NIST Centers of Excellence (COEs)

Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology

June 19-20, 2012

Dr. Willie E. May

Associate Director for Laboratory Programs, NIST
1901 2012

Since our inception, in addition to maintaining the more traditional

National physical standards, we have also focused a significant

portion of our research and measurement services activities on

addressing contemporary societal needs.

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Partnerships with Industry are Critical for 

NIST to carry out its Mission 

Industry Driven Consortia

Manufacturing Extension 

Partnership
Institute for Bioscience and 

Biotechnology Research (IBBR)

NIST + University of Maryland 

Biotechnology Institute

JILA

NIST + University of Colorado

As are our partnerships with academia –

NIST has four joint institutes and about to launch another

Hollings Marine Laboratory

NIST + NOAA + SCDNR

+ College of Charleston

+ Medical University of South Carolina 

Joint Quantum Institute

NIST + University of Maryland + NSA
President’s FY13 Budget Request 

• Incudes $20M for NIST to create up to 4 competitively-selected centers 

focused on emerging areas of national need, such as:

• Advanced communications

• Advanced manufacturing

• Biomanufacturing

• Cyberphysical systems

• Materials modeling and design

• Quantitative biology

• Centers would complement and extend NIST’s measurement science 

capabilities and facilities in critical areas of emerging technologies 

• Centers would/could expand NIST’s presence beyond its two 

campuses in Gaithersburg and Boulder
Immediate Questions to be Answered

 Nature of the New Centers

– Aligned with a subset of NIST investment priority areas?

– OU based

– All new or can some resources be used to augment existing Joint 

Institutes?

– Pick one winner and invest all the chips?

 Governance Model

 Basis for selection
Proposed Framework and Governance Model

• Each Center will operate on one-year, annually renewable 

cooperative agreements, contingent on a successful annual 

review and funding availability, for a period not to exceed 5 years.

• Wonder if this is realistic

• An executive board, comprised of NIST, institutional staff, and 

optionally an industrial liaison member(s), will have primary 

decision-making authority. 

• Technical research staff to be supplied by both NIST and the 

partner institution, with opportunities for personnel exchanges 

between the two.

• NIST will conduct a review of all programs at each Center on 

an annual basis, and the Center should submit an annual 

progress report for the previous year as well as a proposed 

program plan for the upcoming year.

• Wonder if this is realistic
Proposed Selection Criteria 

Proposers will need to address:

• Strengths and expertise in regards to technical personnel and 

programmatic resources (staff, facilities, equipment, external 

partnerships) in a specific topic area. 

• Ability to develop measurement science to promote innovation in a 

specific topic area using pre-existing expertise and capabilities as a 

foundation.

• Quality of the proposed research activities to be undertaken

• Capability of providing a cohesive, collaborative, and 

multidisciplinary research environment. 

• Proposed collaborative research with NIST researchers

• Clearly-articulated plan to engage industry in providing research 

direction and dissemination of measurement science to industry. 

• Geographical diversity 

We’d like your input 
FY12: National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) 

($10M)

 Public-private collaboration to design, implement, test, and 

demonstrate integrated cybersecurity solutions and promote their 

widespread adoption. 

 Center hosts “Use Cases” that:

– Represent complex cybersecurity business challenges 

– Require an integrated solution that has clear benefits for one or more 

particular industry sectors 

 Results from NCCoE projects will be shared with the broad IT user 

and vendor communities.

 “Use Cases” demonstrate cybersecurity principles and practices 

that are feasible for businesses and measure them against 

standards.

– Health Care IT Use Case - Q4FY12

– Cloud IT Use Case - Q1FY13

– Continuous Monitoring Use Case - Q1FY13

www.nist.gov/itl/csd/nccoe-022112.cfm

www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/upload/nccoe.pdf

The State of Maryland and Montgomery County, Md., will partner with NIST 

in the New National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed Feb. 21, 2012

Photo Credit: NIST
Thanks for Your Attention 

Willie E. May

Associate Director for Laboratory Programs & Deputy Director

National Institute of Standards and Technology

100 Bureau Drive

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-1000

(301) 975-2300

wem@nist.gov

Questions and Comments?