Annual Report on Technology Transfer:

Approach and Plans, Fiscal Year 2015 Activities and Achievements

U.S. Department of Commerce

Report prepared by:

National Institute of Standards and Technology

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences

Pursuant to the

Technology Transfer and Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404)

March 2016
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FOREWORD

This report summarizes technology transfer activities and achievements of the Department of 

Commerce’s (DOC’s) Federal laboratories for fiscal year (FY) 2015. At DOC, technology 

transfer is a significant part of the mission and programmatic activities of the National Institute 

of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA’s) 

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS). Accordingly, this report focuses on the 

activities of these agencies.

This report has been prepared in response to the statutory requirement for an annual “agency 

report on utilization” (15 U.S.C. Section 3710(f)) established under Section 10 of the

Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404). All Federal agencies 

that operate or direct one or more Federal laboratories or conduct other activities under Sections

207 and 209 of Title 35, United States Code, are subject to the requirements of this statute. 

Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum – Accelerating Technology Transfer and

Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses (October, 2011), 

this report contains significantly expanded metrics on technology transfer from previous editions. 

 

DOC’s overall and laboratory-specific approaches and its plans for technology transfer are 

summarized within this report. The report focuses on current year activities and 

accomplishments and provides statistical information from FY 2011 through FY 2015. 

NIST, NOAA, and ITS technology transfer offices have contributed to the organization and 

preparation of the material reported. An electronic version of this report and versions from 

previous fiscal years are available online at: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/index.cfm.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 Department of Commerce Overview................................................................... 1

Summary of Technology Transfer Activities FY 2011 – FY 2015........................................ 3

CHAPTER 2 National Institute of Standards and Technology.............................................. 10

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer..................................................................... 10

NIST Work Products and Collaborative Activities............................................................. 11

Downstream Outcomes from NIST Technology Transfer Activities................................. 30

CHAPTER 3 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration........................................ 35

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer..................................................................... 36

NOAA Work Products and Collaborative Activities........................................................... 42

Downstream Outcomes from NOAA’s Technology Transfer Activities............................ 57

CHAPTER 4 National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Institute for 

Telecommunication Sciences...................................................................................................... 62

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer..................................................................... 62

ITS Work Products and Collaborative Activities................................................................ 62

Downstream Outcomes from ITS Technology Transfer Activities.................................... 66

SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 68
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1

CHAPTER 1 Department of Commerce Overview

Technology transfer plays an important role in DOC’s mission to promote job creation, 

economic growth, sustainable development, and improved standards of living for all Americans. 

DOC works in partnership with businesses, universities, state, tribal and local governments, and 

communities to promote innovation and improve the nation’s overall competitiveness in the 

global economy. DOC pursues these objectives through policies and programs directed at 

strengthening the nation’s economic infrastructure, facilitating the development of cutting-edge 

science and technology, providing critical scientific information and data, and managing national 

resources. 

DOC conducts research and development (R&D) in areas of science and technology at the 

laboratory facilities of NIST, NOAA, and NTIA’s ITS. Technology transfer, which is a key part 

of the programmatic activities in these laboratories, connects technological advances of DOC’s 

science and engineering programs to the American economy.

In addition to the technology transfer efforts of DOC laboratories, DOC is responsible for 

coordinating technology transfer activities across Federal agencies. DOC coordinates the 

Interagency Workgroup for Technology Transfer (IAWGTT) through the facilitation by NIST of

interagency discussion on policy, new approaches to technology transfer, and lessons learned 

from agency transfer programs. 1 NIST also serves as the host agency for the Federal Laboratory 

Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC), which provides a forum for federal labs to develop 

strategies and opportunities for linking technologies and expertise with the marketplace. 

The Presidential Memorandum (PM) – Accelerating Technology Transfer and 

Commercialization of Federal Research in Support of High-Growth Businesses (PM) of October 

21, 2011 further expanded DOC’s role in coordinating technology transfer activities across 

Federal agencies.

2 The purpose of this PM is to foster innovation by increasing the rate of 

technology transfer leading to a greater economic and societal impact from Federal investments

in R&D. 

The PM directs agencies with Federal laboratories to establish goals to measure performance, 

streamline administrative processes, and facilitate local and regional partnerships in order to 

accelerate technology transfer and support private sector commercialization. The aim is to 

increase significantly successful agency technology transfer and commercialization activities, 

while simultaneously achieving excellence in each agency’s research activities. Section 2 of the 

PM specifically requires that “[t]he Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with other agencies, 

including the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, shall improve and expand, 

 1 Agencies participating in the IAWGTT, established pursuant to Executive Order 12591 of April 10, 1987, include 

the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, 

Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Interior, Department 

of Transportation, Department of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration. 2 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/28/presidential-memorandum-accelerating-technologytransfer-and-commerciali
2

where appropriate, its collection of metrics in the Department of Commerce's annual technology 

transfer summary report, submitted pursuant to 15 U.S.C. Section 3710(g)(2).” 3

 

More information about DOC technology transfer is available on the following websites:

NIST: http://www.nist.gov/tpo/index.cfm;

NOAA: http://techpartnerships.noaa.gov/; and

ITS: http://www.its.bldrdoc.gov.

 3 For a list of available reports see http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/doc-annual-reports-techtransfer.cfm
3

Summary of Technology Transfer Activities FY 2011 – FY 2015

This annual report provides comprehensive statistics on the technology transfer activities of 

DOC laboratories, including information regarding invention disclosures, intellectual property 

(patents/licenses), collaborative research and development agreements (CRADAs), and other 

technology transfer mechanisms. Examples of successful downstream results (e.g., commercially 

significant technologies) from technology transfer activities are also highlighted. 

Section 10 of the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-404, 

codified at 15 U.S.C. Section 3710(f)) requires each Federal agency, which operates or directs 

one or more Federal laboratories, or conducts activities under 35 U.S.C. Sections 207 and 209, to 

report to Congress the results of its technology transfer activities. Office of Management and 

Budget Circular A-11 also require this information. The tables in the following sections present 

the required data.

4

Invention Disclosures and Patenting

In FY 2015, DOC researchers disclosed 61 new inventions. Of these, 46 invention disclosures 

were from NIST researchers and 15 were from NOAA researchers. There were 30 patent 

applications filed (26 for NIST and 4 for NOAA) and 20 patents issued (19 for NIST and 1 for 

NOAA).5

Table 1 – Invention Disclosure and Patenting

 4 Technology transfer data is typically adjusted over time to account for new information resulting from changes in 

reporting procedures, patent decisions, programmatic changes, etc. Throughout this report, data prior to FY 2015 has 

been adjusted, where necessary, to reflect the most accurate estimates for each year reported. 5 Note that the time required for a patent to be granted may take two years or more. Patents issued in FY 2015 were 

filed in prior years.

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Invention Disclosures

NIST 25 52 33 41 46

NOAA 1 0 8 6 15

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

Department Total 26 52 41 47 61

Patent Applications Filed

NIST 17 24 23 21 26

NOAA 0 1 3 4 4

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

Department Total 17 25 26 25 30

Patents Issued

NIST 14 12 20 19 19

NOAA 2 2 1 0 1

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

Department Total 16 14 21 19 20
4

In addition to the number of patents issued to each agency, the National Science Foundation

(NSF) provides additional insight into the technology areas addressed by DOC patents.6 In FY

2014, 46% of DOC’s patents were in the technical area of Measurement Techniques and 

Instruments. This includes techniques and use of instrumentation that measures, tests, inspects or 

analyzes a wide variety of materials or processes.7

Figure 1 – Percent of USPTO Patents Granted to DOC, by Technology Area – FY 2014

 6 NSF routinely researches a wide range of data for its publication “Science and Engineering Indicators” 

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/. NIST requested that NSF provide the data in Figure 1 and this complies with NSF’s 

goal of supporting agencies in their tasks of enhancing the measurement of technology transfer activities.

7 Patents are credited on a whole-count basis (i.e., each participating federal agency is credited one count). However, 

when applying International Patent Classification (IPC) codes to identify technical areas fractioning is used to 

ensure that the sum of patents across technology areas is equal to the total number of patents as each patent can be 

assigned to more than one technology area. Source: Prepared by Science-Metrix using USPTO data indexed in 

LexisNexis (Elsevier). Used with permission.
5

Licensing

In FY 2015, there were 44 active patent licenses, the largest number in the last five fiscal years. 

Of these 44 licenses, NIST issued 40 and NOAA issued four.

Table 2 – Licensing – Profiles of Active Licenses

(a) “Active” means an agreement in effect at any time during the fiscal year.

Of the 44 active patent licenses in FY 2015, 31 were income-bearing licenses. Of these, 17 were 

exclusive licenses and 12 were non-exclusive. 

Table 3 – Characteristics of Income-Bearing Licenses

(a) Other licensing types not show here include Assignments and Custody Transfers. 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Active Patent Licenses (a)

NIST 37 39 36 35 40

NOAA 6 5 5 5 4

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

Department Total 40 41 40 40 44

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Income-Bearing Licenses 

Department Total 26 25 28 26 31

Patent Licenses 

NIST (a) 36 25 26 25 27

NOAA 3 3 5 5 4

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

License Types

Exclusive

NIST 12 12 15 15 16

NOAA 0 0 0 0 1

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

Department Total 12 12 15 15 17

Partially Exclusive

Department Total 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Exclusive

NIST 10 9 8 8 9

NOAA 3 3 5 5 3

ITS 0 0 0 0 0

Department Total 13 12 13 13 12
6

In 2015, DOC’s income-bearing licenses provided $164,456 in income. Of this amount, NIST 

licenses provided $124,823 and NOAA licenses provided $39,633.

Table 4 – Income from Licensing

Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development (CRADAs)

In 2015, there were 2,751 CRADAs involving DOC researchers, the largest number in the last 

five fiscal years. There were 364 traditional8 CRADAs and 2,387 non-traditional CRADAs

involving laboratory accreditation, material transfer agreements or technical assistance. Of the 

364 traditional CRADAs, NIST was involved in 329, NOAA was involved in 28, and ITS was 

involved in 56. These traditional CRADAs included 49 joint agreements involving NIST and 

ITS for Public Safety 700 MHz Broadband Demonstration. 

Table 5 – Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development

(a) The Department adjusts its totals for traditional CRADAs to avoid double counting where NIST and ITS are 

jointly involved.

 8 Traditional CRADAs involve collaborative research and development projects by a Federal laboratory and nonFederal partners. 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Licensing Income 

NIST $169,347 $146,796 $102,532 $150,995 $124,823

NOAA $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $39,633

ITS $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Department Total $276,567 $247,663 $151,330 $220,146 $164,456

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

CRADAs

Department Total 2,245 2,410 2,428 2,359 2,751

Traditional CRADAs

NIST 104 140 179 206 329

NOAA 7 10 15 19 28

ITS 23 60 81 60 56

Department Total(a) 134 210 275 285 364

Joint CRADA Agreements (NIST and ITS) 35 57 79 79 49

Non-Traditional CRADAs

NIST 2,138 2,255 2,231 2,074 2,387

NOAA 0 0 0 0 0

ITS 9 2 0 0 0

Department Total 2,147 2,257 2,231 2,074 2,387
7

Scientific and Technical Publications

As discussed in the Department’s response to the PM, technology transfer mechanisms include 

more than just counting CRADAs, patents, and licenses. 9 For example, DOC’s scientific and 

technical publications also can lead to technology transfer. In FY 2015, NIST, NOAA, and ITS 

researchers published 3,205 scientific and technical papers in peer-reviewed journals, an increase 

of 71 over last year and nearly a 1,000 more than in FY 2011.

Table 6 – Scientific and Technical Publications

 9 http://www.nist.gov/tpo/publications/upload/DOC-Tech-Transfer-Plan.pdf

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Technical Publications

NIST 1,210 1,335 1,393 1,359 1,323

NOAA 1,034 1,769 1,781 1,759 1,860

ITS 15 13 24 18 22

Department Total 2,259 3,117 3,198 3,136 3,205
8

In addition to the number of publications reported by each agency, NSF provides insight into the 

technology areas addressed by each Federal agency in its publications.

10 Using data from 

Thomson Reuters’ Science Citation Information (SCI)11 and Social Sciences Citation Index 

(SSCI)12 databases, NSF finds that, for FY 2014, the most recent year available, the largest 

technology areas shown in Figure 2 covered by DOC publications are Geosciences (44%), 

followed by Physics (21%) and Chemistry (11%). 

Figure 2 – Percent of Articles by Technology Area Authored by DOC Staff in FY 201413

 10 NSF routinely researches a wide range of data for its publication “Science and Engineering Indicators” 

(http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/.) The data presented here has been provided at the request of NIST and is in 

compliance with NSF’s goal of supporting agencies in their tasks of enhancing the measurement of technology 

transfer activities.

11 http://ip-science.thomsonreuters.com/cgi-bin/jrnlst/jloptions.cgi?PC=K 12 http://thomsonreuters.com/social-sciences-citation-index/

13 The year assigned to an article is the one in which it entered the database, rather than the year of publication, and 

are assigned to a federal agency based on the institutional address or addresses listed in the article. Articles are 

credited on a whole-count basis (i.e., each participating federal agency receives one count). The sum of the number 

of articles for individual federal agencies may exceed the total when articles have authors from multiple federal 

agencies. Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database (Thomson Reuters). Used with permission.
9

Data are also available on the number of times U.S. patents cite U.S. science and engineering 

articles authored by DOC staff. U.S. patents issued in FY 2014 cite 815 publications authored by 

DOC researchers. As shown in Figure 3, the largest technology areas citing DOC publications 

include Physics (30%), followed by Chemistry (29%) and Biological Sciences (17%).

Figure 3 – Percent of Articles by Technology Area Authored by DOC Staff and Cited in 

U.S. Patents in 201414

The following chapters provide details on other agency-specific technology transfer activities 

such as technical support development for industrial standards and reference materials, public 

dissemination activities (meetings and workshops), collaborations with guest researchers, etc. 

 14 Cited articles are classified by the year of publication, and are assigned to a federal agency on the basis of the 

institutional address or addresses listed in the article. Citations are classified on a whole count basis (i.e., each 

participating federal agency on a cited article receives one count). The basis for citation counts is an 11-year window 

with a 5-year lag (e.g., citations for 2012 are references in USPTO patents issued in FY2012 to articles published in 

1997–2007. The sum of the federal agencies may exceed the total when cited articles have authors from multiple 

federal agencies. Prepared by Science-Metrix using the Web of Science database (Thomson Reuters). Used with 

permission.
10

CHAPTER 2 National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST has a broad mission: to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by 

advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic 

security and improves our quality of life. 

Rapidly evolving sectors like nanotechnology, biotechnology, homeland security, information 

technology, and advanced manufacturing need sophisticated technical support systems in order 

to flourish and grow. Therefore, an important part of accomplishing NIST’s mission is to 

anticipate future measurement and standards needs of U.S. industry. NIST laboratories develop 

measurement techniques, test methods, standards, reference materials, reference data, and other 

technologies and services that support U.S. industry, scientific research, and the activities of 

many other Federal agencies. In carrying out its mission, NIST works directly with industry 

partners (individual companies and consortia), universities, standards organizations, other 

domestic and foreign associations, and other government agencies.

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

NIST designs its technology transfer activities to disseminate the results of fundamental 

research, measurements, and standards research to industry and other interested parties. In order 

to provide leading-edge scientific and technical work, NIST is required to have expertise in 

multiple disciplines, maintain high levels of collaboration with organizations and people with 

diverse capabilities, and have highly specialized facilities and tools. For more than a century, 

laboratories at NIST (and its direct predecessor agency: the National Bureau of Standards) have 

successfully collaborated with others to provide the measurement techniques and technical tools 

needed by America’s innovators.15 

NIST broadly defines technology transfer as:

“... the overall process by which NIST knowledge, facilities, or capabilities in 

measurement science, standards and technology promote U.S. innovation and 

industrial competitiveness in order to enhance economic security and improve quality 

of life.”

NIST’s definition of technology transfer reflects the many ways NIST reaches its external 

partners. The definition includes, inter alia: 1) the act of transferring knowledge from one 

individual to another by means of mentoring, training, documenting, or collaborating; and 2) 

commercialization, the adoption of a technology into the private sector through a business or 

other organization.

NIST has designed its technology transfer program to improve the transfer of its technology and 

work products directly and through collaborations. The following summarizes different 

technology transfer mechanisms NIST uses to promote innovation and to disseminate broadly the 

technologies that result from its research. 

 15 Additional details on NIST’s technology transfer program are available at 

http://www.nist.gov/tpo/index.cfm.
11

NIST Work Products and Collaborative Activities

NIST actively seeks to identify commercially valuable inventions that result from its research. 

The Patent Review Committee at NIST evaluates each reported invention’s potential to promote 

U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST will generally seek patent protection when 

a patent: (1) would enhance the potential for an invention’s commercialization; (2) would have a 

positive impact on a new field of science or technology and/or the visibility and vitality of NIST;

(3) would further the goals of a CRADA or other agreement; (4) would further U.S. 

manufacturing; or (5) would likely lead to a commercialization license. 

NIST will continue to report on patents, licenses, age and size of companies licensing NIST 

technologies, number of jointly owned inventions, and other relevant information.

Chapter 1 presented summary information on patenting and licensing; additional details on 

licensing are included below.

NIST research has led to inventions in the following areas: bioscience and health, building and 

fire research, chemistry, math, physics, electronics and telecommunications, energy, 

environment/climate, information technology, manufacturing, materials science, 

nanotechnology, public safety and security, and transportation.
12

In FY 2015, there were 40 active NIST patent licenses with 11 of these licenses were issued in

FY 2015. Of these, four licenses were issued to small companies (i.e., companies with less than 

500 employees).

Table 7 – Profile of Active NIST Licenses

(a) “Active” means an agreement in force at any time during the fiscal year.

(b) Patent licenses include licenses to pending patent applications.

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Number of Active Licenses(a) 34 36 35 36 40

 New Licenses Executed 5 6 5 7 11

Total Invention Licenses Active 34 36 35 36 40

 New Invention Licenses Executed 5 6 5 7 11

Total Patent Licenses Active(b) 34 36 35 36 40

 New Patent Licenses Executed 5 6 5 7 11

Total Material Transfer Licenses Active (Inventions) 0 0 0 0 0

 New Material Transfer Licenses (Inventions) 0 0 0 0 0

Total Material Transfer Licenses Active (NonInventions) 0 0 0 0 0

New Material Transfer Licenses Executed (NonInventions) 0 0 0 0 0

 

Total “Other Invention Licenses” Active 0 0 0 0 0

 New “Other Invention Licenses” Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Total “Other IP Licenses” Active 0 0 0 0 0

 New “Other IP Licenses” Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright Licenses (Fee-Bearing) Active 0 0 0 0 0

 New Copyright Licenses Executed 0 0 0 0 0

NIST Licenses Issued to Small Companies -- 2 7 7 4
13

In FY 2015, the average time to negotiate a patent license was 7 months. The minimum time to 

negotiate a license was approximately .20 months (6 days) and the maximum time was 38.7 

months.

Table 8 – Licensing Management

(a) Date of license application to date of license execution. The date of license application is the date the 

laboratory formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to 

enter into negotiations.

(b) Patent licenses include licenses to pending patent applications.

Income from licensing comes from a variety of sources: license issue fees; earned royalties; 

minimum annual royalties; paid-up license fees; reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods; 

and services provided by the laboratory to the licensee (including patent costs).

Table 9 – Characteristics of Licenses Bearing Income

(a) Other licensing types not show here include Assignments and Custody Transfers. 

(b) Includes licenses to pending patent applications.

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

License Negotiation Time (Patent Licenses) (a)(b) 

Average (months) 1.9 2.9 6.0 4.0 7.0

Minimum (months) 1.0 2.4 2.3 0.23 0.20

Maximum (months) 4.5 5.5 13.5 17.3 38.7

Licenses Terminated for Cause

Invention Licenses (Patent Licenses) 0 0 0 0 0

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Income Bearing Licenses (a) 26 25 26 25 27

 Exclusive 12 12 15 15 16

 Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

 Non-Exclusive 10 9 8 8 9

Total Income Bearing Invention Licenses(b) 26 25 26 25 27

 Exclusive 12 12 15 15 16

 Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

 Non-Exclusive 10 9 8 8 9

 Total Other Income Bearing IP Licenses 0 0 0 0 0

Total Royalty Bearing Licenses 26 25 26 25 27

Total Royalty Bearing Invention Licenses 26 25 26 25 27

Royalty Bearing Patent Licenses 26 25 26 25 27

Other Royalty Bearing IP Licenses 0 0 0 0 0
14

In FY 2015, NIST received $124,823 from all active licenses. The minimum amount received for 

a license was $640 and maximum was $62,833. 

Table 10 – Income from Licenses

(a) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods and services provided by the laboratory to the licensee including 

patent costs and Standard Reference Data. “Active” means an agreement in force at any time during the fiscal 

year.

(b) Patent licenses include licenses to pending patent applications.

(c) “Earned Royalty Income” is a royalty based on use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of 

units sold). It is not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty.

(d) n.a. = not available. Data withheld to protect proprietary information.

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Income, All Active Licenses(a) $169,347 $146,796 $102,532 $150,995 $124,823

 Invention Licenses (Patent Licenses)(b) $169,347 $146,796 $102,532 $150,995 $124,823

 Other IP Licenses, Total Active $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI)(c) $169,347 $146,796 $102,532 $150,995 $124,823

 Median ERI $1,844 $9,971 $10,000 $6,250 $1,600

 Minimum ERI $1,500 $1,500 $640 $640 $640

 Maximum ERI $100,000 $64,185 $58,642 $74,575 $62,833

 ERI from Top 1% of Licenses(d) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

 ERI from Top 5% of Licenses(d) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

 ERI from Top 20% of Licenses(d) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Invention Licenses (Patent Licenses) $169,347 $146,796 $102,532 $150,995 $124,823

 Median ERI $1,844 $9,971 $10,000 $6,250 $1,600

 Minimum ERI $1,500 $1,500 $640 $640 $640

 Maximum ERI $100,000 $64,185 $58,642 $74,575 $62,833

 ERI from Top 1% of Licenses(d) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

 ERI from Top 5% of Licenses(d) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

 ERI from Top 20% of Licenses(d) n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Other IP Licenses, Total Active $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
15

Of the total licensing income received ($124,823), 36% ($44,936) was distributed to the NIST 

inventor and the remaining 64% ($79,887) was retained by the NIST inventor’s Operating Unit.

Table 11 – Disposition of Invention License Income

(a) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the fiscal year.

(b) Patent licenses include licenses to pending patent applications.

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)

Collaborative research and development projects between Federal laboratories, academia, and 

outside partners are an effective means of transferring technology. Beyond the improved knowhow and new technologies that result, these joint efforts often help collaborators to leverage each 

other’s resources and technical capabilities. They also provide mechanisms for collaborators to 

gain technical competencies and acquire new skills. CRADAs are agreements between a Federal

laboratory and one or more partners to collaborate on defined R&D projects. They are a major 

mechanism for establishing joint relationships with industry, academia, and state and local 

governments to advance promising new technologies toward commercialization. These 

agreements Created under Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, as amended 

by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-502).

16

In FY 2015, there were 2,481 new NIST CRADAs. Of these, 143 were traditional and 2,338 

were non-traditional. There were 3,125 guest researchers involved in these CRADAs, including

foreign and domestic researchers and researchers working at NIST under Intergovernmental 

Personnel ACT (IPA) agreements, CRADAs, and Facility Use Agreements.

 16 http://www.nist.gov/tpo/collaborations/crada.cfm

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Income Received(a) $169,347 $146,796 $102,532 $150,995 $124,823

Invention Licenses (Patent Licenses)(b)

$56,698 $61,300 $38,732 $54,602 $44,936

33% 42% 38% 36% 36%

$112,649 $85,497 $63,799 $96,393 $79,887

67% 58% 62% 64% 64%

 Licensing Income to Inventor(s)

 Licensing Income to NIST 
16

Table 12 – NIST Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development

(a) Traditional CRADAs involve collaborative research and development projects by a Federal laboratory and nonFederal partners. Non-traditional CRADAs are used for special purposes, such as laboratory accreditation, 

materials transfer or technical assistance that may result in protected information. 

(b) “Guest scientists and engineers” includes foreign and domestic guest researchers and researchers working at 

NIST under Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreements, CRADAs, and Facility Use Agreements. 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

NIST CRADAs(a)

Total Active CRADAs 2,241 2,916 2,410 2,280 2,716

New CRADAs Executed 2,173 2,810 2,252 2,092 2,481

Total Active Traditional CRADAs 104 140 179 206 329

New Traditional CRADAs Executed 51 53 48 50 143

Total Active Non-Traditional CRADAs 2,138 2,255 2,231 2,074 2,387

New Non-Traditional CRADAs Executed 2,122 2,236 2,204 2,042 2,338

Other Type of Collaborative R&D Relationships

Guest Scientists and Engineers(b) 2,899 2,782 2,963 2,981 3,125
17

Scientific and Technical Publications

Technical publications are one of the major mechanisms NIST uses to disseminate the results of 

its research to industry, academia, and other agencies.

In FY 2015, NIST staff authored 1,323 publications in peer-reviewed journals,17 including 384

papers (29.0%) published in 110 "top tier" journals where "top tier" includes any journal with a 

Thomson Reuters' Journal Impact Factor (IF) that falls within the top 10 percentile in its Web of 

Science Subject Category.18

Table 13 – NIST Publications in Top-Tier Journals vs. Total NIST Publications

In FY 2015, NIST researchers collaborated and co-authored with researchers from around the 

world. NIST researchers co-authored papers with 4,585 unique non-NIST authors from 1,023

unique institutions in 63 countries.19

Table 14 – NIST Publications20

NIST also publicizes its planned, ongoing, and recently completed work in outlets followed by 

the organizations most likely to have an interest in NIST’s research and services, such as the 

trade and technical press. In addition to news releases, websites, and contacts with the media, 

NIST publishes Tech Beat, a biweekly, plain language newsletter of recent research results.21

In addition to the basic methods of transferring technology such as patents, licenses, and 

CRADAs, NIST researchers routinely transfer technological innovations through the following 

mechanisms. 

 17 http://nvl.nist.gov 18 For the purposes of this report, NIST defines a “top tier” journal as any journal with a Thomson Reuters Impact 

Factor (IF) that ranks within the top 10 percentile in its Web of Science Subject Category. For additional 

information see http://wokinfo.com/essays/journal-selection-process

19 Unique co-authors and institutions were identified by performing a search for all NIST authored papers in the Web 

of Science (WoS) database. This includes publications in the peer-reviewed literature but excludes most conference 

proceedings papers and all NIST series publications. 20 In 2011 and 2012, NIST reported publications on a calendar year data basis. 21 http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/tech-beat/index.cfm

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Number of NIST Papers 1,335 1,393 1,359 1,323

Number of NIST Papers in Top-Tier Journals 369 436 444 384

Percentage of NIST Papers in Top-Tier Journals 27.6% 31.3% 32.7% 29.0%

CY 2011 CY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Number of NIST Papers 1,351 1,327 1,393 1,359 1,323

Number of Unique Non-NIST Co-Authors 4,086 4,171 3,920 4,086 4,585

Number of Unique Institutions 1,034 1,003 922 965 1,023

Number of Countries 64 54 53 62 63
18

Participation in Documentary Standards Committees

Documentary standards are shared sets of rules that specify, as examples, a test method or 

measurement methods, a product’s properties, or standard practices. Econometric studies have 

concluded that standards contribute significantly to economic growth, and at least one study 

concluded the following: development of standards is integral to innovation; documentary 

standards contribute to economic growth at least as much as do patents; and the macroeconomic 

benefits of the development of standards extend beyond the benefits to the companies that use 

the standards.22 

One mechanism used to transfer NIST measurement-science research and other technologies for

market use is through participation in the development of consensus documentary standards. 

During FY 2015, 469 members of NIST staff were involved with more than 165 standards 

organizations. Such participation helps NIST respond programmatically to the needs of the 

private sector and enables its scientists and engineers to bring NIST technology and know-how 

directly into standards-setting bodies. NIST reports its activities in standards development to the 

Office of Management and Budget and to Congress, as required by the National Technology 

Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-113).

23

The NIST Standards Coordination Office (SCO) maintains the Standards Committee 

Participation Database for employees to self-report their involvement, including leadership 

positions, within standards organizations. SCO has been proactively expanding the database to

collect information on staff tenure on a standards committee, standard(s) developed with NIST 

staff participation, and other information relevant to NIST’s contributions in new and existing 

documentary standards. 

Standard Reference Data

The Standard Reference Data (SRD) program provides critically evaluated numeric data to 

scientists and engineers for use in technical problem solving, research, and development. Many 

types of reference data are critically important in engineering structures, optimizing chemical 

processes, and other industrial applications. Standard Reference Data are extracted from the 

scientific and technical literature, or developed from measurements conducted at NIST 

laboratories, and are critically evaluated for accuracy and reliability. NIST currently maintains 

111 SRD databases that cover many areas of science, including analytical chemistry, atomic and 

molecular physics, biotechnology, and materials sciences.24

NIST laboratories conducted data evaluations and supplied the results to NIST customers 

through the Standard Reference Data Program. In FY 2015, NIST SRD distributions included 

2,596 e-commerce orders, 9,807 units sold via distributor, 123 active distributor agreements, 57 

active site licenses, 38 active internet subscriptions, 418 units shipped to the user, and 5,751 

products downloaded from the NIST website (3,615 free downloads, 2,136 paid downloads). 

 22 Peter Swann, G.M., Report for the UK Department of Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS), 2010 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/economics-of-standardisation-update-to-report 23 http://gsi.nist.gov/global/index.cfm/L1-1 24 http://www.nist.gov/srd/index.cfm
19

Table 15 – Standard Reference Data Program

(a) The increase in sales between FY 2014 and FY 2015 for “Units sold via distributor” reflects sales related to the 

release of a new version of the NIST Standard Reference Database 1A, NIST/EPA/NIH Mass Spectral Library 

and sales from Standard Reference Database 23, Reference Fluid Thermodynamic and Transport Properties.

Standard Reference Materials

Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) are a definitive source of various measurements in the 

United States. Measurements made using SRMs can be traced to a common and recognized set 

of basic standards that provide the basis for measurement compatibility among different 

laboratories. The certified property values for SRMs often depend on the development of unique 

measurement capabilities within NIST.25

NIST will continue to report on the number of SRMs sold and new SRMs developed while 

studying whether it can develop other meaningful impact information using existing customer 

data. 

Table 16 – Standard Reference Materials

User Facilities – Research Participants

NIST operates two unique and valuable laboratory facilities – the Center for Nanoscale Science 

and Technology (CNST) and the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) – that support U.S. 

industry, academic institutions, and other NIST and government laboratories. These facilities are 

a vibrant means by which NIST customers can tap directly into NIST measurement expertise to 

solve their problems

The CNST supports the development of nanotechnology from discovery to production. It

operates a national shared-use nanofabrication and measurement facility (the NanoFab),

complemented by a multidisciplinary research staff creating next-generation tools for advancing 

nanotechnology. The NCNR is a national center for research using thermal and cold neutrons. 

 25 http://www.nist.gov/srm/index.cfm

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Standard Reference Data

Products available (databases) 120 111 120 111 111

E-Commerce Orders 2,678 2,628 2,658 3,111 2,596

Units Sold via Distributor 4,261 4,446 5,495 5,142 9,807(a)

Active Distributor Agreements 64 52 62 101 123

Active Site Licenses 15 15 30 58 57

Active Internet Subscriptions 41 59 50 42 38

Units Shipped via UPS 550 547 430 595 418

Products Downloaded from the NIST Website 2,005 1,951 2,055 3,435 5,751

Free Downloads 913 1,137 1,399 1,352 3,615

Paid Downloads 2,005 1,951 2,055 2,083 2,136

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Standard Reference Materials

Units Available 1,177 1,298 1,299 1,281 1,240

Units Sold 32,864 33,441 32,267 32,636 33,490
20

Many of its instruments rely on intense beams of cold neutrons emanating from an advanced 

liquid hydrogen moderator.

26

NIST User Facility “Research Participants” are those who directly participate in an NCNR

experiment or CNST project. Research Participants include those who use the facility on-site or 

remotely, and their collaborators on the experiment or project. In FY 2015, there were 2,233 

research participants at CNST and 2,436 at NCNR. 

Table 17 – NIST Research Participants

(a) The FY 2015 Research Participant totals for CNST are preliminary.

 26 http://www.nist.gov/user-facilities.cfm

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

NIST Research Participants

CNST (a) 1,402 1,669 1,885 2,147 2,233

NCNR 2,265 1,976 2,148 2,271 2,436
21

Postdoctoral Researchers

Technology transfer not only involves inventions, innovations, data, patents and licenses, but

also the people who perform the actual research and development. Postdoctoral researchers, or

“postdocs,” working at NIST also play an important role in transferring NIST technology.

27 For 

the purpose of this report, NIST uses the NSF’s description of a postdoctoral researcher28 as one 

who has a temporary position taken within five years after the completion of a doctoral degree to

gain scientific, technical, and professional skills.

In FY 2015, there were 174 NIST postdocs. Of these, 113 were located on the NIST campus in 

Gaithersburg, Maryland, 49 were located in Boulder, Colorado, and the remainder were located 

at five other NIST locations. 

Table 18 – Postdoctoral Researchers

(a) Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) was founded in 1962 as a joint institute of CU-Boulder 

and NIST. JILA is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains on the CU-Boulder campus in the Duane 

Physics complex. http://jila.colorado.edu/

(b) The Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) was founded in September 2006 as a collaboration between the 

University of Maryland and the NIST, with additional support from the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, a 

government facility in College Park. http://jqi.umd.edu/

(c) The Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) is a world-class research facility in Charleston, South Carolina. 

HML’s mission is to provide science and biotechnology applications to sustain, protect, and restore coastal 

ecosystems, with emphasis on links between environmental condition and the health of marine organisms 

and humans. http://www.nist.gov/mml/hml/index.cfm

(d) The Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) is a joint research enterprise created to 

enhance collaboration among the University of Maryland College Park, The University of Maryland 

Baltimore and NIST. https://www.ibbr.umd.edu//

(e) The Advances in Biomedical Measurement Science program (ABMS) is co-led by Stanford University and 

NIST and is designed to enable significant improvements in the accuracy and comparability of vital data 

used to make important research, regulatory, clinical, and manufacturing quality control decisions. 

https://sites.stanford.edu/abms/

The number of postdocs is a measure of technology transfer because once their tenure at NIST 

ends they can take what they have learned and apply it to other projects outside of NIST. This is 

supported by efforts NIST has begun to track postdocs after their initial tenure at NIST. NIST 

surveyed 318 researchers who were postdocs with the NIST National Research Council (NRC)

 27 http://www.nist.gov/iaao/postdoc.cfm 28 http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

NIST NCR Postdocs, Total 142 130 140 172 174

Gaithersburg campus 72 84 88 115 113

Boulder campus 22 28 32 35 49

Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (a) 8 12 11 9 5

Joint Quantum Institute (b) 1 2 4 3 2

Hollings Marine Laboratory (c) 1 1 2 1 2

Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology 

Research (d) 1 2 1 4 3

Advances in Biological and Measurement 

Science program (e) 0 1 2 5 5
22

program between FY 2011 and FY 2015. Roughly half of these postdocs went on to research 

careers outside of NIST. Specifically, 48% stayed at NIST,29 22% moved to academia, 17% 

moved to the private sector, 8% moved to other government agencies, and 5% either became

independent researchers or were unemployed. As more data becomes available, NIST will 

employ advanced research tools, such as those utilized in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) 

Star Metrics Program,30 to track and evaluate the post tenure work of postdocs from NIST.

Figure 4 – Tracking Researchers after Initial Postdoc Tenure at NIST (FY 2011 – FY 2015)

Guest Researchers

In addition to postdocs, each year, thousands of researchers visit NIST to participate in 

collaborative projects.31 NIST hosts many term appointment researchers and non-NIST 

employees working as guest researchers, collaborators, and student fellows. Like postdoctoral 

researchers, many guest researchers seek career opportunities in academia, the private sector, or 

Federal agencies after their tenure at NIST. While some guest researchers’ work at NIST may 

result in inventions, all guest researchers leave NIST with technical and research skills that place 

them on the cutting edge of their disciplines. Each researcher takes these skills, knowledge, and a 

desire to employ them in innovative ways to new careers and employers. Among these skills is 

the knowledge of how to collaborate with Federal laboratories and what Federal resources are 

available to assist companies in creating and developing new and improved technologies. 

NIST will significantly expand efforts to gather information related to careers of NIST alumni

from existing sources, and study linkages between the mined data and other metrics.

 29 Researchers who left their postdoc positions and stayed at NIST became career conditional / term employees 

(29%) or became non-career conditional or as term employees, i.e. contractors or guest researchers (19%). 30 https://www.starmetrics.nih.gov 31 http://www.nist.gov/tpo/collaborations/guestresearchers.cfm

48%

22%

17%

8%

5%

NIST

Academia

Private Sector

Govt Agencies (non-NIST)

Other
23

Calibration and Accreditation Services

The NIST laboratories provide unique physical measurement services for their customers, 

including calibration services, special tests, and measurement assurance programs. NIST designs 

its calibration services to help manufacturers and users of precision instruments achieve the 

highest possible levels of measurement quality and productivity. NIST calibrations often serve as

the basis for companies that provide commercial calibration services and calibration 

equipment.32

The NIST National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) is a voluntary and 

fee-supported program to accredit private sector laboratories that are competent to perform tests 

or calibrations.

33 In FY 2015, there were 13,906 calibration tests performed by NIST.

Table 19 – Calibration Services

Education Outreach Programs and Partnerships

NIST has received recognition as a vital contributor to the efforts to improve science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. As part of its 

mission, and to help create a long-term and well-qualified workforce for standards and 

measurement research, NIST has several education outreach programs and partnerships that 

enrich basic research programs such as:

• the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program;

34

• the Summer High School Internship (SHIP) program;

35

• the Pathways Program;36

• the NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers;

37 and

• the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP).

38

 32 http://www.nist.gov/calibrations/index.cfm 33 http://www.nist.gov/nvlap/ 34 NIST’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program provides internships for college students 

majoring in science, mathematics and engineering. http://www.nist.gov/surfgaithersburg/index.cfm 35 NIST’s Summer High School Internship (SHIP) program provides summer intern program for high school 

students who are interested in scientific research. http://www.nist.gov/ohrm/staffing/ship.cfm 36 The Pathways Programs offers high school, college and trade school students paid opportunities to work in a 

Federal agency and explore different career paths while continuing their education. 

 http://www.nist.gov/ohrm/staffing/students.cfm

37 NIST’s Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers provides a two-week workshop for middle school 

science teachers featuring hands-on activities, lectures, tours, and visits with NIST scientists and engineers in their 

laboratories. http://www.nist.gov/iaao/teachlearn/index.cfm 38 NIST’s Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) provides undergraduate and graduate students, as well 

as post-doctoral researchers, the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience working with NIST researchers.

http://www.boulder.nist.gov/bdprepo.htm

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Calibrations

Number of Calibration Tests Performed 18,195 17,206 14,974 15,401 13,906
24

In FY 2015, there were 206 students enrolled in the SURF program, 48 students enrolled in the 

SHIP program, 97 students enrolled in the Pathways program, 22 students enrolled in the NIST 

Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers, and 164 students enrolled in the PREP 

program.

Table 20 – STEM Education 

NIST also provides student and post-doctoral fellows with information on the use of science by

industry, and co-sponsors a career fair with other Federal agencies and Rockville Economic 

Development Inc., Rockville, Maryland. 

Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops

Some of the most important mechanisms for technology dissemination are communication, 

education, and interaction among researchers, developers and users of technology. NIST hosts 

numerous conferences, workshops, and other meetings each year to facilitate the transfer of 

technology. 

For example, in FY 2015, the NIST Conference Program arranged for 118 conferences that 

attracted 11,490 researchers to NIST’s facilities in Gaithersburg, Maryland and Boulder, 

Colorado. NIST’s Office of Weights and Measures, which promotes uniformity in U.S. weights 

and measures laws, regulations, and standards, trained over 1,500 weights and measures 

administrators, laboratory meteorologists, and field enforcement officials during FY 2015.

Table 21 – Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops

(a) FY 2011 data for the NIST Conference Center includes Gaithersburg, Maryland campus only.

NIST is continuing to collect and retain current information on metrology training and is 

expanding its efforts in this area to include additional information on training activities NIST

conducts for facility users. Further, NIST staff answers e-mail, telephone, and mail inquiries 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

SURF 170 196 205 203 206

SHIP 34 47 55 60 48

Pathways Program 120 130 98 78 97

Summer Institute for Middle School Teachers n.a. n.a. n.a. 22 22

PREP n.a. n.a. n.a. 134 164

FY 2011(a) FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

NIST Conference Center

Conferences and Workshops 77 80 86 80 118

Attendance 6,924 9,104 8,579 9,208 11,490

Office of Weights and Measures - Metrology Training 

Seminar Attendance 263 167 446 355 457

Webinar Attendance 135 448 110 133 266

Workshop Attendance n.a. n.a. 55 30 27

Students 398 615 633 518 750
25

from researchers requesting information and details about NIST technical developments and 

research results. 

Streamlining Technology Transfer Processes

In response to the PM, NIST has undertaken several efforts to streamline and simplify the 

technology transfer process. NIST revised its standard CRADA to expedite review of these 

documents and reduce the overall size of these documents by approximately one third. NIST also 

implemented several new licensing programs to encourage small businesses to participate. These 

programs lay out terms in advance to ease concerns by small businesses about overall costs. 

NIST is conducting detailed analysis of the flow of documents to understand where significant 

delays occur within the system. In many cases, these delays are with the partner and NIST does 

not have direct control; however, by continued efforts to identify and understand issues 

experienced by partners, NIST expects to identify new ways to simplify and streamline 

technology transfer practices. In FY 2015, NIST experienced a 46-day reduction in the average 

number of days to prepare a patent application and a 45-day reduction in the average CRADA 

approval time. 

Table 22 – Streamlining

(a) The time between the receipt date of an invention disclosure and the filing date of the first non-provisional 

patent application filed by NIST. 

(b) The time between the receipt of the memo related to the award of a CRADA and the time of approval for the 

memo.

Small Businesses, Start-ups and Young Entrepreneurial Companies

NIST recognizes the need to provide both funding and technological support for small 

businesses, start-ups, and young entrepreneurial companies. NIST and its joint institutes nurture 

young companies in high-growth technology areas by several means. 

In addition to financial support provided by the SBIR program and technical support through 

CRADAs, NIST recently implemented several new licensing options to aid innovators and lower 

developmental risk for potential partners who wish to obtain and use NIST technology. For 

example, the Science/Technology Advancement Research (STAR) license provides a no-cost, 

non-exclusive field-of-use research license to explore and advance NIST technologies for 

commercialization. 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Streamlining Efforts

Average Number of Days to Prepare a Patent 

Application(a) 410 348 401 456 410

Average CRADA Approval Time(b) 122 145 91 110 65
26

In FY 2015, 68 small businesses were involved in traditional CRADAs and 794 small businesses 

were involved in non-traditional CRADAs. Non-traditional CRADAs included material transfer 

agreements (14 small businesses), calibration services (200 small businesses), and laboratory 

certifications (580 small businesses).

Table 23 - Number of Small Businesses Interacting with NIST

NIST recently has begun evaluating more than 25 start-up and young companies (existing for 

five years or less) that have either spun off technologies from NIST or that have received

considerable support in their core area of technical development. One example is:

zeroK NanoTech

As part of a program to provide improved sources for focused ion beams, NIST 

researchers developed a new technology based on laser-cooled atoms that promises to 

produce ion beams with higher brightness, narrower energy spread, and a broader range 

of ionic species than conventional sources. NIST patented the technology, and the two 

postdoctoral researchers working on the project left NIST to form their own company to 

develop it further. The company, zeroK NanoTech, now operates out of commercial 

laboratory space in Gaithersburg, MD and employs three people. They have also 

successfully secured funding for further development of the technology from corporate 

sponsors. 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

NIST’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funds science and technology

based small businesses in the U.S. The program offers qualified small businesses the opportunity 

to propose innovative ideas that meet specific NIST research and development needs and have 

the potential for commercialization.

39 NIST has taken the following steps to improve its SBIR 

program:

1. Streamlining practices to reduce the administrative burden on small businesses and time 

needed to process and issue awards;

2. Reducing the number of topics and subtopics to balance the work required to obtain 

proposals while increasing the selection rate for worthwhile proposals. NIST 

Programmatic Investment Priority Areas in the NIST Three Year Programmatic Plan 

serve as topics to align SBIR priorities to NISTs mission. The goal is to bring the Phase 1 

SBIR award rate up to the national average of 17%;

3. Implementing a two-step review process to evaluate technical feasibility and to maximize 

investments, catalyze commercialization, and achieve a strategic focus. The first step is a 

technical evaluation conducted by the NIST laboratories. The second step is prioritization 

 39 http://www.nist.gov/tpo/sbir/index.cfm

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

NIST Licenses n.a. 2 7 7 4

Traditional NIST CRADAs n.a. 20 31 37 68

Non-Traditional NIST CRADAs n.a. n.a. n.a. 733 794

Phase I SBIR Awards 13 8 9 12 14

Phase II SBIR Awards 5 4 5 4 6
27

of proposals considered meritorious in the laboratory review through the use of criteria 

based on the overall NIST strategy and SBIR program goals; and

4. Reducing, by 10%, the time from close of solicitation to award issuance. 

Efforts to Promote Entrepreneurship 

In 2013, NIST, in cooperation with the Technology Development Corporation of Maryland 

(TEDCO), established an Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIR) program to bring successful 

technology entrepreneurs into the NIST community for seminars and private consultations with 

NIST staff on matters relating to technology transfer and commercialization. Through this effort,

EIR’s guest researchers explore and evaluate licensable technologies developed at NIST for 

commercialization by private firms. 

During FY 2015, the program also provided several training seminars for NIST staff researchers, 

temporary employees, and NIST associates covering topics such as small business formation, 

approaches to obtain funding for innovative technology, and career opportunities as technology 

entrepreneurs. NIST also provided an ongoing training program to enhance successful 

technology transfer activities by promoting entrepreneurial mind-sets among NIST’s research 

staff and managers. This program provides NIST staff with a basic understanding of:

• mechanisms that NIST uses to transfer technologies from the laboratory to the 

commercial sector;

• practices and strategies that entrepreneurs use when developing new technologies into 

viable commercial opportunities;

• the importance of developing and protecting intellectual property rights;

• best practices for collaborating with private companies and working with NIST 

customers; and

• career opportunities for researchers interested in spinning off companies and becoming 

entrepreneurs.

Challenges

In FY 2015, NIST launched its first two competitions, both under the authority provided in 

section 24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Act that allows agencies to award prizes to stimulate 

innovation that has the potential to advance their mission. 

• NIST, partnering with the National Football League, Under Armour, and GE, launched 

the Head Health Challenge III in February 2015 to catalyze the development of advanced 

materials with improved impact resistance. This challenge is ongoing and has a total prize 

purse of $2 million. Website: www.headhealthchallenge.com and official announcement: 

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/01/29/2015-01743/announcement-ofrequirements-and-registration-for-head-health-advanced-materials-prize

• The Reference Data Challenge, designed to spur the development of mobile applications 

using NIST scientific reference data, was launched in July 2015. Offering $45,000 in 

prizes, this contest was part of ongoing efforts to modernize the availability and use of 

NIST scientific data. Website: http://nistdata.devpost.com/ and official announcement: 

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/07/22/2015-17865/announcement-ofrequirements-and-registration-for-national-institute-of-standards-and-technology
28

Assessing the Economic Impact of Technology Transfer

NIST has had a long history of assessing the economic impact of standards and related 

technologies transferred from its research and standards programs.40 Between 2000 and 2011, 

researchers performed sixteen microeconomic studies that assessed technologies transferred to 

nine different industries. Each of these studies measured economic impact in terms of the net 

benefits society experienced as a result of NIST’s technology transfer activities. Measures of 

net benefits include net present value (NPV), social rate of return (SRR), and benefit to cost 

ratio (BCR). 

NPV is the inflation-adjusted value of net benefits (benefits minus costs) discounted over the 

course of the study period. A positive NPV for a given mechanism indicates that it yields 

greater benefits than the cost to provide it. The SRR is similar to the internal rate of return 

metric, the interest rate that reduces the NPV to zero, commonly used to judge the worthiness 

of investment projects. However, the modifier “social” indicates that the value of this 

performance metric accounts for the benefits and costs that accrue to all beneficiaries, not just 

the project investors. The BCR is the ratio of the net present value of benefits to the net 

present value of costs. The BCR value indicates the benefits, in dollars, that have resulted from 

the technology transfer activity for each of the dollars invested adjusted for inflation. 

For example, as shown in the table below, in 2000 a study did an assessment of the economic 

impact of NIST’s standard reference materials (SRMs) used in the production of fossil fuels 

(Economic Impact of Standard Reference Materials for Sulfur in Fossil Fuels41). SRMs are 

materials that play a key role in manufacturing and, among other things, evaluate measurement 

accuracy and provide compatibility of measurement data. In this example, SRMs provide more 

accurate sulfur content information for fossil fuels manufacturers. Improving the accuracy of 

content information reduces the likelihood of disputes between sellers and purchasers of fossil 

fuels, such as coal companies and electric utilities. It also enhances production efficiency for 

the petroleum industry, resulting in reduced sulfur emissions into the environment. This study 

quantified a portion of the economic benefits associated with sulfur SRMs. Included in the 

measures of economic benefits were improvements in product quality, production efficiency, 

and reductions in transaction costs and sulfur dioxide emissions to the environment. In 

addition, the study identified and qualitatively described the impact of NIST SRMs on other 

less tangible areas, such as research and development programs.

This study estimated that industry significantly benefited from the development and transfer of 

NIST’s sulfur SRMs. According to the measures of benefits and costs analyzed, NIST’s sulfur 

SRMs yielded a NPV of $409 million in 1998 dollars, which equates to a SRR of 1056%. The 

study also estimated a BCR of 113 that indicates that for each dollar NIST spent on developing

sulfur SRMs, $113 in net benefits accrued to those who used the SRMs in the manufacturing of 

fossil fuels.42

 40 See http://nist.gov/tpo/economic-impact-studies.cfm 41 See http://nist.gov/director/planning/upload/report00-1.pdf 42 The study provides other measures that can be used to describe the same net benefits. For a discussion of 

alternative measures of economic impacts please see Methods for Assessing the Economic Impacts of Government 

R&D, NIST Planning Report #03-1, http://nist.gov/director/planning/upload/report03-1.pdf
29

Table 24 – NIST Economic Impact Studies 2000-2011

Impact Study/ Transfer Mechanism Outcomes BCR(a) SRR(b) NPV(Year)(c)

Building Technology

"Benefits and Costs of Research: A Case Study of Construction Systems 

Integration and Automation Technologies in Commercial Facilities" (2001) Increase productivity & reduced 

Construction System Integration and Automation Technologies costs 4 nc $120M (1997)

"Benefits and Costs Of Research: A Case Study of Fire Dynamics Simulation" 

(2002) Improved efficiencies &

Fire Dynamics Simulator reduced R&D costs 75 27% $282M (2000)

Chemicals

"Economic Impact of Standard Reference Materials for Sulfur in Fossil Fuels" 

(2000)

Increased product quality & 

production efficiency,

Sulfur in Fossil Fuels/SRM reduced transaction costs & 

pollution 113 1056% $409M (1998)

"The Economic Impact of the Gas-Mixture NIST-Traceable Reference Materials 

Program" (2002) Increase productivity, reduced 

National Traceable Reference Materials, SRD; Calibration Services costs 24 225% $56M (2001)

Electronics

"Economic Impact Assessment of the NIST's Josephson Volt Standard Program" 

(2001)

Increased product quality & 

production efficiency,

Josephson Voltage Standard/SRM reduced development costs 5 877% $45M (2000)

Information Technology

"The Economic Impacts of NIST's Data Encryption Standard (DES) Program" 

(2001) Increase productivity, reduced 

Data Encryption Standards/Standard Conformance Test Methods technical risks 102 270% $768M (2000)

"The Economic Impact of Role-Based Access Control" (2001) Increase productivity, reduced 

Role-Based Access Control/Reference Models (RBAC) R&D costs 109 62% $292M (2000)

"Economic Impact Assessment of NIST's Text Retrieval Conference (TREC) 

Program" (2010) Increase productivity, reduced 

Search Engines (TREC) R&D costs 4 189% $51M (2009)

Manufacturing

"Economic Impact Assessment of the International Standard for the Exchange of 

Product Model Data (STEP) in Transportation Equipment Industries" (2002) Improved system efficiencies,

STEP/STDS; Conformance Test Methods and Services & reduced costs 8 32% $180M (2001)

"Economic Analysis of Role-Based Access Control" (2010) Improved system efficiencies,

Computer Security (RBAC) & reduced downtime 249 nc $835M (2000)

"The Economic Impacts of Documentary Standards: A Case Study of the Flat 

Panel Display Measurement Standard(FPDM)" (2011) Improved system efficiencies,

Documentary Standards reduced costs 4 48% $56M (2010)

Materials

"Retrospective Economic Impact Assessment of the NIST Combinatorial 

Methods Center" (2009) Increased R&D, production & 

Consortium-Based Combinatorial Methods Development and Transfer technology adoption efficiency 9 161% $118M (1998)

Pharmaceuticals

"The Economic Impacts of NIST's Cholesterol Standards Program" (2000) Reduced production costs, 

Cholesterol Measurement/SRM improved quality & accuracy 5 154% $4M (1999)

Photonics

"Economic Impact Assessment: NIST-EEEL: Laser and Fiberoptic Power and 

Energy Calibration Services" (2000) Increase productivity, reduced 

Laser and Fiber Optic Power and Energy Calibration/Calibrations costs 9 136% $20M (1999)

Semiconductors

"Economic Analysis of NIST's Investments in Superfilling Research" (2008)

Superfilling Research Techniques Reduced R&D costs 5 71% $8M (2008)

"Economic Analysis of NIST's Low-K Materials Characterization Research" 

(2008) Redcued R&D, adoption,

Low-K Materials Characterization & production costs 8 nc $17M (2008)

nc = not calculated

(a) BCR = Benefit to Cost Ratio

(b) SRR = Social Rate of Return

(c) NPV (Year) = Net Present Value and base year for dollars
30

Thirteen of the studies presented in the table estimated SRR. The SRR values for these studies 

ranged from a low of 27% to a high of 1,056%. The mean value is 254%, but given the 

standard deviation for this sample (327%), the median value of 154% is more representative of 

the typical study. 

Sixteen studies calculated BCR. The BCR values ranged from a low of four to a high of 249. 

The mean value is 46 but again, given the standard deviation for the sample (69) the median 

value of nine is more representative of the typical study. This median value indicates that, 

typically, for each dollar NIST spent, the technology transferred created $9 in benefits. Note 

that given the data presented here, it is not possible to aggregate the NPV measures from 

different studies into one value because the studies use different base years to calculate 

benefits and costs. 

Table 25 – Summary of NIST’s Economic Impact Studies (2000 – 2011)43

Downstream Outcomes from NIST Technology Transfer Activities

Combating Cyber Terrorism

NIST has granted an exclusive license for a technology used to determine network safety against 

unknown attacks (zero-day attacks) to George Mason Research Foundation which then 

sublicensed the technology to CyVision, a spin-off of George Mason University. CyVision is 

dedicated to combating cyber terrorism and helping government and private enterprise improve 

their security posture. Based on this patented technology and other inventions licensed from 

GMU, CyVision is commercializing cybersecurity vulnerability analysis solutions. 

Differentiating Biogenic and Geologic Methane Sources. 

NIST has granted the University of Colorado Boulder a research license for a Frequency Combbased Spectrometer for use in an ARPA-E funded research project titled Frequency Comb-based 

Methane Sensing. NIST, NOAA and CU Boulder are working together to develop frequency 

comb-based technologies for methane leak detection. A licensed Patent Application from NIST 

and another patent application jointly owned by CU Boulder will be the basis for the planned 

dual frequency comb spectrometer. The technology currently in development will be able to 

distinguish methane, ethane, and propane, as well as methane with different carbon isotopes for 

differentiating biogenic and geologic methane sources. When employed as a remote methane 

observation network, this technology will enable significant reductions in the cost associated 

 43 When multiple estimates were generated in a particular study, for example to reflect best and worst case 

scenarios, the average is reported.

SRR 

(n=13)

BCR 

(n=16)

Minimum 27% 4

Maximun 1056% 249

Mean 254% 46

Standard Deviation 327% 69

Median 154% 9
31

with identifying, quantifying, and locating methane leaks compared to currently available 

technologies.

NIST Leads Development of ASTM Standard Practice for Testing Trace Explosive 

Detectors 

Researchers in NIST’s Materials Measurement Laboratory (MML) have recently completed 

development of a soon-to-be promulgated ASTM Standard Practice for testing and scoring the 

performance of trace explosive detection systems. Instrument developers and manufacturers, 

testing laboratories, and international agencies responsible for enabling effective deterrents to 

terrorism will use this standard. The revised Standard Practice goes far in increasing chemical 

scope, testing levels, realism and practical aspects of explosive screening. MML distributed a

white paper to outline the expanded tests and metrics and to elicit feedback regarding the 

performance criteria most important to trace detection. Interactions with Explosive Trace 

Detection (ETD) manufacturers, domestic and international agencies, subject matter experts, and 

stakeholder communities to better define the criteria and formulate a mechanism for scoring 

ETD performance that was fair and reasonable, technologically agnostic, and reflects the most 

important aspects of trace detection followed this. The revised standard also relaxes the 

requirement that an instrument identify a specific target compound, since some innovative 

screening technologies, such as thermo-energetic detectors and canines, cannot do this, but 

technologies that can provide identification get extra credit. The revision requires the use of a 

standard background challenge material, identified from NIST natural matrix SRMs, such as a 

natural dust or dirt (“standard schmutz”) that represents the matter co-collected on swabs during 

the process of sampling. Because sample throughput is important at security checkpoints, the 

measurement of average throughput rate for background-loaded samples is required. Lastly, the 

revised Standard Practice provides a means to calculate a numerical performance score based 

upon all the mandated tests. There is no maximum score but a minimum score is specified based 

upon criteria from the original E2520-07. The scores will provide tangible measures of 

instrumental detection performance, useful for comparing systems worldwide and for enabling 

targeted improvements in next-generation detection systems.

BIRDS: A New NIST Tool for Evaluating Sustainability Performance of Buildings

NIST's newly released database and software tools, called BIRDS (Building Industry Reporting 

and Design for Sustainability), enable building owners to assess three major factors contributing 

to building sustainability: energy, environment, and cost performance. Building professionals in 

more than 200 U.S. cities are using BIRDS to evaluate whether it pays to exceed code 

requirements for energy efficiency by tallying expected costs, kilowatts expended, carbon 

emissions, and other impacts over a commercial building's lifetime. Focusing initially on 11 

building prototypes that account for about half of U.S. new commercial construction annually, 

the online data package features an innovative "whole building measurement system." An 

integrated set of metrics gauges sustainability of materials and energy usage, assesses carbon 

footprints and 11 other indicators of environmental performance, and tabulates economic costs 

over nine different investment horizons. BIRDS complements NIST's popular tool known as 

BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) that allows a user to measure 

economic and environmental impacts of building products, ranging from concretes to roof 

coverings to floor coverings.
32

NIST STEP File Analyzer Significantly Accelerates the Industrial Deployment of Key 

Manufacturing 3D CAD Standards

Computer-aided Design (CAD) has become ubiquitous throughout the modern manufacturing 

industry, and efforts are currently underway to base all product design and manufacturing 

activities on digital three-dimensional (3D) CAD master models. ISO 10303, the de facto 

worldwide standard for digital exchange of data for the design and manufacture of products, 

enables the sharing of a 3D master model among various design, analysis, and manufacturing 

applications. NIST has recently developed a software tool, the Standard for the Exchange of 

Product (STEP) File Analyzer that is critical to the industrial deployment of ISO 10303. This 

software is widely used in collaborative, pre-commercial testing to reduce errors in the use of 

ISO 10303. The STEP File Analyzer has served to accelerate the commercial delivery of ISO 

10303 implementations with more robust manufacturing information that support geometric 

validation, long-term data archiving, machining, and coordinate measuring machine applications. 

Additionally, this software tool provides a feedback loop to the standardization community for 

continuous improvement of ISO 10303. Detailed analysis of these 3D CAD files has taken on 

greater significance since the expansion of the scope of the standard to support advanced 

manufacturing that use digital product models throughout the product life cycle.

NIST PET Phantoms Bring New Accuracy to Medical Scans

Teaming with a medical equipment company, researchers at NIST have demonstrated the first 

calibration system for positron emission tomography (PET) scanners directly tied to national 

measurement standards. Better calibrations of the machines can potentially increase the accuracy 

of their diagnostic images by several times, according to NIST scientists.

The new calibration capability can help to fine-tune PET scanners that find cancers and track the 

progress of treatments, among other diagnostic applications. It can help to ensure the accuracy of 

some of the newest scanners on the market.

NIST’s technique, developed over the past few years, calibrates devices called “phantoms,” built 

specifically for PET scanners to check medical imaging devices such as X-ray scanners. 

Typically, they are simply blocks of materials known to respond to—for example—X-rays in a 

consistent, known manner that is similar to the way human tissues respond. PET phantoms are 

more complicated because the scanners work by detecting radioactive materials injected in the 

patient.

The phantoms will be the first ones commercially available for PET that can trace calibration 

directly to NIST standards. NIST developed the calibration method partly in response to a 

request by Sanders Medical Products, which supplies the phantoms to GE Healthcare, a 

manufacturer of combination PET-MRI scanners.

New NIST Reference Material Provides a Silver Lining for NanoEHS Research 

NIST has issued a new silver nanoparticle reference material to support researchers studying 

potential environmental, health, and safety risks associated with the nanoparticles, known for 

their antimicrobial properties, found in a growing number of consumer and industrial products. 

The new NIST test material may be the first of its kind to stabilize the highly reactive silver 

particles in a freeze-dried, polymer coated, nanoparticle cake for long-term storage.
33

Nanoparticulate silver is a highly effective bactericide. It is, by some estimates, the most widely 

used nanomaterial in consumer products. These include socks and shoe liners (it combats foot 

odor), stain-resistant fabrics, coatings for handrails and keyboards, and a plethora of other 

applications. A coating and freeze-drying technique, commonly used in the pharmaceutical 

industry to preserve blood products and protein-based drugs, stabilizes this new NIST product.

Measuring Stick Standard for Gene Sequencing Now Available from NIST 

The world’s first reference material to help ensure laboratories accurately “map” DNA for 

genetic testing, medical diagnoses, and future customized drug therapies is now available from

NIST. The new reference material, NIST RM 8398, is a “measuring stick” for the human 

genome, the coded blueprints of a person’s genetic traits. It provides a well-characterized 

standard that can tell a laboratory how well its processes for determining the patterns in a 

person’s DNA (called DNA or gene sequencing) are working by measuring the performance of 

the equipment, chemistry, and data analysis involved.

NIST created RM 8398 with its partners in the Genome in a Bottle consortium, a group that 

includes stakeholders from industry, academia and the Federal government. Scientists from 

NIST and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) helped organize the collaborative effort 

to provide the technical benchmarks (reference standards, reference methods, and reference data) 

needed to enable widespread clinical applications of whole genome sequencing and sciencebased regulatory oversight of the technology by the FDA.

The new reference material marks a significant step forward in addressing FDA’s regulatory 

needs for evaluating next-generation gene sequencing and genetic testing as outlined in President 

Barack Obama’s Precision Medicine (also known as “personalized medicine”) initiative.

The reference material is the first complete human genome to have been extensively sequenced 

and re-sequenced by multiple techniques, with the results weighted and analyzed to eliminate as 

much variation and error as possible. 

Awards

2015 FLC Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer

Physicist Michael Boss received the FLC Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer. Dr. 

Boss designed a phantom for calibrating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. The headsized phantom is designed to standardize imaging of the diffusion of water molecules, a 

technique that can be useful in diagnosing traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative diseases 

such as Alzheimer’s, and cancer in various parts of the body. To scale up production to meet 

demand, reduce phantom costs, and improve durability, Dr. Boss worked with Elizabeth 

Mirowski of High Precision Devices Inc. (Boulder, CO), the firm that commercialized the 

technology only a year after it was first conceived. NIST has applied for a patent on the 

phantom.

Innovation Award 

Javier Atencia, a member of MML’s Bioassay Methods Group and a University of Maryland 

Assistant Professor, won the Best Inventor Pitch at the UMD Professor Venture Fair this past 
34

November. Javier’s novel technique to detect pathogens in food was one of five selected to be 

presented to a team of regional venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. Food contamination 

outbreaks have health and financial consequences. The Economic Research Service of the 

USDA estimates that annually $6.9 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity are 

associated with foodborne illness. Although the identification of bacteria by genomic methods 

can be done in about an hour, it takes one-half to three days to enrich the bacteria to a level 

sufficient for detection because of the overwhelming presence of solids, foreign DNA and other 

cells in comparison to the pathogen. This means that food with a short shelf life may still reach 

the consumer before pathogen testing is complete. Atencia’s innovation is the introduction of a 

disposable microfluidic chip to separate bacteria from an unenriched sample in less than an hour. 

This chip is robust and designed for ease of use allowing deployment in the field.
35

CHAPTER 3 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) mission is to understand and 

predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts; to share that knowledge and information 

with others; and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. This 

mission will become ever more critical in the 21st century as national issues related to climate 

change, limited freshwater supply, ecosystem management, and homeland security intensify. 

The NOAA technology and innovation enterprise consists of more than 50 laboratories, 

programs, and offices headquartered in Silver Spring, MD and staffed across the United States.

These labs and offices support NOAA’s four service-based Line Offices: the National Marine 

Fisheries Service, the National Ocean Service, the National Weather Service, and the National 

Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, as well as thematic programs including 

Climate, Aquaculture, Arctic, Ocean Exploration and Research, Weather and Air Quality, and 

Ocean Acidification. While the service-based Line Offices each have an R&D component, a 

dedicated R&D Line Office, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, supports the 

entire enterprise.

The aim of the research across NOAA’s laboratories is to improve the ability of the operational 

components to accomplish their respective missions. Recent examples demonstrating the 

direction of NOAA’s research are severe storm (hurricane, tornado, derecho winds) and drought 

forecasting, as well as physical forecasts for renewable energy siting. NOAA research also is in 

the areas of predicting fresh water resources, tsunami warnings, air quality measurement and

solar emission forecasting. NOAA actively monitors fish stocks and species health, coastal 

habitats and pollution, invasive species, coral reef health, and ocean acidification. Finally,

NOAA research covers coastal/ocean disaster response and restoration, charting ocean bottom 

topography, and a wide variety of climate research and the impacts of a changing climate on 

human health, coastal zone management, and oceans. NOAA’s operational components use 

these research results to improve prediction, management, and other mission activities.

Benefits of NOAA Research: Medicines from the Sea

Ocean exploration often leads to new ideas, theories, and 

discoveries, even in the field of medicines. From slime to 

sponges, researchers are exploring the ocean's depths for new 

medications to treat cancer, bacterial infections, viruses, heart 

disease, pain, and other ailments.

The seas contain an uncounted number of species of plants 

and animals. These creatures provide a vast storehouse of 

chemical compounds unknown on land. An ocean 

commission report lists chemicals and biological materials from marine organisms now in use or 

development, including 10 anti-cancer drugs, drugs to fight inflammation, fungus, tuberculosis, 

HIV, malaria, and dengue.
36

“Bioprospecting” with NOAA

To uncover medical mysteries of the deep, NOAA has partnered with 

“bioprospecting” scientists to find marine organisms with chemical 

compounds capable of treating human diseases. The NOAA Ship 

Okeanos Explorer connects experts ashore to the scientific missions 

as they map the ocean and collect ocean specimens, some with 

potential medical and economic benefits.

With an increasing number of specimens collected from a variety of 

ocean projects, scientists may find that the ocean could become the 

biological focus for discovering 21st century medicines.

In the future, marine ecosystems could represent an increasingly important source of medical 

treatments, nutritional supplements, pesticides, cosmetics, and other commercial products. Drugs 

from the ocean are without question one of the most promising new directions of marine science 

today.

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office (TPO), housed under the NOAA Office of Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Research (OAR), serves as the central technology transfer office for all NOAA 

labs, centers, programs, and external partners.

In FY 2012, in response to President Obama’s request to accelerate technology transfer out of 

Federal labs, the TPO developed a 5-Year Plan to improve technology transfer from NOAA. 

The TPO has since accomplished most of the goals set forth in this plan, while the importance of 

others, because of various events, has diminished. The TPO will be updating and revising this 

technology transfer plan, as well as developing a broader strategic plan for the office, starting in 

FY 2016. 

The following is a summary of the original technology transfer plan and the results achieved. 

Objective 1: Optimize TPO Management and Staffing Structure

The TPO is the link between NOAA’s intellectual property and its private sector customers. In 

order to provide the required level of service to both our internal and external customers, the 

TPO made recommendations in 2011 to increase staffing for the office. 

Progress to Plan:

Since 2012, the TPO has operated at the recommended staffing level of a Program 

Manager for Technology Transfer and a part-time program assistant. The TPO has 

augmented its staffing and improved awareness of technology transfer through a series of 

detail assignments and by establishing a list of points of contanct for technology transfer 

within each of the NOAA labs and programs. 
37

Next Steps:

Optimizing staffing and building a culture of technology transfer in the labs will continue 

to be a priority in the upcoming strategic plan. The TPO will continue to build a culture 

of technology transfer within the agency through communication at the lab level and at 

the management level. TPO staff will work closely with the NOAA Chief Scientist to 

develop corporate technology transfer strategies, policies, and goals. 

The TPO will develop the human capital within the agency by continuing the successful 

detail assignment program and will explore the possibility of adding entrepreneurial 

education and training based on the NSF Entrepreneur in Residence Program. TPO staff 

will work closely with other agencies through the inter-agency Lab to Market process and 

the Federal Lab Consortium to determine best practices to apply within NOAA. 

Objective 2: Central Management of Patents

NOAA’s TPO is the central management point for intellectual property and patent applications 

coming out of NOAA’s labs, centers, and programs; however, until recently, the cost and 

contracting burden for executing these agreements always has been with the individual lab, 

center or program. The TPO has been working to improve centralized management by building 

a set of funds in the TPO that can offset legal and patent fees. The goal of this effort is to 

develop a more robust and fair process for evaluating which new technologies have the highest 

licensing potential and the greatest need for patent protection (see Objective 4 below). 

Secondarily, the TPO believes central funding would offer significant benefits to the labs, 

centers and programs by saving time and effort in contracting for similar or repeat services. 

Progress to Plan: 

The TPO has established a central account with the US Patent and Trademark Office for 

the payment of maintenance and filing fees. It has used this account to offset all 

maintenance fees and most patent filing fees in FY 2015. While there will be request for 

funds each year to replenish the account, there is no guarantee funds will continue to be 

available. 

In FY 2015, the TPO requested an additional budget allocation to cover legal fees for 

filing provisional and non-provisional patents and related expenses. TPO received a trial 

allocation and has created a second account to establish a contract for legal services in 

FY 2016. The services will be available to support all NOAA inventions on a first-come, 

first-served basis.

Next Steps:

TPO will monitor the use and usefulness of both accounts and, based on the results, will 

likely continue to request funding for both accounts moving forward. Central funding 

and management of patent activity through the TPO will continue to be a priority in the 

strategic plan, as it simplifies contracting, reporting, and ensures key deadlines are not 

missed. 
38

Objective 3: Programmatic Advice and Guidance

The TPO will receive programmatic advice and guidance directly through the NOAA Chief 

Scientist and the NOAA Research Council. The TPO will continue to coordinate with NOAA 

Line Office Transition Managers to ensure TPO policies and procedures are consistent with their 

activities as guided by NOAA Administrative Order NAO 216-105.

Progress to Plan:

The TPO has successfully implemented this action and is looking for guidance from the 

Research Council and the Chief Scientist. The TPO has created a working group at 

headquarters to facilitate outreach and education, and is participating in the activities of 

the Line Office Transition Manager Committee for NOAA.

Next Steps:

The TPO will continue to work through its established network and through the Line 

Office Transition Manager Committee to ensure the commercialization of research is 

included in NOAA’s transition planning and reporting. The TPO will reinforce the 

network to include lab liaisons (see Action 1) and, ideally, involve laboratory 

representatives directly in the training, meetings, and other activities of its regional 

Federal Laboratory Consortium group.

Objective 4: Establish a Technology Transfer Review Board

Determining technologies for which NOAA should seek patent protection is a key component of 

the technology transfer process. Currently, there is no corporate process in place for this activity. 

A NOAA review board would provide inventors the opportunity to present detailed information 

concerning their technology to a cross-agency group. The review board would determine which 

technologies should move forward based on which have the highest commercial potential. TPO 

will work with the Chief Scientist to determine the best path forward for establishing this 

proposed board.

Progress to Plan:

NOAA’s annual invention disclosure rate, although increasing each year, still remains 

low, so the TPO has not moved to establish a board for the review of technology transfer. 

Instead, the decision to pursue a patent or other protection is determined through 

collaboration between the inventor, the lab director, the TPO, and NOAA General 

Counsel. Cost-benefit considerations, derived through rudimentary market assessments, 

have been the basis for patent decisions since 2014. 

Next Steps:

NOAA’s assessment process for disclosed technologies needs improvement if it is to 

provide the information needed to support a technology review board. The TPO will 

explore various methods for performing technology assessments, such as a request for 

funds for contract support and/or using temporary staff. As disclosures increase and 

assessments improve, TPO will work with the NOAA Chief Scientist to determine the 

need for a technology review board.
39

Objective 5: Enhance Internal Education on Patents and Technology Transfer Issues

TPO will provide NOAA laboratory and program personnel with training, website resources, 

forms and templates, as well as extensive background information on program benefits.

Progress to Plan:

The TPO continues to train NOAA staff at labs and Headquarters through a combination 

of on-site training, video-teleconference, telephone calls, and website materials.

Next Steps:

TPO will schedule training visits to at least two labs during FY 2016 and will conduct 

other training at Headquarters or through video teleconferencing as appropriate. The 

TPO also will work with the Chief Scientist, the Research Council, and Workforce 

Management to implement any Lab to Market recommendations within NOAA.

Objective 6: Increase Outreach to Industry

The TPO will conduct activities designed to inform the public of the processes and benefits of 

collaborating with NOAA for research and development activities. The activities will include:

• Website Redesign: Redesign the TPO website to feature pending opportunities, benefits, 

success stories, and answers to FAQs for staff, private companies, or other entities looking to 

collaborate with NOAA.

• Trade Show Marketing: Attend selected events and trade shows to meet with target 

audiences and distribute TPO marketing materials.

• Targeted Meetings: Meet with select trade associations and NGOs to increase awareness of 

technology transfer opportunities and brainstorm methods of increasing technology transfer 

activities with NOAA.

• Joint Meetings with DOC Partners: Collaborate with its sister bureaus in DOC and in other 

agencies to initiate joint outreach and promotional activities.

Progress to Plan:

The TPO has developed 2-page marketing summaries and a multi-page marketing

brochure to advertise its licensing opportunities. TPO continues to update and refine its 

website, including enhancements to the “Open Opportunities” section to provide a more 

marketing-centric presentation for our technologies. In addition to the TPO website, the 

office has used NOAA’s social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter) to reach a broader 

audience for key announcement and events. 

Beyond the NOAA resources, TPO has taken advantage of broader efforts to advertise its

available technologies. The TPO has provided comprehensive NOAA lab information to 

the Federal Labs Consortium Available Technologies Search Tool: 

https://flcbusiness.federallabs.org/FLCBiz/app/search-laboratories. The TPO is 

responsible for uploading and maintaining the full list of NOAA’s Intellectual Property 

assets on the U.S. Data.gov platform under the President’s Lab to Market Initiative. 

The TPO has also undertaken a plan to work closely with state and local development 

offices. In conjunction with TPO’s nation-wide SBIR program outreach, it is able to 
40

provide technology transfer opportunities to economic development offices across the 

nation. It will continue to reach out to this network to market NOAA’s licensing 

opportunities. 

The TPO continues to support and work through the Mississippi Enterprise for 

Technology regional development office in Stennis, Mississippi. NOAA, along with 

NASA, other Federal agencies, and universities located at Stennis, is participating in a 

regional technology group with the goal of sharing best practices and encouraging 

technology transfer to the private sector in the Gulf region. 

In FY 2015, the TPO began doing direct outreach at scientific gatherings where private 

sector companies are included. It will continue to focus on events that are local and/or 

those events that include cross-program (SBIR and Tech Transfer) opportunities for 

engagement with the private sector. 

Next Steps:

Direct interaction with companies will continue moving forward. The TPO is developing 

a database of contacts from companies that have a primary interest in NOAA’s 

technologies. It will continue to work through existing small business outreach resources 

to ensure a broad dissemination of NOAA’s technology opportunities. 

Objective 7: Develop a Database of NOAA Technologies and Opportunities

An important component of the TPO plan to improve management of NOAA’s technology 

transfer activities will be a database to track easily and monitor basic information on CRADAs, 

MOUs, invention disclosures, and patents (including status and regular maintenance fees). 

Tracking this basic information will allow staff to develop regular reports without adding 

administrative burden to the labs and will provide easy tracking of metrics.

Progress to Plan:

TPO staff has built a rudimentary internal database to house technology transfer and 

SBIR information. While the database is limited in its functionality, TPO staff is now 

able to query quickly the information and report out on the status of the NOAA 

intellectual property portfolio. 

As with last year’s report, the database saved time by providing initial information for 

this year’s annual report. This step simplified the data call to the labs by changing the 

focus to mostly data validation and reporting of missing information. 

Next Steps:

Despite progress in this area, the TPO has a number of steps to improve this action. First, 

enhancements to the database capabilities will improve data query and report generation. 

TPO will continue with these enhancements in-house and at minimal expense. However, 

the TPO will continue to explore off the shelf technologies that will allow for better case 

and client management capabilities, as well as linking directly to the TPO website and 

(ideally) directly to the data.gov platform to allow for automatic updates to that website. 
41

Objective 8: Improve Performance Measurement and Tracking

NOAA has identified eight performance measures as an initial basis to track the effectiveness of 

its technology transfer. TPO will review this set annually and update measures to ensure 

NOAA’s ability to monitor its performance. Individual performance results will vary even under 

ideal programmatic circumstances; however, taken as a whole, this set of performance metrics 

will offer an accurate snapshot of NOAA’s ongoing technology transfer activities and will 

provide valuable insight for TPO to structure its education and training activities in the future.

Progress to Plan:

This year’s report began the differentiation between invention licenses and patent 

licenses, with the invention licenses on technologies that are not patented or have only a 

provisional patent application in place. These licenses will typically not yield royalty 

income, or will only include royalty income for the period of the provisional application. 

To date, there only has been anecdotal reporting for visiting scientists and facilities use 

agreements. Reporting for visiting scientists is not always easy or obvious, as many of 

these “visiting” scientists are from Cooperative Institutes (CI) and are treated as regular 

staff at the labs. 

Facilities use agreements are not a large part of NOAA’s technology transfer portfolio, 

but could grow in the future if NOAA labs retain funds accrued because of others using 

its facilities. The ability to retain funds at the lab would provide the needed incentives 

for NOAA lab directors to open under-utilized or highly specialized lab resources for 

public and corporate use. The TPO is exploring ways other agencies are using CRADAs 

or other agreements to retain funds for facilities use and hopes to implement a similar 

program at NOAA in FY 2016.

The number of trademarks is no longer a reported metric. The Technology Partnerships 

Office does not directly process these applications, so tracking these applications has 

been too difficult to provide a meaningful metric. Similarly, there is no reporting of the

number of Cooperative Institute staff receiving more than 50% of their funding from 

NOAA, as the number does not vary significantly across years and does not provide any 

meaningful representation of the technology transferred.

Next Steps:

The TPO will continue to gather data on the NOAA portfolio in an effort to get more 

complete and accurate reporting of valuable metrics. There also will be the exploration 

of additional measures that speak to the impact of NOAA science and technology 

transfer. 

Additionally, the TPO will follow closely the efforts of interagency groups to establish 

meaningful measures across the Federal government. Over the next five years, it will 

adopt new measures to continue to improve its reporting at the least cost in terms of effort 

to the lab staff.
42

NOAA Work Products and Collaborative Activities

In addition to the internal transition of NOAA’s Research and Development to operational 

products and services, NOAA science and data products are routinely provided to the public in 

service to the NOAA mission of protecting lives and property. Chapter 1 provides information 

on patenting and summary information on licensing. Additional details on licensing and other 

mechanisms are included below.
43

Licensing Details

NOAA signed two new license agreements in FY 2015 and converted one license from nonexclusive to exclusive. A long-standing NOAA patent expired in 2015, which resulted in the 

expiration of two income-bearing licenses during the fiscal year. NOAA now maintains six

active licenses on its technologies and has three additional non-income bearing licenses 

maintained by the Cooperative Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

Table 26 – Profile of Active Licenses

(a) Multiple inventions in a single license are counted as one license. Licenses that include both patents

and copyrights (hybrid licenses) are reported as patent licenses and are not included in the count of

copyright licenses.

(b) “Active” means an agreement in force at any time during the fiscal year.

(c) Patent license tally includes patent applications which are licensed. One-Time License only with onetime flat 

fee royalty

(d) NOAA is not currently tracking MTAs and related agreements

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

All Licenses, Number Total Active(a)(b) 6 5 5 5 6

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 2

Invention Licenses, Total Active 6 5 5 5 6

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 2

Patent Licenses,(c) Total Active 6 5 5 5 6

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 2

Material Transfer Licenses Total Active(d) 

(Inventions)

0 0 0 0 0

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Other Invention Licenses, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Other IP Licenses, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

New, executed 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright Licenses (Fee Bearing) 0 0 0 0 0

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Material Transfer Licenses, Total Active 

(Non-Inventions) 0 0 0 0 0

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Other, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 0
44

Table 27 – Licensing Management

(a) No new licenses were executed in FY 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014. Two invention licenses were granted in FY

2015. Date of license application to the date of license execution. (Date of license application is the date the lab 

formally acknowledges the written request for a license from a prospective licensee and agrees to enter into 

negotiations.)

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Elapsed Execution Time,(a) Licenses 

Granted 

Invention Licenses

Average, Months 7 n.a. n.a. n.a. 3

Minimum n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Maximum n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Patent Licenses

Average, Months 7 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Minimum n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Maximum n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Licenses Terminated for Cause

Invention Licenses 0 0 0 0 0

Patent Licenses 0 0 0 0 0
45

Table 28 – Characteristics of Licenses Bearing Income

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

All Income Bearing Licenses, Total 

Number 3 3 5 5 4

Exclusive 0 0 0 0 1

Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Exclusive 3 3 5 5 3

Invention Licenses, Income Bearing 3 3 5 5 4

Exclusive 0 0 0 0 1

Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Exclusive 3 3 4 5 3

Patent Licenses, Income Bearing 3 3 5 5 4

Exclusive 0 0 0 0 1

Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Exclusive 3 3 5 5 3

Other IP Licenses, Income Bearing 0 0 0 0 0

Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright Licenses (Fee Bearing) 0 0 0 0 0

Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Partially Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

Non-Exclusive 0 0 0 0 0

All Royalty Bearing Licenses, Total 

Number

3 3 5 5 4

Invention Licenses, Royalty Bearing 3 3 5 5 2

Patent Licenses,Royalty Bearing 3 3 5 5 2

Other IP Licenses, Royalty Bearing 0 0 0 0 0

Copyright Licenses (Fee Bearing) 3 3 0 0 0
46

Table 29 – Income from Licenses

(a) Total income includes license issue fees, earned royalties, minimum annual royalties, paid-up license fees, and 

reimbursement for full-cost recovery of goods & services provided by the lab to the licensee including patent 

costs.

(b) “Earned royalty” = royalty based upon use of a licensed invention (usually, a percentage of sales or of units 

sold) not a license issue fee or a minimum royalty. 

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Total Income, All Licenses Active (a) $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $39,633

Invention Licenses $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $1,000

Patent Licenses $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $38,633

Other IP Licenses, Total Active $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Copyright Licenses $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Total Earned Royalty Income (ERI) (b) $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $39,633

Median ERI $34,000 $9,902 $11,000 $13,830 $500

Minimum ERI $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $500

Maximum ERI $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

ERI from Top 1% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

ERI from Top 5% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

ERI from Top 20% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

Invention Licenses $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $1,000

Median ERI $34,000 $9,902 $11,000 $13,830 $500

Minimum ERI $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $500

Maximum ERI $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $500

ERI from Top 1% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $500

ERI from Top 5% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $500

ERI from Top 20% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $500

Patent Licenses $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $38,633

Median ERI $34,000 $9,902 $11,000 $13,830 $38,633

Minimum ERI $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $38,633

Maximum ERI $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

ERI from Top 1% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

ERI from Top 5% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

ERI from Top 20% of Licenses $69,000 $89,965 $36,798 $50,000 $38,633

Other IP Licenses, Total Active $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
47

Table 30 – Disposition of License Income

(a) Income includes royalties and other payments received during the fiscal year.

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, MOUs, and Other Collaborations

NOAA’s labs, centers, and programs executed 14 new CRADAs in FY 2015. Ten of these 

agreements were with small businesses. Factoring in the new and expiring agreements, the total 

NOAA CRADA portfolio is now 28 active agreements. The labs additionally have reported 47

MoU and Other Collaborative R&D Agreements: 

• 5 Guest Researcher agreements, 

• 42 Memoranda of Understanding

o 12 International

o 13 US Private (9 qualify as small businesses)

o 15 Interagency/State

o 1 Academia 

o 1 Non-Profit

Table 31 – Collaborative Relationships for Research and Development

(a) Traditional CRADAs involve collaborative research and development projects by a Federal laboratory and nonFederal partners. 

(b) “Active” means an agreement in force at any time during the fiscal year. “Total active” is comprehensive of all 

agreements executed under CRADA authority (15 USC 3710a).

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Income Distributed (a)

Invention Licenses, Total Distributed $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $1,000

$34,266 $35,331 $16,740 $22,845 $1,000

32% 35% 34% 33% 100%

$72,954 $65,536 $32,058 $46,306 $0

68% 65% 66% 67% 0%

Patent Licenses, Total Distributed $107,220 $100,867 $48,798 $69,151 $38,633

$34,266 $35,331 $16,740 $22,845 $11,588

32% 35% 34% 33% 30%

$72,954 $65,536 $32,058 $46,306 $27,045

68% 65% 66% 67% 70% To Other

To Inventor(s)

To Other

To Inventor(s)

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Traditional CRADAs,(a) Total Active(b) 7 10 15 19 28

New, Executed 2 4 7 8 14

Non-Traditional CRADAs, Total Active 0 0 0 0 0

New, Executed 0 0 0 0 0

Other Types of Collaborative R&D Relationships

Guest Researcher Agreements n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 5

MOUs n.a. n.a. 14 50 42
48

Recent CRADA: NOAA and Envera LLC: Exploring Probiotics for Shellfish 

Aquaculture

NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Milford 

Laboratory in Connecticut has been studying shellfish 

since its founding in 1931. Historically, the Milford 

Laboratory has been supporting the shellfish farming 

(aquaculture) industry in the Northeast by conducting 

research in shellfish culture methods, improving the health 

of shellfish populations, and determining their interactions 

with the environment.

The Milford laboratory seeks to transfer new knowledge 

and technology directly to the U.S. aquaculture industry 

through key partnerships and collaborations. Most recently, the lab signed a CRADA with 

Envera LLC of West Chester, PA, to evaluate a newly isolated probiotic strain for possible 

commercial use in oyster hatcheries.

The use of probiotics in aquaculture first began in the mid-1980s as a way to increase the 

growth of water-based organisms (Martinez Cruz et al. 2012). NOAA Fisheries’ researchers 

have been studying various probiotic strains and their potential usefulness to the aquaculture 

industry ever since. In 2011, NOAA researchers reported they had isolated and evaluated a 

naturally occurring probiotic isolate, OY15, from the digestive glands of adult Eastern 

oysters (Crassostrea virginica). 

After determining this probiotic was safe to include in feed products for oysters, they 

discovered this particular probiotic strain improved the survival of growing shellfish larvae 

exposed to a shellfish larval pathogen by 20-35% (Lim et al. 2011, Kapareiko et al. 2011). 

NOAA Researchers successfully have adapted flow cytometry techniques used in hospitals to 

assess 10 Bacillus strains commercially available through Envera for their effects on immune 

functions of oyster hemocytes. The CRADA with Envera will provide the Milford 

Laboratory the expertise and preliminary work to determine if OY15 can be cultured 

effectively and economically in large-scale production, as well as produced in a stable 

formulation for future marketing. Confirmation of these two steps is necessary to move 

toward commercialization and marketing of Milford probiotic strain OY15 as a product 

available for purchase by commercial oyster growers. Envera’s innovative research and 

development expertise in large-scale production of microorganisms, product formulation, and 

shelf-life stabilization by freeze-drying or spray drying will provide the basis for eventual 

transfer of OY15 to commercial sale and use.

Data Products and Services

NOAA scientists provide details of their research and technology to the public in the form of 

products and services. These include weather and climate forecast data, El Niño prediction and 

monitoring, tides and currents, satellite imagery, fishery statistics, information on protected 

species, air quality, coastal conditions, beach temperatures, nautical charts, and databases on 

climate, oceans, ice, atmosphere, geophysics and the sun. These data are provided, often in realtime, through the network of NOAA data centers and websites. 

Eastern Oysters Source: NOAA
49

Making Better Use of NOAA Data - The NOAA Big Data Project (BDP)

On April 21, 2015, NOAA and the Department of Commerce announced that they had 

entered into CRADAs with Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, IBM, 

Microsoft, and the Open Cloud Consortium. Under these agreements, NOAA and its 

collaborators will research and explore new ways to enable the use of NOAA data, 

furthering the Department of Commerce's goals of improving decision-making by 

government, industry, and citizens; growing the economy; and creating jobs. The 

CRADAs provide an environment where NOAA and its collaborators can work, with the 

help of data alliances, representative ecosystems of value-added providers and data 

customers organized around each participating cloud provider and share an interest in the 

use of NOAA’s data. 

Each of the CRADAs signed with the five anchor collaborators is identical. By working 

under the shared language of this CRADA, NOAA establishes a level playing field that 

both protects the public’s interest in the data and allows private sector competitors to 

work in parallel to reduce the technical barriers and cost of efficient access to NOAA’s 

vast data portfolio. 

Decision Support Tools

NOAA’s labs and programs develop a wide variety of dedicated decision support software that 

brings data to the public in a user-friendly format to enable effective decision-support. In many 

cases, the development of these sites is in conjunction with academia and private sector partners.

MADIS

The newly operational Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) 

collects, checks, and organizes more than 7 million weather observations each day from 

around the world to help improve weather forecasting and support weather-based 

decision-making. MADIS data are accessible to National Weather Service (NWS)

forecasters, weather prediction models (both research and operational versions), NWS 

hydrometeorological applications, and to the public through the Web Service Portal at 

https://madis-data.noaa.gov/.
50

The MADIS team developed partnerships with more than 160 non-NOAA international, 

federal, state, and local agencies, universities, volunteer networks, and the private sector 

to integrate observations from their stations with those of NOAA. The MADIS data 

integration, quality control, and delivery services provide the greater meteorological 

community with an easy to use, standardized, high-quality observational database and 

delivery system. 

“MADIS data has proved incredibly helpful in increasing our overall awareness of major 

weather, especially wind, cold temperatures and storm systems,” said Chris Thompson, 

the Geographic Information Systems Manager at the Virginia Department of Emergency 

Management. “This information helps us understand what’s happening with the weather 

so we’re able to respond appropriately to situations that arise.”

Cooperative Institutes

NOAA supports a network of 16 Cooperative Institutes at 42 universities and research 

institutions across 23 states and the District of Columbia. Often, these Cooperative Institutes are 

in the same state as a NOAA laboratory, and Institute researchers are frequently co-located with 

NOAA scientists at NOAA labs. The work done through the Cooperative Institutes directly 

supports NOAA’s mission activities and results in similar technology transfer opportunities. 

NOAA’s Technology Partnerships Office works closely with the technology transfer offices 

from the Institutes to manage jointly intellectual property and seek out licensing partners.

Visiting Scientists - International Collaborations

In addition to NOAA’s Cooperative Institutes, a number of NOAA labs transfer technology by 

hosting visiting scientists, both domestic and international. To ensure that the United States 

benefits from and fully exploits scientific research and technology developed abroad, NOAA 

collaborates and shares information with organizations in countries throughout the world. 

Density of weather data resources provided under MADIS system. Source: NOAA
51

Through these international relationships, NOAA receives technology that may eventually 

benefit U.S. industries and public users. For example, the understanding and forecasting of 

global phenomena that occur in the atmosphere, oceans, and on the sun require worldwide 

collaboration and information sharing. This is accomplished through formal agreements with 

individual countries and participation in international organizations, such as the World 

Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), 

and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). 

NOAA participates in international scientific programs, such as in the Global Earth Observation 

System, and shares technology and scientific data with nearly 50 countries, the European 

Commission, and 29 international organizations. NOAA also provides technical assistance and 

training to individuals from other countries, and participates in an international visiting scientist 

program. Further, NOAA shares environmental data through its participation in the World Data 

Center program.

Publications44

In FY 2015, peer-reviewed publications by NOAA scientists totaled 1,860. The following charts 

show the breakdown of publications by subject, NOAA Line Office, R&D Unit, as well as coauthorship by institution and country. 

Table 32 – Number of Publications per Subject (Top 10)

 44 NOAA publications data for 2015 were derived on October 30, 2015, using queries through the Web of Science 

database. As a result of variations in titles and nomenclature, these data do not provide a comprehensive measure of 

all NOAA publications. This reporting includes only those publications by NOAA scientists that were captured by 

the search queries. Extramural publications funded by NOAA either directly or indirectly are also not included. 

Subject Publications

Meteorology Atmospheric Sciences 607

Marine Freshwater Biology 318

Oceanography 283

Fisheries 255

Environmental Sciences 211

Ecology 180

Geosciences Multidisciplinary 166

Multidisciplinary Sciences 108

Zoology 60

Engineering Ocean 57
52

Table 33 – Number of Publications per Line Office

Line Office Publications % of NOAA

NESDIS 209 10.6%

NMFS 715 36.2%

NOS 109 5.5%

NWS 172 8.7%

OAR 764 38.7%

Other 5 0.3%
53

Figure 5 – Intramural Publications per R&D Unit

ESRL

15%

GFDL

6%

NSSL

4%

AOML

4%

PMEL

5%

GLERL

2%

ARL

2%

SWFSC

8%

NWFSC

8%

AKFSC

7%

SEFSC

6%

PIFSC

2%

Other NMFS

6%

STAR

6%

NCEI

4%

Other NESDIS

1%

NCEP

1%

Other NWS

8%

NCCOS

3% Other NOS

2%

Source: Web of Science as of October 30, 2015

AKFSC Alaska Fisheries Science Center NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service

AOML Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory NOS National Ocean Service

ARL Air Resources Laboratory NSSL National Severe Storms Laboratory

ESRL Earth Systems Research Laboratory NWFSC Northwest Fisheries Science Center

GFDL Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory NWS National Weather Services

GLERL Great Lakes Ecosystems Research Laboratory PIFSC Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

NCCOS National Center for Coastal Ocean Sciences PMEL Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory

NCDC National Climate Data Center SEFSC Southeast Fisheries Science Center

NCEP National Centers for Environmental Prediction STAR Center for Satellite Applications and Research 

NEFSC Northeast Fisheries Science Center SWFSC Southwest Fisheries Science Center

NESDIS National Environmental, Satellite, Data and Information Service
54

Figure 6 – Co-Authored Publications by Institution (Top 15)45

 45 Source: Web of Science as of October 30th, 2015
55

Figure 7 – Co-Authored Publications by Country (Top 15) 46

Other Activities, Performance Measures Deemed Important 

Challenges/Prizes

NOAA is not currently leading any challenges/prizes.

Facilities Use 

While NOAA does not generally offer its facilities for public use, NOAA does regularly 

collaborate with the private sector and academia to test new technologies through its networks of 

testbeds and proving grounds. 

NOAA Testbeds

NOAA's testbeds and proving grounds facilitate the transition of promising research 

capabilities to operational implementation through development and pre-deployment 

testing, and operational readiness/suitability evaluation. NOAA maintains 11 individual 

testbeds related to weather, climate, and severe weather activities. The annual Federal 

Funding Opportunities for these testbeds attract technologies from academia, the private 

sector, and NOAA labs. Testbeds also provide essential funding for bridging the gap 

between R&D and implementation into operational use. 

 46 Source: Web of Science as of October 30th, 2015
56

NOAA Sterling, Virginia Field Support Center

The Sterling Field Support Center (SFSC) provides operational help to NOAA field 

personnel and the private sector through a combination of sensor testing, analysis and 

contact center support. The staff of the SFSC is comprised of a diverse mix of 

Meteorologists, Electrical Technicians, and Engineers. Collectively, SFSC personnel 

have many years of practical experience working with National Weather Service sensors 

and related equipment. The SFSC is responsible for the research, testing, and 

development of a variety of meteorological systems. These systems include the 

Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS), Radiosonde Replacement System (RRS), 

and Cooperative Observer Program (COOP).

Education and Outreach

National Ocean Sciences Bowl® Students Brief Leaders in Washington, DC

In June 2015, the National Champions of the 18th Annual National Ocean Sciences 

Bowl® (NOSB), Boise High School from Boise, Idaho, were invited to participate in 

Capitol Hill Oceans Week (CHOW), organized by the National Marine Sanctuaries 

Foundation. During the first-ever youth panel at CHOW, “The Wave of the Future: What 

Do the Youth of America Think?” Boise team captain, Nate Marshall, discussed how 

being part of NOSB has raised awareness of ocean issues and careers, as well as the 

impact residents of interior states have on the ocean.

The piece of legislation that students reviewed for the 2015 Science Expert Briefing (the 

mock congressional testimony that is a component of NOSB Final Competition) was the 

reauthorization of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (ICOOS) Act of 

2009.

The top placing team in the 2015 Science Expert Briefing was Thomas Jefferson High 

School for Science and Technology (Alexandria, Virginia) while Boise High School 

placed second. At the request of Zdenka Willis, Director of the U.S. Integrated Ocean 

Observing System at NOAA, both teams presented and discussed their recommendations 

with her and other Federal agency representatives on June 10th in Washington DC. 

Since 1998, NOAA has supported the National Ocean Sciences Bowl® with grants and 

volunteer time. The program introduces talented U.S. high school students to oceanrelated science, technology, engineering, and math fields and career pathways. This 

program affords learning opportunities to the students as well as their teachers, schools, 

and local communities that result in increased knowledge of ocean sciences and interest 

in stewardship of ocean resources.
57

Downstream Outcomes from NOAA’s Technology Transfer Activities

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) Acquires NOAA T2 spin-off, HWind Scientific, Plans 

to Integrate Team and Products

In 2014, the NOAA Technology Partnerships Office released a hurricane and storm surge 

modeling technology called H*Wind back to its original inventor, Dr. Mark Powell, to allow him 

to pursue his own startup company based on the technology. Dr. Powell, formerly of the NOAA 

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, retired from Federal service and 

successfully created the startup - HWIND Scientific - to deliver real-time hurricane field 

assessments to industry and government. In 2015, just one year after Dr. Powell founded the 

company, Risk Management Solutions, a noted catastrophe risk-modeling firm, acquired 

HWIND Scientific and will integrate its capabilities into their suite of products and services. 

NOAA, Partners, Survey 'Amazingly Intact' Historic WWII-Era Aircraft Carrier

As part of its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Boeing Corporation, 

NOAA scientists gathered in Half Moon Bay to use state of the art technology to survey the 

wreckage of the aircraft carrier the USS Independence, scuttled by the US Navy in 1951. 

"After 64 years on the seafloor, Independence sits on the bottom as if ready to launch its planes," 

said James Delgado, chief scientist on the Independence mission and maritime heritage director 

for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. "This ship fought a long, hard war in the 

Pacific and after the war was subjected to two atomic blasts that ripped through the ship. It is a 

reminder of the industrial might and skill of the "greatest generation' that sent not only this ship, 

but their loved ones to war."

NOAA's interest in Independence is part of a mandated and ongoing two-year mission to locate, 

map and study historic shipwrecks in Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and 

nearby waters. The carrier is one of an estimated 300 wrecks in the waters off San Francisco, and 

the deepest known shipwreck in the sanctuary.

The Echo Ranger, an 18.5-foot-long autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), provided by The 

Boeing Company through a cooperative research and development agreement with NOAA's 

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, conducted the mission. Boeing also collaborated

with technology company Coda Octopus to integrate its 3D-imaging sonar system, Echoscope, 

into the AUV.

"Boeing is excited for the opportunity to partner with NOAA to utilize this state of the art 

technology," said Fred Sheldon, Boeing project manager for AUVs. "The Echo Ranger is 

uniquely suited for this type of mission and performed perfectly allowing us to conduct a 

thorough survey of the USS Independence."

NOAA’s Science On a Sphere® Animations Coming to your Desktop

NOAA released a free, downloadable flat screen version of its popular Science On a Sphere® 

(SOS), SOS ExplorerTM. This new way to display the dynamics of Earth’s weather and climate, 

plate tectonics and more will help teachers bring these stunning science visualizations, usually 

found at museums and science centers, into the classroom, where students can learn by 

exploring.
58

“Bringing SOS ExplorerTM into the classroom and having it as a visual tool is a huge help 

because students can see numbers and they doesn’t make much sense,” said Jayme MargolinSneider, a middle school science teacher at Westview Middle School in Longmont, Colorado. 

“But when we show it to them in an animation or a simulation, the lightbulb goes on.”

SOS ExplorerTM uses off-the shelf video gaming technology. “The gaming industry is a multibillion dollar industry. It surpassed Hollywood in terms of revenue and it’s really using cuttingedge technology,” said Eric Hackathorn, lead SOS Explorer developer at NOAA’s Earth System 

Research Laboratory (ESRL) Global Systems Division in Boulder, Colorado. “By leveraging 

that technology we can create very effective visualizations.”

Future versions of SOS ExplorerTM will include the entire SOS® library—hundreds of 

visualizations of earthquakes, hurricanes, climate change and much more. Users will even be 

able to add their own content and write their own tours. The current version of SOS ExplorerTM

is available free of charge to everyone.

Arctic Shield 2015: Autonomous and Piloted Aircraft Fly Search and Rescue Exercise

NOAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program Office, working together with 

representatives of AeroVironment Inc., conducted a Search and Rescue Exercise, called Arctic 

Shield, in the waters north of Alaska to test the utility of integrating unmanned aircraft into a 

simulated response incident.

Working from the deck of the US Coast Guard Cutter HEALY, the research team launched a 

small, unmanned aircraft, the AeroVironment Puma, to search for a simulated missing person 

stranded in the icy waters. Following the launch, the Puma used both its electro-optical and 

infrared cameras to locate the simulated victim, affectionately named Thermal Oscar, floating in 

a survival raft on the water approximately one nautical mile away from the ship. 

The Puma was able to relay the coordinates to the test control center on board the HEALY, 

which then directed a Coast Guard H-60 and ERA Helicopter to the scene. Both helos deployed 

rescue swimmers to simulate recovery and then returned safely to shore. The exercise concluded 

with a successful net capture of the Puma UAS and a recovery of the survival raft by the 

HEALY. 

Much of this mission occurred under the auspices of a CRADA between NOAA and 

Aerovironment. The CRADA in this case allows NOAA and Aerovironment to test UAS 

capabilities in a series of real-life mission-based scenarios. Both NOAA and Aerovironment will 

analyze the results from these tests in order to improve NOAA's operational capabilities and 

Aerovironment's products.

Hollings Lab and Algaeventure Systems: Looking for Benefits in Harmful Algal Blooms

The NOAA Ocean Service Hollings Marine Laboratory CRADA, with Algaeventure Systems 

(dba Biosortia Pharmaceuticals), originally signed in 2012 and recently amended in 2014, has 

resulted in a wide array of successful outcomes for NOAA and for its CRADA partners. Under 

the CRADA, NOAA is working with academia, industry and government entities that wish to 

screen toxic substances present in algal blooms for use in pharmaceuticals and other commercial 

applications, while also producing mission-based data products for water quality managers and 

homeland security applications. 
59

“The technology that Algaeventure Systems (AVS) brings to bloom analysis is incredible,” says 

Dr. Peter Moeller, the PI on the CRADA at NOAA’s Hollings facility. “It has changed and will 

continue to change the way we assess blooms and their secondary metabolites (i.e. toxins and 

other bioactive molecules). The really cool part of this program is that many of the organisms we 

assess are non-culturable in the lab, yet produce highly toxic compounds. AVS/Biosortia is 

tapping into a huge, completely novel source of natural products.”

According to Moeller, NOAA has “submitted over 4,600 discrete biologically active extracts or 

purified fractions to our partners for testing and commercial development. We already have one 

patent (euglenophycin) based on this work, which is a compound being tested to capitalize on its 

angiogenic properties (e.g. to treat leukemia).” 

In support of NOAA’s mission, the research generates analytical detection method(s) for each 

toxin/metabolite of interest. Any water quality platform can incorporate the method/data to aid 

managers and decision makers. The research has also led to rapid toxin ID methods used in 

combating bioterrorism. These methods include mass spectrometry, liquid chromatographymass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).

“We currently have both national and international requests for toxin standards, an area we are 

just beginning to look into,” says Moeller. “The CRADA allows us to freely access tons of 

microbial biomass within hours/days – biomass on a scale unattainable prior to Algaeventure 

Systems developing their harvesting technology. This has obviated the need for historically time 

consuming and expensive mass cultures. It also allows us to assess the microbial consortia in a 

given bloom rather than a single selected organism. This is very important, as all blooms are a 

mixture of microbes (algae, fungi, bacteria) that play off each other, generating secondary 

metabolites that could potentially be used as chemical warfare agents. These metabolites are 

frequently toxic to mammals, so they are of great concern to water quality managers.”

NOAA Receives Patent for Novel Feeder for Juvenile and Larval Fishes

In 2015, the US Patent and Trademark Office awarded a patent to Thomas Scott for his 

innovative fish feeder that allows fish farmers to feed young fish on a recurrent basis while 

protecting the feed from oxidation and clumping. NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center 

in Seattle developed this feeder.

The device combines off-the-shelf solenoids and controller software with an innovative

dispensing unit that uses forced nitrogen gas to both deliver the feed and keep the environment

free from oxygen and moisture. The feeder can deliver small (ca. 20mg), precise doses of

microparticulate (ca. 100 μm diameter) feed to selected locations.

Gravity carries feed into a firing chamber from the hopper above. A small vibrating device aids 

in settling the feed into the chamber. The precision of the feeder allows for very small doses, as

well as adjustments for specific diet characteristics such as dry weight equivalence and particle

density. Moreover, the basic controller software allows the operator to control the system and

receive any warnings directly on their cell phone.
60

NOAA Licenses Two Aerosol Measurement Devices to Boulder, CO, Company Handix, 

LLC for Commercialization in China

The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office successfully negotiated two license agreements for 

two atmospheric sensors developed at the Earth System Research Laboratory, Chemical Sciences 

Division (CSD) in Boulder, CO. The first technology, a Printed Optical Spectrometer, measures 

aerosol particle sizes, which are important for determining the interactions of the particles with 

light and hence their effects on climate. 

Principal Investigator Ru-Shan Gao used CSD's three-dimensional printing capability to produce 

the structural components from the plastic raw starting material, and added new inexpensive 

lasers, optical detectors, electronics, and a miniaturized pump. Innovations of the design and 

fabrication approach led to not only the small size of the instrument, but also to its relatively low 

cost; the device is about a tenth the size – and a fifth of the price tag – of currently available 

instruments in its performance class.

The second instrument, a Portable Aerosol Generator, generates aerosol for particle instrument 

characterizations and calibrations. Using a small compressor and a medical nebulizer, the PAG 

can generate a continuous flow of air/particle mixture. The device is portable, simple, and quiet 

to operate. 

Handix, LLC, a company based in Boulder, Colorado, with strong capabilities in the Chinese 

market licensed both devices.

Based on the Strength of Past Successes, NOAA and Google Extend their Cooperative 

R&D Agreement

In July 2015, NOAA and Google signed an extension to their 2010 Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreement with the goal of building on past successes. The new agreement allows 

for easier personnel exchanges between NOAA and Google, and has already resulted in a threemonth detail for a staffer from the National Ocean Service to the Google campus. The previous 

iteration of the CRADA resulted in a wide range of successes including the release of Google

Earth’s Ocean View (http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/ocean.html ) in 2014. 

Awards and Recognition

NOAA Microparticulate Feeder for Fish Wins Federal Laboratory Consortium 

Regional Award

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC), which is a nationwide network of Federal lab representatives helping to link Federal labs to the 

marketplace, awarded NOAA with its Outstanding Technology Development in the Far 

West Region for its newly patented fish feeder.

Tom Scott at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington 

developed the Microparticulate Feeder for Larval and Juvenile Fish to meet research and 

development needs at the aquaculture facility. The device automatically feeds young fish 

on a recurrent basis while protecting the feed from oxidation and clumping. The device’s 

precise dosing capabilities, along with its reliability over many feedings, have made it a 
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boon for the NOAA fisheries facility. The technology was also awarded a U.S. patent and 

is now available for licensing by a qualified U.S. company.

The FLC Far West Region awards were presented at the organization’s annual awards 

dinner on Wednesday August 26th, 2015 as part of the Far West/Mid-Continent Regional 

Meeting in San Diego, CA.

NOAA Technology Transfer Awards

NOAA selected four projects to receive the Agency’s Technology Transfer Award in 2015. 

These projects exemplified the highest standard for developing a new technology in cooperation 

with private sector partners in the service of NOAA’s mission. 

• Elaine Harrell and Shawn Puyear

For developing a real-time, online monitoring and tracking system for Gulf of 

Mexico and Highly Migratory Species catch share programs.

• Ian Taylor

For leading development, management, dissemination, and teaching of R4SS to 

improve the assessment and management of the nation’s fisheries resources.

• Timothy S. Hunter

For demonstrated success in, and commitment to, transferring 

hydrometeorological research and data products to international and Great Lakes 

constituents.

• John A. Ogren, Patrick J. Sheridan, and James W. Wendell

For developing a small and robust instrument to monitor light absorption by 

atmospheric aerosols, and recruiting a manufacturer to produce it commercially.
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CHAPTER 4 National Telecommunications and Information Administration: 

Institute for Telecommunication Sciences

ITS is the research and engineering arm of NTIA and performs telecommunications research to 

provide technical engineering support to NTIA. ITS also serves as a principal Federal resource 

for solving telecommunications concerns of other Federal agencies, state and local governments, 

private corporations and associations, and international organizations through Interagency 

Agreements and CRADAs. Three-quarters of ITS research programs involve other Federal 

agencies; state, local and tribal governments; private corporations and associations; or 

international organizations. This includes assisting the FCC and Federal defense, public safety, 

and other agencies that use Federal and non-Federal spectrum.

Approach and Plans for Technology Transfer

ITS efforts in technology transfer and commercialization foster cooperative telecommunications 

research in areas where U.S. companies can directly benefit from improved competitiveness and 

market opportunities. ITS uses three principal means for achieving technology transfer: 

• Cooperative research and development;

• Technical publications; and

• Leadership and technical contributions in the development of telecommunications 

standards.

ITS Work Products and Collaborative Activities

Cooperative Research and Development

ITS is authorized under the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 (FTTA) to enter into 

cooperative research agreements with private industry, universities, and other interested parties. 

ITS CRADAs protect proprietary information, grant patent rights, and provide for user licenses 

to private entities. They also provide the legal basis for shared use of government facilities and 

resources with the private sector. 

In FY 2015, ITS participated, as it has for a number of years, in CRADAs with private-sector 

organizations to design, develop, test, and evaluate advanced telecommunication concepts. 

CRADAs provide ITS with insights into industry’s needs for productivity, growth, and 

competitiveness. This enables ITS to adjust the focus and direction of its programs for 

effectiveness and value. The private industry partner benefits by gaining access to the results of 

research in commercially important areas that it would not otherwise be able to undertake.

To date, CRADAs achieved major contributions to personal communication services (PCS), 

local multipoint distribution service (LMDS), ultra-wideband (UWB), objective audio and video 

quality, advanced antennas for wireless systems, and remote sensing and global position (GPS) 

technologies. These have aided U.S. efforts to introduce new socially constructive 

communications technologies. More recently, CRADAs in the areas of high resolution laser 

radar (LADAR), autonomous networks for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and broadband 

air-interface and core network capabilities for Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile 

communications have allowed ITS to contribute to the development of new products and 

services.
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ITS is a partner program with the NIST Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL) in the 

Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR). The focus of PSCR is to improve first 

responder communications and interoperability through the development of communication 

standards, research, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E). This joint program has been operating for 

close to two decades on behalf of sponsors at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and 

the Department of Justice (DOJ). Since the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet)47

became operational, PSCR’s research scope has expanded to support FirstNet’s work toward 

creation of a nationwide broadband wireless network dedicated to public safety agencies through 

RDT&E of equipment that may help both build the network and communicate over it.

The vast majority of CRADAs ITS has entered into in the past five years are the Public Safety 

700 MHz Broadband Demonstration Agreements. These agreements allow vendors, including 

equipment manufacturers and wireless carriers who intend to supply 700 MHz LTE equipment 

and service to public safety organizations, to operate various elements of an LTE network in the 

PSCR test bed and over-the-air (OTA) network (both hosted and managed by ITS). This allows 

these vendors to test the interoperability of public safety communications equipment under 

simulated field conditions, with the participation of public safety practitioners. At the close of 

FY 2015, 49 CRADAs were in place under this program. The CRADAs protect the intellectual 

property of vendors and manufacturers and encourage participation in testing that simulates real 

multi-vendor environments in the field. This is the first government or independent facility in the 

U.S. capable of testing or demonstrating public-safety-specific LTE implementation 

requirements.

Table 34 – Collaborative Relationships for Research & Development

(a) ITS Telecommunications Analysis Services (TA Services), discontinued in FY 2012, provided Web-based 

analysis support on a cost-reimbursable basis for wireless system design/evaluation and site selection to private 

industry and public agencies through on-demand electronic CRADAs. The programing language used for TA 

Services is too old to update. Other service applications may be developed in the future depending on funding.

 47 http://www.firstnet.gov/

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

CRADAs

Number of Active CRADAs 32 62 81 60 56

Number of Newly Executed CRADAs 17 30 30 11 53

Active CRADAs with Small Businesses Involvement -- -- 17 12 12

Number of Small Businesses Involved in Active CRADAs -- -- 17 12 12

Traditional CRADAs

Active Traditional CRADAs 23 60 81 60 56

Newly Executed Traditional CRADAs 10 28 30 11 53

Non-Traditional CRADAs(a)

Active Non-Traditional CRADAs 9 2 0 0 0

Newly Executed Non-Traditional CRADAs 7 2 0 0 0
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Technical Publications

Publication historically has been the means through which ITS has transferred research results to 

other researchers, the commercial sector, and government agencies. Many of ITS technical 

publications (internal reports, monographs, and peer-reviewed articles in external scientific 

journals) are standard references in several telecommunications areas and remain a principal 

means for ITS technology transfer. Most of these technical publications are released only after 

going through an internal peer review process managed by the ITS Editorial Review Board 

(ERB). Scientific journals or conference proceedings published externally approximately half of 

the publications released through the ERB process in FY 2015 and the other half became NTIA 

reports. At one time, ITS only tracked official NTIA publications, but recently it became 

apparent that journal articles and conference papers have equal, and sometimes greater, reach in 

transferring new tools and discoveries, so NTIA now counts all publications. 

Technical Publications Downloaded

ITS makes all of its publications available to the public through its Web site and provides online 

users with advanced search capabilities that will locate relevant publications by keyword. To 

ensure a meaningful and realistic metric, ITS counts actual PDF downloads of publications rather 

than page views of the bibliographic summaries. In FY 2015, there were 9,048 downloads of ITS 

technical publications, a 17% increase over the prior year.

Consumer Digital Video Library Users Downloading Clips

In FY 2010, ITS began development of the Consumer Digital Video Library (CDVL), a web site 

hosted and maintained by ITS to provide researchers access to high quality, uncompressed video 

clips royalty-free for use in video processing and product development and testing. The technical 

committee for this collaborative project includes industry and academic representatives as well 

as ITS and Public Safety Communications Research staff.

ITS launched the site with 1,000 clips and clips continue to be added by ITS and other 

collaborators. There were over 2,000 different video clips downloaded from the library in FY 

2015. Users must register for each download or upload session. The number of registrants who 

perform downloads each year was selected as the most significant measure of the impact of this 

resource, and collection of information on the number of registered users began in FY 2011. This 

number experienced a significant spike in FY 2013, probably due to the publication of a number 

of journal articles describing CDVL; annual rates of between 180 and 200 users are consistent 

with the target audience for this library.

Licensing 

ITS stopped licensing software technology in FY 2008. Therefore, there are no reports of 

licensing metrics. 

Software and Data Downloads

Instead of using licenses, ITS makes several software and data tools available via open-source 

download. Reliable and robust methods of counting downloads of these tools took some time to 

develop. Video quality measurement (VQM) downloads were reported for the first time in FY 

2013 and other downloads were reported for the first time for FY 2014.
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Propagation Prediction: ITS is, and has been for decades, a world leader in the development of 

models and methods for accurate prediction of radio propagation and ITS freely shares 

propagation prediction algorithms through publications. In addition, software developed to 

predict propagation for planned communications systems through input of specific parameters to 

these algorithms has been developed and shared over the years, as have some data sets for testing

and validating propagation prediction models. The majority of software/data downloads on the 

ITS web site are for propagation prediction tools.

Audio Quality Testing: In FY 2013, ITS developed an objective estimator of speech 

intelligibility that follows the paradigm of the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT). The Articulation 

Band Correlation MRT (ABC-MRT) consumes a tiny fraction of the resources required by MRT 

testing and provides excellent estimates of MRT intelligibility results (Pearson correlations of 

.95–.99). ABC-MRT tools and MRT databases are available for download through the ITS web 

site, as well as a variety of other sample clips for audio quality testing. 

Video Quality Measurement Software: ITS VQM software tools use an objective VQM method, 

that ANSI made a national standard to estimate the quality of video impairments, providing users 

an inexpensive alternative to viewer panels for testing new transmission technologies. In FY 

2015, 507 users downloaded the VQM software. The Web-Enabled Subjective Test (WEST) 

software package, also freely available for download, facilitates the gathering of subjective 

testing data from multiple locations and multiple portable or computing devices. .

Table 35 – Other Performance Measures Deemed Important by the Agency

Development of Telecommunication Standards48

ITS works with industry to apply research results to the development of telecommunication 

performance standards and guidelines. For several decades, ITS has provided leadership and 

technical contributions to organizations, both national and international, responsible for 

developing telecommunication standards. ITS’s technical inputs are relied upon as technically 

advanced, sound and unbiased by commercial interests.

ITS works collaboratively with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Alliance 

for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), and various Federal public safety groups to 

interpret and analyze standards and regulations. This method of ITS technology transfer directly 

addresses improvement of U.S. competitiveness in telecommunications. For example, a plurality 

of the technical recommendations of the ITU, a treaty organization, are based on research 

 48 In 2004, ITS added a collaborative standards contributions measure for participation on standards committees. As 

standards bodies increasingly move towards digital collaboration methods using wikis, email threads, and discussion 

boards, it has become impossible to define what constitutes a single “contribution.” This metric was discontinued in 

FY 2013.

FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

Technical Publications Released 15 13 24 18 22

Technical Publications Downloaded n.a. n.a. 7,174 7,707 9,048

Consumer Digital Video Library Users Downloading 242 187 418 184 212

Video Quality Metric Software Users Downloading n.a. n.a. 591 685 507

Propagation Modeling Software Downloads n.a. n.a. n.a. 717 798

Other Software/Data Downloads n.a. n.a. n.a. 489 493
66

conducted at ITS. In addition, key national quality-of-service standards developed under the 

ANSI T1 committee for video, audio, and digital data incorporate research results obtained at 

ITS. ITS continues to chair numerous committees and working groups in the ITU, ATIS, and 

other telecommunication standards organizations, providing technical leadership that is trusted 

by the commercial-sector participants.

In FY 2015, ITS staff held 36 positions on 32 different bodies in six standards development 

organizations. ITS staff filled numerous key leadership positions in the ITU Radio

communication Sector (ITU-R), including International Vice-Chair and U.S. Chair of the ITU’s 

Study Group 3 (SG3), International Chair of the SG3 Working Party 3K, and U.S. Chair or Cochair of four other Working Parties and one Correspondence Group. ITS staff members also hold 

the positions of U.S. Chair of ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study 

Group 9 and Co-chair of the ITU Intersector Rapporteur Group on Audiovisual Quality 

Assessment. ITS also continued its technical leadership and contributions to communications 

standards for public safety, particularly for first responders. 

Downstream Outcomes from ITS Technology Transfer Activities

Telecommunication Standards

ITS authored six of the eleven technical contributions on various engineering issues and subject 

areas submitted by the U.S. during the 2015 ITU-R SG3 meetings. ITS engineers led the 

Correspondence Group on Building Entry Loss, which is critical to LTE deployment across the 

world and represents millions, if not billions, of dollars in potential commercial development. 

ITS researchers also presented four U.S. technical contributions at the 2015 ITU-T Study Group 

9 meeting. 

Intense participation by ITS staff in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards 

development process on behalf of FirstNet resulted in Proximity Services and Group 

Communications requirements being included in 3GPP Release 12 and Mission Critical Push to 

Talk being included in the final agenda for 3GPP Release 13. These features are critical to 

ensuring that LTE can meet public safety’s requirements and will be a prerequisite for FirstNet 

to offer mission-critical voice (MCV) on the new Band Class 14 nationwide interoperable public 

safety communications network when these capabilities become available.

Table Mountain Research

The ITS Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone in Colorado supports fundamental 

research in the nature, interaction, and evaluation of telecommunication devices, systems, and 

services. Each year, private companies, universities, and other organizations conduct research at 

Table Mountain under CRADAs. 

In FY 2015, several companies used the Table Mountain site under a CRADA to test safely and 

demonstrate LADAR technologies under development in atmospheric conditions and at distances 

relevant to potential applications and to test fully the functionality of new antenna designs during 

product development. Additionally, the site allowed for safe and accurate tests of an Adaptive 

Tactical Laser System (ATLAS) compensated beacon adaptive optics (CBAO) system under 

development.
67

For the past nine years, the University of Colorado’s Research and Engineering Center for 

Unmanned Vehicles safely and accurately tested collective and autonomous sensing and 

communication technologies for small unmanned aircraft at Table Mountain.

Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies is in its fifteenth year of field-testing and characterizing 

components, subsystems and systems for eye-safe coherent laser radar. This has benefited NTIA 

and the Department of Defense.

Video Quality Research

Industry and academia both use CDVL and the VQM tools for research into new techniques for 

transmitting video. The research tests codes, evaluates new display technologies, or validates

new standards. For example, ITU-T Study Group 12 has used CDVL clips for research into the 

development of parametric models and tools for multimedia quality assessment and the MPEG 

committee opened a conversation with ITS about using the CDVL video clips for validation 

testing of new video coding standards. 

Public Safety Broadband Demonstration Network

The PSCR Public Safety Broadband (PSBB) Demonstration Network, established in the ITS labs 

in FY 2010 by the Public Safety Communications Research program, facilitates accelerated 

development of testing for emerging LTE broadband equipment specific to public safety. . This 

network provides a central and independent test bed/laboratory to help public safety 

organizations understand 3GPP Band 14 LTE. Through CRADAs that protect their intellectual 

property, manufacturers and carriers test the deployment of 700 MHz systems under 

development in this multi-vendor environment and execute public-safety specific test cases to 

provide proof of concepts and improve the quality of future systems. This cooperative program 

provides ITS with guidance to develop technical contributions toward LTE standards to support 

public safety and FirstNet requirements. This work advances the development of new public 

safety communications equipment that will eventually operate on the nationwide public safety 

broadband network.
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SUMMARY

Technology transfer is an essential mission of DOC, using our Nation’s innovation and 

investment in science and technology to strengthen our economy and competitiveness in world 

markets. This report details the results of collaborative technology activities originating from 

DOC’s Federal laboratories. Federal research is a complex process that provides the opportunity 

for new ideas and innovations to achieve practical application for the benefit of U.S. citizens. 

The success stories in this report provide examples of how society benefits from technology 

transfer activities across DOC’s Federal laboratories. As knowledge advances and the needs of 

the economy change DOC, through its Federal laboratories, will continue to play a role in 

keeping America in the forefront of innovation and supporting our economy by aiding in the 

transfer and commercialization of innovative technologies.