the automation used to 

generate and analyze this data. In addition, NIST will provide 

the metrology infrastructure necessary to support decisionmaking dependent on modeling and simulation.

3

 The Open Data Economy: Unlocking Economic Value by Opening Government and Public Data, Capgemini Consulting—

https://www.capgemini-consulting.com/resource-file-access/resource/pdf/opendata_pov_6feb.pdf

4

 https://mgi.nist.gov/ SPOTLIGHT ON: NIST’S RESEARCH FACILITIES

The task of designing a new material—as well as determining the ideal manufacturing method for that material—is 

extremely complex, involving many factors that must be balanced. New tools for using advanced models and data 

repositories promise to significantly cut the cost and time required to design, prototype, and manufacture a new 

material. 

NIST supports the National Material Genome Initiative (MGI)4, which aims to establish an innovation infrastructure 

that integrates, tests, and disseminates data, computational models, and experiment for different technology 

areas and materials classes. NIST is partnering with academia, industry, and other Federal agencies to develop 

quantitative, predictive computational capabilities founded on both data-driven and physics-based material 

models, leading to shorter development times, materials of improved performance, and better products. NIST’s 

core expertise will especially contribute to the reliability of these computational approaches

Further, NIST is expanding its capabilities to improve computational approaches to manufacturing new 

materials. Techniques for materials manufacturing—including formative, subtractive, and additive manufacturing 

processes—are being tailored to new materials, generating advanced “hybrid” manufacturing technologies for 

high performance multi-material parts. The widespread use of these techniques will be accelerated by models 

and methods to determine characteristics inherent to the process and to integrate material specifications and 

manufacturability information into design and manufacturing processes.

SPOTLIGHT ON: ADVANCED MATERIALS
2017–2019 | 1 5 2017-2019

3.4 COLLABORATION AND 

PARTNERSHIP

To meet its mission in the face of rapidly evolving priority 

areas, a widening stakeholder base, and a constrained 

budget environment, NIST is increasingly partnering 

with academic, industrial, and governmental institutions. 

More than ever before, national priorities require the 

united efforts of diverse participants, and NIST has the 

unique convening power and technical independence to 

help bring those participants together.

This trend builds on NIST’s historical success with 

partnerships and stakeholder engagement. NIST’s user 

facilities allow industry, academia, and government 

researchers to use state-of-the-art technical equipment 

to accelerate innovation. NIST has long-standing 

research partnerships with universities in JILA, the 

Hollings Marine Laboratory, the Joint Quantum Institute, 

the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, 

and the Joint Initiative for Metrology in Biology, 

all of which have produced unparalleled technical 

breakthroughs. The NIST Hollings Manufacturing 

Extension Partnership (MEP) program partners with 

Centers in every state across the country to help small 

and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers create and retain jobs, 

increase profits, and save time and money. 

More recently, NIST has worked with diverse 

stakeholders to develop standards frameworks 

that promote interoperability and measurement 

science. Examples of these frameworks include 

the Smart Grid Framework and Roadmap5 and the 

Framework for Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity6. 

These frameworks, which have been well-received 

by their stakeholders, provide the foundation for 

interoperability and performance in these national 

priority areas.

NIST’s Center of Excellence program7 provides an 

interdisciplinary environment where researchers 

from NIST, academia, and industry collaborate on 

emerging areas of basic and applied research and 

innovations in measurement science. This program 

expands NIST’s capabilities in areas of critical national 

need. Over the past two years, NIST established three 

Centers of Excellence. In FY 2014, NIST partnered 

with a consortium led by Northwestern University to 

establish the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design 

(CHiMaD), which focuses on advanced materials. NIST 

expanded the Center of Excellence program in FY15 

with two additional Centers: the Center for Risk-Based 

Community Resilience Planning led by Colorado State 

University and the Center for Statistics and Applications 

in Forensic Evidence led by Iowa State University. 

In 2015 a record-breaking auction licensed 65 MHz of spectrum currently occupied by Federal 

incumbents. Wireless carriers are eager to activate this spectrum to recoup their sizable investment, 

but measurements and analyses that can verify coexistence and sharing strategies have not been made, 

and in some cases the measurements have not been developed. NIST is increasing its measurement 

science capability and capacity to better support this critical technology area.

Through the Center for Advanced Communications, a partnership between NIST and sister Commerce 

bureau National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NIST supports the National 

Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network (NASTCN), established in 2015. NASCTN is a 

network of government, academic, and commercial capabilities able to coordinate the use of intellectual 

capacity, modeling and simulation, laboratories, and test ranges to meet national spectrum interests 

and challenges. NIST’s unique measurement science expertise underpins NASCTN, and will give the 

Federal and commercial users of the wireless spectrum a third-party organization that can provide the 

accurate data, trusted models and objective analysis needed in order for regulators to make informed 

decisions about spectrum-sharing polices.

SPOTLIGHT ON: SPECTRUM SHARING 

5

 http://www.nist.gov/smartgrid/framework3.cfm 

6

 http://www.nist.gov/cyberframework/ 

7

 http://www.nist.gov/coe/ 
19www.nist.gov