VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (VCAT or Committee)

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 4TH and 5th, 2019 MEETING

GAITHERSBURG, MD 

ATTENDANCE:

Visiting Committee 

Members Attending

Adler, Allen

Alexander, Jay

Brooks, Rodney

Cerf, Vinton

Colwell, Rita

Fischer, George 

Garvey, Michael (Mike)

Ishak, Waguih 

Jackson, Keoki

Kaler, Eric

Khan, Mehmood

Ku, Katharine

Prafullchandra, Hemma

Sizer, Theodore (Tod)

Vasko, David (Dave)

Wasserman, Gail

Designated Federal Officer 

Shaw, Stephanie 

NIST Leadership Board 

Boehm, Jason 

Brockett, Del

Copan, Walter

Dimeo, Rob

Dowell, Marla

Fangmeyer, Bob

Gayle, Frank

Harary, Howard

Jenkins, George

Kimball, Kevin 

Lin, Eric

Mackey, Elizabeth

Olthoff, James

Porch, Susanne

Romine, Charles 

Schiller, Susannah

Singerman, Phillip

Thomas, Carroll 

Vaughn, Robert (Skip)

Williams, Carl

Wixon, Henry 

NIST Staff 

Allocca, Clare

Andrade, Dorianna

Avila, Regina

Baltic, George

Borchers, Julie

Bunch, Robin

Coraggio, Mary-Deirdre

Davis, Ben

Davis, Rick

Dohne, Kirk

Espinal, Laura

Evans, Heather

Fasolka, Michael

Fowler, James

Fronczek, Lisa Jean

Gendron, Cheryl

Gibson, Samantha

Goldstein, Barbara

Gonzalez, Carlos

Hain, Toby

Hardis, Jonathan

Hendricks, Jay

Hickernell, Robert*

Hight-Walker, Angela

Holbrook, David

Huergo, Jennifer

Ivy, Nahla

Jillavenkatesa, Ajit

Jones, Ron

Kramar, John

Kushmerick, James

Lawson, Jeremy

Lee, Sue

Liang, Hong

Lin-Gibson, Sheng

Madsen, Mark

McBride, Timothy

McCasey, Olivia

McTigue, Kathleen

Na, Charles 

Nair, Rajesh

Neumann, Dan

Newton, Thomas

Pevenstein, Jack E.

Pierce, Donald

Rhyne, James

Rudnitsky, Robert

Saundry, Claire

Sberegaeva, Anna

Schlenoff, Craig

Scholl, Matthew

Schufreider, James

Seiler, David

Semerjian, Hratch

Shen, Vincent

Shyam-Sunder, Sivaraj

Silverthorn, Courtney

St. Pierre, Jim

Stubblefield, Nicholas

Szakal, Christopher

Tabassi, Elham

Tarlov, Michael

Thorne, Roger

VanLandingham, Mark

Walker, Troy

Warren, James

Welsh, Kelly

Zangmeister, Rebecca

Zielinski, Paul

Zimmerman, Neil

Zimmerman, Steven

Others

Ambrose, Mitch – American 

 Institute of Physics*

Bender, Avi – National 

 Technical Information 

 Service

Hore, Michael – Case Western 

 Reserve University

King, Hubert – ExxonMobil 

 Corporate Strategic 

 Research

Kung, Harriet - Department of 

 Energy

Lee, Peter – Department of 

 Energy
Lee, Young – Stanford 

 University

Leland, Cogliani – Lewis-Burke

 Associates LLC

Louca, Despina – University of 

 Virginia

Milliken, Lindsay – Lewis- 

 Burke Associates LLC

Parker, Lynne – Office of 

 Science & Technology 

 Policy

Phillips, Julia – American 

 Physical Society

Slakos, Frances – American 

 Physical Society

Staskiewicz, Samantha –

 American Institute of 

 Physics

Tessema, Guebre – National 

 Science Foundation

Wagner, Norman – University 

 of Delaware *Participated Remotely
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Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Call to Order - Dr. Rita Colwell, VCAT Chair

Dr. Colwell called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. and reviewed meeting logistics. Dr. Colwell introduced the 

three new members to the Committee – Dr. Vinton Cerf, Dr. Mehmood Khan, and Dr. Eric Kaler – and 

welcomed them. Dr. Colwell turned the meeting over to Dr. Copan.

SESSION I: NIST UPDATE

NIST Update and Agenda Review – Dr. Walter Copan, Under Secretary of 

Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director

Dr. Copan began his presentation with the summary of the program agenda items for the day. He also 

announced that unfortunately Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, the Policy Director of the Office of Science and 

Technology, was called away at the last moment and would not be able to provide the overview for Session II, 

Administration’s Priorities for Science and Technology, however, Dr. Jason Boehm would provide an overview 

on national and NIST strategic priorities. Dr. Copan then welcomed and provided a brief background summary 

of the new VCAT members, Dr. Vinton Cerf, Dr. Mehmood Khan, and Dr. Eric Kaler.

Dr. Copan provided an update to the VCAT on NIST activities and program that had taken place since the 

previous meeting. Dr. Copan’s talk covered the current NIST budget situation, recent programmatic highlights, 

steps NIST is taking to address challenges related to security, how NIST is addressing equity in career 

advancement, as well as highlights of recent international engagement. The full talk can be found at

https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2019/06/03/i.copan_.-vcat_060419-corrected.v2.pdf, and a 

summary of the key points is provided.

In the budget overview, Dr. Copan mentioned that there is approximately a 33 percent reduction in the FY 2020 

budget from the enacted FY 2019 budget. The President's FY 2020 budget request:

• Prioritizes NIST's core measurement science mission;

• Prioritizes support for NIST's role in quantum science, artificial intelligence, and microelectronicsrelated Research and Development (R&D);

• Eliminates funding for MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership); and

• Supports NIST's Boulder Building 1 project (through GSA Federal Capital Revolving Fund.

Dr. Copan next highlighted a number of key programmatic achievements that had taken place over the past 

several months including:

• The historic redefinition of the International System of Units (SI). In November 2018 a vote took place

to redefine the SI units based on the fundamental constants of nature, and on May 20, 2019, on the 

World Metrology Day, the new system went into effect. Four of the seven base units of the SI have 

been redefined due to the replacement of the artifactual kilogram.

• Dr. Copan thanked all that contributed on the review of the Return on Investment Final Green Paper 

and stated that it was published April 24, 2019, as the NIST Publication 1234. Dr. Copan laid out 

plans for further community engagement and the development of actions to address the findings laid 

out in the Green Paper.

• Dr. Copan highlighted several of the technical break throughs NIST has achieved in precision 

measurement including the demonstration of the latest generation atomic clock which uses the 

frequency comb technology and operates based on the vibrations or “ticks” of the rubidium atom. This 

next generation atomic clock is one of the NIST-on-a-Chip technology commercialization efforts that 

NIST is looking to advance with commercial and academic partners.

• In the area of advanced manufacturing, Dr. Copan mentioned several NIST activities. NIST's 

leadership role in Manufacturing USA provides strong coordination with Department of Energy (DoE), 

Department of Defense (DoD), and Department of Commerce (DoC). DoE announced there is a new 

DoE Cybersecurity Institute for Energy Efficient Manufacturing. NIST will closely connect with the 
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work ongoing across other institutes of the Manufacturing USA network, working on cybersecurity and 

securing the smart grid. Another NIST effort in the area of advanced manufacturing is Manufacturing

Extension Program (MEP). MEP continues to have positive outcomes in the U.S. economy in terms of 

jobs, growth in GDP (gross domestic product), industrial output, and ROI (return on investment). Dr.

Copan plans to meet with the leadership of the MEP national network in Pittsburgh area.

• NIST's 5G and Beyond program is providing industry with robust metrology tools and data. NIST also 

has a Public Safety Innovation Accelerator Program, and the new awardee is Spectronn, who 

developed a mobile edge computing-in-a-box system. Active engagement with other agencies and the 

private sector on 5G standards is ongoing.

• In the area of cybersecurity and privacy issue, Dr. Copan provided an update about the second phase 

of evaluation and review of the algorithm candidates for post quantum cryptographic standards; the 

review is in progress and will last 12 to 18 months. Out of the initial submission of over 50 algorithm 

candidates, 26 algorithms have been down-selected based on performance to the next post-quantum 

crypto semifinal round. The goal is to continue to advance the evaluation effort as rapidly as possible 

resulting in a couple quantum-resistant algorithms ready by 2022. In the interim, there have been a 

series of guidance documents that relate to cybersecurity in the current environment. For example, a

Roadmap for the Cybersecurity Framework Version 1.1 was issued the end of April. NIST is delighted 

with the continued work on the cybersecurity for the Internet of Things (IoT) that is ongoing, including 

the core cybersecurity capabilities baseline discussion draft that was issued in the beginning of 

February.

• In Artificial Intelligence Dr. Copan stated that NIST is developing a plan for federal engagement due to 

the Executive Order issued February 11, 2019: Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial 

Intelligence. Efforts include development of tools for measurement and assessment of trustworthy AI, 

and a workshop to solicit input for federal engagement in AI standards development. NIST has put 

out a request for information and has hosted a workshop on May 30th to gather stakeholder input.

Dr. Copan next addressed the issue of science and security and the steps that NIST is taking to enhance 

security at the agency, NIST engages in a wide variety of ways with domestic and international partners. Dr. 

Copan mentioned a recent high-level meeting at the National Academies with the National Science and 

Technology Council Principals group, focusing on high profile breaches of the peer review process that is 

utilized for program down-selection and for grant distribution. It is important for NIST to work closely with the 

DoC Office of Security on background checks before report on duty, in order to protect the results of U.S. 

intellectual property. Dr. Copan praised NIST staff for embracing the importance of security. The safety record 

remains strong, and NIST is continuing the installation of cypher locks at laboratory facilities.

An important issue for the future health of NIST is that of improving equity, diversity, and inclusion across the 

institution. Dr. Copan outlined his goal to continue to build a culture of diversity and inclusivity at all levels of the 

NIST organization and the steps NIST is taking to achieve that goal. Dr. Copan mentioned Freeman 

Hrabowski, President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, gave an inspiring speech at the first 

Inclusivity Summit, which was made available on the NIST website via the NIST Tube. NIST has also launched

an external assessment of equity disparity in NIST STEM career advancement and is taking steps to improve 

the diversity of our recruitment pipelines.

When discussing plans for the future, Dr. Copan stated plans to create a new senior executive role, a Director 

of Technology Transfer, which will have responsibilities for internal as well as national technology transfer programs; a Chief Human Capital Officer to look more broadly at human capital elements; and a Director of 

Strategy and Policy to incorporate the Program Coordination Office. Dr. Copan also mentioned the plans for 

other realignments within the organization.

Discussion: 

The group discussed the following topics:

• MEP program funding support;

• User facilities at NIST in nanosciences, measurement sciences, and neutron scattering;

• Modernization of databases and tools via the Formational Technology Discovery Office; and

• A technology concierge model across academia and Federal sector.
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For more information, see Dr. Copan’s presentation.

SESSION II: ADMINISTRATION’S PRIRITIES FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Overview of the Administration's Priorities for Science and Technology - Dr. 

Jason Boehm, Director of NIST Program Coordination Office

Dr. Copan introduced Dr. Boehm who replaced Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier to provide some background 

information on strategic planning. Dr. Boehm began his talk with a video presentation about NIST-on-a-Chip 

program, and why NIST is the right place for the NIST-on-a-Chip development to take place.

Dr. Boehm then gave an outline on the Administration's science and technology priorities, which have a very 

strong focus on security, namely making sure the United States is leading in key emerging technologies and 

that the country is putting in the policies to protect those advantages:

• AI, quantum, and computing

• Connectivity and autonomy

• Supporting advanced manufacturing

• Leader in space and building commercial space industry

• Energy dominance

• Driving medical innovation

• Advancing U.S. agriculture

Dr. Boehm emphasized the Administration further doubled-down on some of these technology areas, such as

advanced communications and continuing to move beyond 5G. The Administration sees a strong industry 

focus, partnering with industry, taking advantage of capabilities if industry and academia, targeting investments 

in the workforce. Another strong focus of the Administration is reducing government barriers, i.e., reducing 

regulation and limiting regulatory burden. There is also a strong national security focus. Even though NIST is a 

civilian sector agency, the bulk of work focuses on civilian applications and industrial applications, with a strong 

national security implication, which is reflected in the FY 2020 budget.

Though there is a 30 percent reduction in the budget for FY 2020, Dr. Boehm stated the Administration 

recognizes the key role NIST must play in key areas. The budget cut will require NIST to redirect resources 

internally to the priorities the Administration has outlined. With the Administration reducing non-defense 

discretionary spending, these cuts have created extra challenges for civilian science agencies, like NIST.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Focus on areas of fundamental research that will bring new discoveries;

• 5G activities, including fundamental standards testbeds, developing industry consortiums;

• 28 GHz compatibility in the future;

• Flexibility to design programs, given existing resources, on AI and quantum;

• Difference between artificial intelligence and advanced machine learning; and

• Challenges addressed by NIST manufacturing networks.

SESSION III: NIST STRATEGIC PLAN – POSITIONING FOR A CHANGING S&T 

ENVIRONMENT

NIST Strategic Planning Overview - Dr. Jason Boehm, Director of NIST Program 

Coordination Office

Dr. Boehm began the presentation by explaining the motivation for the NIST Strategic Plan that include:
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• Technological Changes;

• New Business Models;

• Aging Infrastructure; 

• Changing Expectations;

• Outdate Processes; and

• Limited Resources.

Three assessments were used to lay the foundation for the Strategic Plan. First, an analysis was conducted 

across the agency which requested staff input on what they saw as major strengths, weaknesses, 

opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Second, a Baldridge organizational profile was developed for the agency, 

which helped to shape a vision moving forward. Third, an environmental scan was conducted to identify 

external drivers and trends.

From the environmental scan, changing demographics is a big issue ahead for NIST. Dr. Boehm stated this 

could cause barriers and challenges in bringing in technical workforce. There is a high demand for a limited 

workforce not just in industry but also in government in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum science, and 

advanced communications.

In addition to workforce challenges, the current budget process creates new uncertainties. NIST must be ready 

to respond to the political and policy issues. A good baseline for leadership to look at is the SWOT analysis. 

The Program Coordination Office (PCO) led seven sessions from staff all across NIST at different levels, e.g., 

division chiefs from the laboratories and programmatic organizational units, division chiefs from Management 

Resource and the Director's office, members of the Operations Advisory Committee, members of a recent 

Foundations of Leadership class, former rotators of the PCO, NIST Fellows, and a sampling of Boulder staff. 

This exercise generated over 469 different comments and inputs. The SWOT results reinforce many opinions 

about what makes NIST successful, while the biggest challenges lie in how NIST does its research and how it 

partners and delivers services. One universal theme that came out of the SWOT analysis is NIST's 

organizational structure, including challenges with communication and leadership weaknesses. 

Following the foundational work for the Strategic Plan, NIST Leadership Board met and determined the four 

Strategic Plan Goals:

Goal 1. Position NIST to advance U.S. science and innovation;

Goal 2. Maximize NIST's stakeholder impact through high-value service delivery;

Goal 3. Create the infrastructure for a 21st century research institution; and

Goal 4. Build a One NIST culture.

Dr. Boehm gave an overview of the NIST goals and four goal teams:

Dr. Jim Olthoff, Associate Director for Laboratory Programs, is leading Goal Team 1. This team has 

developed three objectives. First objective is to increase agility, promote collaboration, maintain 

technical excellent to strategically advance emerging technologies, and address national needs. The 

second objective is to develop and leverage flexible approaches to attract, retain, retrain, and grow 

talent in critical areas and adapt to demographics and expectations of the changing workforce. The

third objective is to develop creative models that strategically expand external engagement and 

impact, aligned with the mission to maximize the value of the technical program.

Dr. Phil Singerman, Associate Director for Innovation & Industry Services, is leading the effort on Goal 

Team 2. This will include facilitating the transfer of NIST knowledge, inventions, and technologies from 

the laboratory to the marketplace. It is important to provide high-quality, integrated, and modern 

service delivery models. Stakeholders can readily identify and share NIST's priorities, capabilities, and 

value by strategically communicating the key messages. 

Mr. Del Brockett, Associate Director for Management Resources, is leading Goal Team 3. This team is 

working on creating the infrastructure for a 21st century research institution. It will develop and 

implement plans for major facility upgrades, upgrade NIST's IT infrastructure, adopt and transition to 

modern business systems and operational practices to improve transparency and agility in research, 
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service delivery, and business operations during uncertain times.

Mr. Kevin Kimball, Chief of Staff, is leading Goal Team 4. This team is driving the effort on how to build 

a One NIST culture. The team is focused on developing and institutionalizing strong leadership and 

management competencies to advance the One NIST culture. This can be accomplished by creating 

an engaged, agile, and inclusive NIST workforce, strengthen NIST's workplace environment, and 

attract and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce reflective of the Nation.

Dr. Boehm, who is part of Goal Team 4, then gave examples of why NIST should be a ‘branded house’ and not 

a ‘house of brands’. For example, there is confusion that MEP and the NIST Cloud Computing Program belong

to One NIST as a whole. Ideally NIST wants to move to a branded house like FedEx with different business 

lines and different models; another example is the National Institute of Health and Oak Ridge National 

Laboratories. This is an area that requires further development of NIST as a brand.

Lastly, Dr. Boehm mentioned the work that is ongoing by the Enterprise Risk Management Office to 

communicate NIST priorities to internal and external stakeholders and help drive change within NIST moving 

toward.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Rapid-pulse type of data gathering, a useful tool for implementation; 

• Areas NIST should focus on to lead with respect to technology;

• Difficulties transitioning new technologies and programs into the marketplace;

• Retention of employees in today's culture;

• Renewed sensitivity about technology transfer with international partners;

• Giving advice to NIST Director to be as open as possible on a global scale;

• Modernization of infrastructure with existing budget constraints;

• Difficulties of branding NIST components of service and technology;

• Branding must communicate and include emotion; and

• Brand ambassadors promoting the NIST brand.

For more information, see Dr. Boehm’s presentation.

SESSION IV: UPDATE ON NIST ACTIVITIES IN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES 

Overview of the Executive Order on Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial 

Intelligence - Dr. Lynne Parker, Assistant Director for Artificial Intelligence, Office 

of Science and Technology Policy

Dr. Parker began her presentation by reiterating statement from previous speakers that AI is an important topic 

and is a priority area for this Administration; the White House remains committed to continued U.S. leadership

in AI and ensuring AI benefits the American people and reflects American values. The President issued an 

Executive Order on February 11, 2019, Maintaining American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, which 

establishes the American AI Initiative to promote and protect national AI technology and innovation. A White 

House AI for American Industry Summit was held in May 2018 bringing together over 100 stakeholders from 

industry, government, and academia. The AI Summit defined key directions reflected in the President's 

Executive Order.

Dr. Parker described the six primary goals outlined in the Executive Order:

• Prioritize AI R&D;

• Remove barriers to innovation;

• Ensure AI-ready workforce;

• Lead international AI deliberations;

• Leverage AI for government; and
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• Defend national security.

When discussing innovation ecosystem for AI in America, Dr. Parker recalled a finding from the 2016 National 

Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study, Continuing Innovation in Information Technology, 

that long-term federal investment leads to commercial industries. The innovation ecosystem requires tight 

coupling and tight operation of the federal government, industry, and academia. This combination will make the 

U.S. innovation ecosystem strong, and therefore the federal government is playing its role in supporting this 

endeavor, both the academic side and the industry side.

Dr. Parker highlighted the fact that AI R&D is one of the priorities outlined in the OMB/OSTP R&D budget 

priorities memo and that OSTP is taking steps to coordinate AI R&D across the Government. A key element of 

this coordination effort is the creation of the . Select Committee on AI, consisting of Secretary-level senior 

leaders. Dr. Copan is on the committee, along with France Cordova from the National Science Foundation

(NSF) and Steven Walker from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Select 

Committee meets several times a year to coordinate AI activities in federal agencies. Dr. Parker stated there is 

also a Machine Learning and AI Subcommittee, which is the operational arms of the Select Committee. This 

subcommittee is working hard to deliver on the actions called for in the Executive Order. Dr. Chuck Romine 

from NIST, Jim Kurose from NSF, and Steve Bentley from the Department of Energy (DoE), and herself cochair this subcommittee. The goal is to help implement strategic priorities and the tasks directed from the 

Select Committee. There is also the Interagency Working Group that assists in coordinating these activities. 

This group consists of people that are experts in AI and machine learning.

Dr. Parker then discussed the National AI R&D Strategic Plan. The Plan is in the process of being refreshed 

after it was first generated in 2016. This effort will ensure that the US leads in the cutting-edge AI innovation. 

On the topic of removing barriers to AI innovation, Dr. Parker gave examples of specific AI technologies such 

as driverless vehicles, drones, and tools that are providing health care services that are not consistent with 

current regulatory approach. Therefore, government regulations need to be modernized to be supportive of AI 

innovation. She also mentioned that Chuck Romine testified on proper use of facial recognition in law 

enforcement and what NIST's role is in facial recognition for law enforcement applications. For that reason, AI 

Executive order discussed AI guidance for federal agencies. The American AI Initiative directs OMB/OIRA 

(Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) with OSTP and others to issue an oversight memo to heads of all 

agencies, that informs development of regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to AI, and consider ways to 

reduce barriers to the use of AI to promote innovative uses while protecting civil liberties, privacy, American 

values, and U.S. economic and national security. A draft version of the memo will be published for public 

comment. 

While discussing the issue of educating and training AI-ready workforce, Dr. Parker stressed the need to build 

up the pipelines of people who are skilled and interested to work in these areas. The Executive Order calls for 

agencies to provide recommendations to prioritize existing programs that help provide people with more 

opportunity to learn the necessary skills. The President started the National Council for the American Worker to 

team up with industry to provide educational opportunities and training in AI. The Executive Order directs the 

Select Committee to provide recommendations on how to provide more AI relevant opportunities. Workforce 

challenges are critically important to ensuring the nation’s economic competitiveness and national security.

Dr. Parker concluded the presentation with discussion of the international deliberations that are ongoing in the 

AI arena. On May 22nd the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development approved the historic 

international consensus statement on the AI principles – 36-member countries and 6-non-member countries

agreed on the final language for the draft AI recommendation. The recommendation contains two groups of 

principals, and between the groups there are common issues such as fairness and transparency as well as 

what the national governments should do to move these principles along.
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Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• OSTP website on AI.gov to find out more information;

• AI strategy ongoing in Finland and lessons learned that may be available;

• Tensor processing units (TPU) widely available through the cloud; and

• Openness in sharing information on international basis

For more information, see Dr. Parker’s presentation.

Update on the Development of the Federal Strategy for Engagement in AI 

Standards Development - Dr. Charles (Chuck) Romine, Director, NIST Information 

Technology Laboratory

Dr. Romine gave an overview of ITL’s work in AI and machine learning and highlighted their efforts towards the 

development of a Federal Strategy for Engagement in AI Standards Development as called for by the 

Executive Order. The Executive Order specifically called out NIST to develop a plan for the Federal 

engagement in AI standards. NIST is tasked with developing a plan for Federal engagement in the 

development of technical standards and related tools in support of reliable, robust, and trustworthy systems 

that use AI technologies. NIST's efforts will support the development of standards for AI that reflect Federal 

priorities for innovation, public trust, and confidence. A workshop on this topic was held at NIST; Dr. Copan 

issued opening remarks that set the stage for an outstanding workshop. The workshop was to engage both 

private and public-sector organizations with the goal of having annotated outline of the report by the end of the 

workshop. The format of the workshop had two panel sessions and a set of breakout sessions. The workshop 

had participation from people on-site as well as WebEx. There were 217 attendees representing more than 100 

different entities. The goal is to have the draft plan on Federal engagement for public comment in late June. An 

RFI went out in early May; the RFI called for comments on three topic areas: current-status and plans, needs 

and challenges, and role of Federal agencies.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Autonomy of software and AI as it applies to IoT;

• Obtaining lessons learned from Silicon Valley in the AI arena;

• Autonomous cars and Trusted AI;

• Difficulty in understanding multilayer neural networks;

• Role of simulation;

• Compatibility of systems on a global scale;

• In-memory intrusions and circuit board micro attacks; and

• Monitoring the performance of an engineering system to stay in nominal range.

For more information, see Dr. Romine’s presentation.

Update on NIST Activities in Support of the National Quantum Initiative - Dr. Carl 

Williams, Acting Director, NIST Physical Measurement Laboratory

Dr. Williams presented an update on NIST and the NQI (National Quantum Initiative). Last summer, House 

introduced H.R. 6227, the National Quantum Initiative Act, which was passed unanimously in both the House 

and Senate. It was signed by the President on December 21, 2018. The bill has three broad requirements. 

Section 102, directs to establish the National Quantum Coordination Office, headed by the interim Director, 

Jacob Taylor. There are now four people in the Coordination Office, currently located within OSTP. Section 103 

of the bill requires the existence of the Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science. This committee was 

previously established under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). Dr. Williams said he has 

been delegated the responsibility to be chair of this subcommittee. Section 104 asks that the National Quantum 
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Initiative Advisory Committee be set up as a FACA (Federal Advisory Committee Act) Committee by DOE. 

They will work closely with OSTP to ensure it is fair and balanced and represents the agencies.

Dr. Williams gave few examples of actions that were taken to advance a national strategy on Quantum 

Information Science (QIS). On September 23, 2018, OSTP and NSTC released a new national strategy for the 

Quantum Information Science, consistent with the NQI Act. On September 24, 2018, OSTP held a Summit on 

Advancing American Leadership. Closing remarks were given by Lamar Smith, who was a sponsor of the NIQ 

Act. On May 31, 2019, OSTP held an Academic Roundtable on Innovation in QIS.

The NIST section of the NQI calls for four goals:

• Continue and expand basic and applied R&D;

• Use the existing programs of NIST to train scientists in quantum information science and technology;

• Establish or expand collaboration ventures or consortia to advance the field of quantum information 

science and engineering; and

• Enter into contracts, CRADAs (cooperative research and development arrangements), grants and 

cooperative agreements in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

Dr. Williams then pointed out that it is important to understand what it takes to build a quantum industry and the 

supporting ecosystem. Dr. Williams explained this using the example of the birth and evolution of the first 

transistor from 1947 to today’s modern 2018 integrated circuit. Building out the infrastructure for future 

development is something that is going to take time. NIST has begun working with SRI International under a 

CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement). The primary focus is on three technical 

readiness levels (TRL), 3 to 5.

The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) will support enabling technology R&D and 

enhance the quantum ecosystem. Some of the objectives are to facilitate industry coordination and interaction

with government agencies, determine workforce needs, provide efficient public-private sector coordination, 

identify technology solutions, highlight use cases and grand challenges, and foster sharing of international 

property. The first meeting of the QED-C was held August 21, 2018, at SRI International; the second on 

October 29-30, 2018, at NIST in Boulder; the third on January 22-23, 2019, at Colorado University in Boulder; 

and the fourth held at NIST in Gaithersburg on April 30-May 1, 2019. A participation agreement will be set up 

and in place by fall of 2019. Currently, there are more than 60 letters of intent from companies to join the 

consortium.

Dr. Williams stated that there are three coordinated efforts that will fulfill NIST's mission in QIS. These are 

foundational research emphasizing QIS and metrology, applied research to engineer and improve robustness 

of prototypes, and realization and dissemination of units of measure. Dr. Williams spoke about one concept for 

a NIST Grand Challenge, which would cut across three areas: quantum SI, foundation of quantum science, and 

the quantum engineering. the challenge is to build a prototype 2-3 node Quantum Network that distributes, 

stores, and entangles states of matter for sufficient time to support R&D, sensing, and metrology using various 

technologies, e.g., long baseline entangled clocks. The prototype requires quantum memory, quantum 

repeaters, small quantum processors, transduction, quantum error correction, and entanglement purification. It 

provides a testbed for system components and standards and supports basic R&D. It allows development of 

improved components, entanglement of distant clocks or sensors, exploration of quantum enhanced long 

baseline interferometry. The bottom line is this prototype is a testbed for understanding where NIST can go.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Development of technology for quantum computing, similar to transistor development; and

• Software-related elements that make quantum computing useful.

For more information, see Dr. William’s presentation.
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SESSION V: UPDATE ON NIST LAB-TO-MARKET ACTIVITIES

Unleashing American Innovation- Next Steps – Dr. Walter Copan, Under Secretary 

of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director

Dr. Copan shared some viewpoints on next steps for technology transfer and U.S. innovation. Working closely 

with the White House, NIST has a unique role in promoting and reporting on the overall strength of the Federal 

technology transfer efforts. This is one of the areas of policy oversight that NIST has.

The ROI Green Paper outlines several strategies: identifying and addressing the regulatory impediments, 

making it easier to build consortia, and utilizing more flexible tools; creating incentives to engage investors and 

private sector, building a more entrepreneurial workforce; bringing innovative tools and services into practice;

and assessing where we stand as a nation on a global scale.

After the publication of the ROI final Green Paper, Dr. Copan discussed the next steps. A top priority is the

development of a legislative and regulatory reform agenda for interagency review and clearance. This work is 

already underway – the feedback from the industry is being shared with relevant agencies, and the policy 

framework is being shared with the industry for their buy-in. The recommendations included the work of the 

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, who

have been recognized as an important tool for U.S. innovation and public-private engagement.

Dr. Copan then discussed how ROI findings address cross agency priority (CAP) goals strategies. On the topic 

of regulatory and administrative barriers, the issue of copyright protection for software is very important. This 

assures integrity and open-source use, which may provide opportunities to commercialize with the appropriate 

protections. And although federal institutions are able to patent, copyright protections under the government 

use provisions are not available. This is an area that NIST is working on with the Federal interagency, the 

United States Patent and Trademark Office. On the topic of private sector engagement, streamlining 

partnership agreements is an area that needs to be strengthened. This is important to NIST and other parts of 

the Federal sector to be able to use not-for-profit foundations. This will allow for new funding sources and new 

flexible arrangements to be curated. Regarding workforce, Dr. Copan explained that building a culture of an 

entrepreneurial workforce, utilizing some of the tools and best practices is needed, such as the I-Corps 

program pioneered by NSF. Part of the modernization also involves better management of conflicts of interest. 

This will enable engagement with industry more effectively with entrepreneurial enterprise and is an important 

part of building and changing culture for the future impacts from the Federal R&D system.

In conclusion, Dr. Copan said the VCAT will be working in the future with Kathy Ku, the chair of the 

Subcommittee on Technology Transfer, on a follow-on charter. This is aimed at asking members to review how 

NIST is doing with the technology transfer approach, overall performance, and areas that may need to be 

improved to enhance impact.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Where the Green Paper goes now;

• Who has access to the Green Paper; and

• How will this have effect.

For more information, see Dr. Copan’s presentation.
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Wednesday, June 5, 2019

SESSION VI: APS PERSPECTIVES & NCNR OVERVIEW

APS Neutron Perspectives – Global & Domestic Context - Dr. Julia Phillips, 

American Physical Society 

Dr. Phillips presented the American Physical Society (APS) study, Neutrons for the Nation. It was predated by 

a National Academy study which raised awareness regarding neutron scattering around the world. The 

Neutrons for the Nation was done by an eminent committee consisting of luminaries in the field of neutron 

science.

The report motivation was aimed for a general policy-oriented audience to first, describe the importance of 

neutron sources in various areas for the foreseeable future; second, to illustrate the importance of neutron 

sources produced today and how they might be produced in the future; third, how can the U.S. be a global 

player in neutron science; and fourth, what policy issues need to be considered in designing and building future 

neutron sources.

The first conclusion reached was that neutrons are extremely important for science, engineering, and industry. 

The physics of the neutron and the ability to measure the lifetime of the neutron has gotten good enough that 

the error bars have shrunk. It is now known that there is a discrepancy in the lifetime of the neutron that's 

measured using two different techniques. Being able to test materials in environments that mimic the 

environments they are going to see for decades is very important. A key finding of the study – investigations 

performed at neutron sources are essential components of R&D in numerous areas of science and 

engineering, and they also have a lot to contribute to industrial competitiveness.

Neutron scattering is an essential component of an ensemble of research techniques. Another key finding of 

the study is that neutron scattering is often an essential part of a broader experimental study that uses a 

complementary suite of tools. Dr. Phillips said NIST users and collaborators have done extraordinarily well in 

terms of advances in instrumentation at neutron sources.

One of the centerpieces of the report is that the neutron R&D in this country is vulnerable. In the U.S., there are 

six high-performance research reactors, NIST being the newest and it is 50 years old. There are 48 scattering 

beamlines in the United States, 153 in Europe, and 99 in Asia. Several facilities have been shut down in the 

U.S., while the rest of the world is continuing to build. The U.S. has lost important capability in neutron R&D in 

the last two decades and is no longer the world leader.

High-performance research reactors (HPRRs) are important for neutron research, development, and production 

and are especially suited for studies like materials testing in radiation environments, isotope production, and a 

capability to support many experiments. The challenge is that HPRRs in the U.S. are all fueled by highly 

enriched uranium (HEU) and HEU constitutes a proliferation risk. Therefore, U.S. policy dictates eliminating 

HEU in civilian applications wherever possible. Converting existing HPRRs to low-enriched uranium is not 

possible with existing fuel. Reactor fuels containing highly enriched uranium represent a risk for proliferation, 

which should be considered when planning for future infrastructure for neutron R&D.

World-class neutron R&D currently requires three things: spallation sources, which are pulse sources and are 

radiological facilities not neutron facilities; research reactors, which is important for materials testing; and highperformance instrumentation, that provide computing and data analytics, beamline instrumentation. World-class 

neutron science and engineering require the complementary capabilities of these three things to have a real 

world-class neutron capability.

The APS study recommends that the U.S. should do the following:

• Continue to support a diversity of neutron R&D capabilities;

• Find a balance in retaining and enhancing the capabilities and reducing or eliminating the use of HEU;

• Sharply increase investment in neutron instrumentation development and deployment;
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• Reaffirm its commitment to the development and deployment of high-density, low enriched uranium 

(LEU) fuels for existing HPRRs; and

• Initiate an effort to competitively design and build a new generation of LEU fueled HPRRs.

Some areas for considerations moving forward that need further study are 1-the lead time for commissioning a 

new HPRR of any type is very long, 2-the development of very high-density LEU fuels appropriate for 

converting existing HPRRs has taken much longer than originally anticipated, and 3-the timeline has moved out 

repeatedly. Can all of the uses of HPRRs be met without the use of HEU and should all of the current uses of 

HPRRs be met in a single LEU-fueled HPRR? Are there other innovative approaches to satisfying all of the 

needs currently met by HEU-fueled HPRRs? Dr. Phillips gave several examples of what has not been met in 

this area.

In closing, Dr. Phillips mentioned one finding by the 2016 Academy study is that, unlike most of the light 

sources in the U.S., there is no single steward for a U.S. neutron capability, which is a disadvantage in terms of 

real planning for what the U.S. needs regarding neutrons. The recommendation at that time was that OSTP 

should convene the owners of neutron capabilities and those with needs for neutron capabilities in order to look 

across all of the government agencies and help devise a plan for U.S. neutrons for long-term investments of at 

least 50 years.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• U.S. competitiveness on reactor capability and quality; 

• Production of neutrons by plasma or a cascade effect;

• Bottleneck to U.S. competitiveness and whether more capacity is beneficial;

• Light sources not replacing x-ray diffraction for doing crystal structures;

• Need for small neutron sources where preliminary experiments can be done;

• Length and time scales using neutrons to explore physical properties; 

• Looking at ROI to find out which applications are worth investing in;

• LEU versus HEU, confluence between science and security concerns;

• Best locale for a new LEU meeting the needs of the U.S.; and

• Location of and number of reactors needed for security posture and education in U.S.

For more information, see Dr. Phillips’ presentation.

NCNR (NIST Center for Neutron Research) Overview - Dr. Rob Dimeo, Director, 

NIST Center for Neutron Research

Dr. Dimeo stated there is an ongoing lag in neutron scattering research in the U.S. compared to the world, 

resulting in an issue of international competitiveness. NIST is an essential part of U.S. neutron measurement 

infrastructure, and a robust aging reactor management program is needed to address reliability issues at NIST. 

Looking at a new high-performance LEU-based research reactor is worth exploring. His presentation covered 

four main points:

• NIST mission – developing neutron measurements and making them available to the scientific 

community is central to the NIST mission;

• A major national user facility – research quantities of neutrons can only be produced at major, 

centralized facilities;

• Delivering high impact – NIST continues to be a source of excellent science with neutrons; and

• Building for the future – NIST’s neutron measurement capabilities continue to improve. 

The mission of NCNR is to make neutron measurement capabilities available to the U.S. scientific community. 

This is accomplished in three ways:

• Operate reactors safely and cost effectively;

• Develop new neutron measurement capabilities and apply them to problems of national interest; and

• Serve the needs of researchers from industry, academia, and government as a national user facility.
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Neutrons that are made in a nuclear reactor are quantum particles with a wavelength which is on the same 

order as the interatomic distances in condensed matter. This allows one to probe the structure of matter with 

neutrons. Further, energies of neutrons allow to probe the energy of condensed matter systems, measuring 

things like phonons, acoustic waves, and floppy motions of macromolecular systems. Neutrons are highly 

penetrating. The power of neutrons lies in the contrast, as one can better see with neutrons than x-rays, 

photons, electron beams, and other probing techniques.

Another feature of neutron application is magnetism. The neutron has a magnetic moment, which means one 

can actually “see” magnetic structure, the structure of solids that are magnetic at the atomic scale. This has a 

big impact for metrology of next-generation information technology. Dr. Dimeo gave some examples of the 

power of neutrons. Julia Cornfield tested different types of jet fuel additives to make safer jet fuel, partnering 

with the Physical Measurements Laboratory looking at the radiated decay of a neutron. Ron Bishop performed

an analysis of pottery by doing sensitive chemical composition measurements and discovered that original

formulation of the Mayan trade routes was incorrect. Mas Subramanian discovered new pigments using ultrasmall-angle neutron scattering on porous shale. Young Lee measured a solid called herbertsmithite and 

discovered quantum-spin liquid, which provides possibilities in quantum information science.

Dr. Dimeo then discussed instrument ownership and access. There are two ways that NIST has instrument 

ownership, NIST-owned and partnership-owned. Instrument access is based on general user access, 

collaborative access, consortium-based access, partnership-based access, and proprietary access. There is no 

charge for users to use neutron capabilities at NCNR except in instances of consortia and proprietary based 

and in those instances if they publish in the open literature, they pay full-cost recovery.

Regarding user engagement, NCNR management frequently gathers feedback from users on-site via 

discussions and post-experiment surveys. NCNR hosts occasional workshops to gather input from the user

community on future neutron-scattering instruments. NCNR staff and leadership engage with the user 

community at scientific meetings and other venues. The Beam Time Allocation Committee convenes twice a 

year at NCNR and is another mechanism to get feedback.

The NIST reactor is regulated by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and licensed through 2029, and NIST 

fully intends to transition from HEU to LEU when it becomes available, currently scheduled for the late 2020s. 

There are several committees that are independent groups that review the safety aspects of the reactor 

operations.

The total appropriation for the budget is about $48 million, with about $3 million from other agencies. A quarter 

of the operations goes to operating the reactor. Half is going towards scientific operations, operating and 

maintaining the beamlines. About 15 percent goes to research facility development, which includes upgrades 

and development of new auxiliary equipment. The only way for a national user facility to be competitive is to 

keep developing the state-of-the-art capabilities.

Partnerships are a key way to expand the research community's access to NIST's neutron capabilities and 

benefit the U.S. scientific enterprise. This includes not just user support, but also education and outreach. NIST 

continues to be a source of excellence science with neutrons. Dr. Dimeo provided examples of different 

partnerships.

The Canadian Neutron Beam Center conducted a study of bibliometric record to capture the outcomes and 

achievements of networks of collaborators from 1980 to 2017. It contextualized the activities through a 

comparison of three Canadian and five international benchmark institutions, which provide points of reference. 

They concluded that NCNR came in first by a wide margin for all indicators and is the only institution examined 

that had consistently high performance among all the indicators. Building for the future, NIST's neutron 

measurement capabilities continue to improve.

In closing, Dr. Dimeo stated a lot has happened in the last 17 years. The U.S. has basically the spallation 

neutron source and the NCNR being built out and expanding capabilities; however, China continues to increase 

their capabilities with three new operations, though they have not yet been fully instrumented. A study was 

conducted in 2017 and reported the future options for the neutron source at the NCNR would be to 1-maintain 
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the National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR) in current configuration, 2-major upgrade to the NBSR to 

enhance flux, and 3-replace the NBSR with a new reactor. 

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Managing oversubscription of users;

• Neutron guides operating like fiber optics; 

• Instruments get shut down to make room for new ones;

• Industrial impact from different consortia and user communities;

• NIST's capabilities to solve Boeing 787 battery problem example of why reactor at NIST is crucial;

• Cross-cutting plan or committee to discuss neutron sources and who is building what;

• NIST being the commercial interface between DoD and DoE;

• The amount of funding needs to do the optimum work, requesting it in stages;

• Neutrons versus x-rays with photons for measurements; and

• LEU reactor capabilities and need for new facilities.

For more information, see Dr. Dimeo’s presentation.

nSoft Consortium-Industry Impacts on Development of Neutron-Based 

Measurement Science - Dr. Ron Jones, Director, nSoft Consortium, NIST Material 

Measurement Laboratory

Dr. Jones started his presentation by describing that nSoft Consortium is trying to solve the problem of 

industry’s access to national research facilities – these facilities see industry as a key customer and industry 

needs these facilities to innovate, however, access models of these facilities are geared toward academia by 

allocating access free of charge, based on merit as determined by peer review. nSoft Consortium is using cost

recovery model, where access is granted to the partner company on paid basis.

Another way to think about nSoft is as an incubator. An incubator has a different access model – there are no 

proposals and the merit of the problem is determined by the customer; there are also different metrics for 

success, for example, instead of quantity and impact of publications, success is related to the impact in the 

company. The goals here is to achieve an impact within the member company and advance the NIST mission

simultaneously. Finally, this is a totally nonproprietary environment. There is never a proprietary experiment 

done within nSoft. Dr. Jones explained that what they have done is create a model where they are pairing 

industrial needs with NIST-driven experiments that create a new measurement capability. Another benefit is the

expertise transfer: it’s a place to learn, a place to influence development, and a place for NIST to advance its 

mission.

Most of the members are Fortune 100 companies because they need to have a research and development 

staff as well as an appetite for long-term research projects; however, small companies are not excluded, and 

anyone is welcome. Members must be able to participate in on-site experiments, and the cost is $25,000 a 

year. There is expanding support across the NIST campus, and nSoft is a NCNR-centric activity.

Dr. Jones gave a few examples of nSoft activities. First was high shear in manufacturing. Rheology is an areas 

of core competency not only at NCNR but also across NIST. In this experiment, soft material is exposed to 

force that is precisely measured, and the response of the material – its structural changes – is measured on the 

molecular level. Information can be put into models of rheology and turned into a better understanding of what 

is happening to a system during manufacturing. 

Another example of a nSoft activity was efficient shale gas extraction, which won an award. There is a need to 

understand gas storage in shale. This project used neutron imaging and neutron scattering. The neutron 

imaging was combined with x-ray imaging capability and provided a simultaneous tomogram of the shale core 

straight out of the ground.
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Lastly, Dr. Jones described ongoing work with Pfizer Consumer Healthcare on Advil and Emergen-C vitamins 

looking for soft-gel cap formulations, however, there is a broader effort. There is a biomanufacturing effort 

across NIST to look at characterization of advanced therapeutics. New product formulations are in the pipeline 

and are being tested for adoption.

Discussion:

The group discussed the following topics:

• Increasing amount of data generated from various experiments in a searchable format with results;

• Applying machine learning techniques to smaller datasets;

• Is nSoft model replicable to other user centers in other parts of the government; and

• Instrumentation built at nSoft and is available to the public.

For more information, see Dr. Jones’ presentation.

Panel Discussion – Customer Viewpoints on NCNR Facility Use - Dr. Despina 

Louca, University of Virginia; Dr. Young Lee, Stanford University; Dr. Hubert King, 

ExxonMobil Research; Dr. Norman Wagner, University of Delaware; and Dr.

Michael Hore, Case Western Reserve University

Dr. Dimeo stated that the customer viewpoint panel consisted of users of the NCNR who were here to share 

their knowledge and experience using the facility and answer questions from the VCAT members. Next was a

brief introduction of each panel member.

Dr. Hore came to NIST through summer school and then as an NRC postdoc and said everything he knows 

about neutron scattering, he learned at NCNR. His research area of interest is nanoparticles, typically spherical 

ones. There used to be theories about what polymer chains looked like due to indirect measurements of the 

shape, but neutrons have enabled the measurement of polymer chains today. Looking at the dynamics, one 

can determine the length scales over which the polymer chains move. Also, the transport of nanoparticles 

through single nano channels is another area of interest. All these research areas are dependent on NCNR for 

measurements.

Dr. Louca first came to NCNR after she received a call from Brian Toby as a young assistant professor 20 

years ago. Then John Copley suggested she come to NCNR to study a new oxide that she has developed 

using the Disk Chopper Spectrometer, which was just coming online. She began to collaborate with other 

groups from around the world and appreciated the unique experience she received at NCNR. NCNR sponsored 

her in the summer at the beginning of her career, where she interacted with others using spectrometers.

Dr. King a researcher from ExxonMobil has had good experiences with NCNR and gave examples of how 

Exxon Mobil has benefited from it. ExxonMobil has had a long relationship with NCNR, which started in the 

1980s, beginning with scattering beamlines. The NCNR scattering facility was the premier method of doing this, 

and it produced an unprecedented resolution, where ExxonMobil applied it to polymers, metals, complex fluids, 

and rocks. NIST published a report in 2011 calling the relationship with ExxonMobil one of the most fruitful 

collaborations in neutron scattering history. The polymers for coal flow of diesel has been one of the great 

successes and has been publicized in the neutron community. Recent studies are targeting unconventional 

resources such as shale gas.

Dr. Wagner from University of Delaware started working with NCNR doing neutron scattering in complex fluids 

and polymers, which later became soft matter, and research in the neutron scattering ecosystem as a whole. 

Many of the graduate students and postdocs are funded through NIST, and some from other entities, like NSF. 

Many stayed at NIST and become scientists; others moved on to other universities, consumer product 

companies, and biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Wagner mentioned that the students he works with at 

NCNR at this time are all female and they enjoy the working environment. The consortium that put together the 

standard monoclonal antibody has advanced with new techniques and research. The existing sample 

environment and instrumentation needs to be pushed to provide longer times in its spin echoes and a broader 

range of time in length scales.
17

Dr. Lee started doing neutron scattering research as a grad student at the Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology about 20 years ago, but halfway through his studies, the Brookhaven reactor shut down. Wanting 

to further his thesis as a postdoc, he came to NIST, which he attributes to saving his career. He believes the 

capabilities of neutron scattering at NIST are irreplaceable in physics research. He gave an example of 

quantum spin liquids as fundamental science. He also mentioned a crystal made of a mineral called 

herbertsmithite which has a quantum spin liquid state and was studied in an inelastic neutron scattering.

Dr. Colwell commended the panelists and asked if there were any events or things that could be improved or 

replaced to make it better. Dr. Louca stated that NIST was excellent in managing time under very stressful 

situations, due to a lack of funding, but if there was anything that could be improved, it would be to increase 

funding for NIST. Dr. Wagner stated that creating a larger beamline science community would help bring more 

neutron scattering research forward.

Another question for panelists stemmed around new users coming to use the facility and if there is a way to 

create a company, who would be paid by the user and not NIST dollars, whose job it is to help people who 

want to come in to design and execute the experiment, thinking here of removing some of the load from the 

staff here who have other work to do. Dr. Lee said part of the job of an instrument scientist is assisting users 

who have no experience with an instrument and experiments. nSoft provides a different type of service, more 

geared towards the expertise, transfer, and training industrial folks on using neutrons. Education and training 

are key, as it's in every performance plan of every instrument scientist at NCNR.

Several panelists agreed that there is a problem of instruments that are oversubscribed. There is a very solid 

user program, which benefits other DoE facilities.

One panelist stated to have a layer process bringing experts into use from a non-expert perspective would be

beneficial.

A question was asked about the importance of the proximity of NIST compared to a facility that is remote and

not as easy to get to. Dr. Hore stated that proximity of NIST is beneficial to him, and Dr. Louca agreed. Dr. Lee 

stated the having NIST in a metropolitan area attracts good scientists. He also stated that if a facility went 

down, it would have a negative impact on his research.

In closing, Dr. Colwell and Dr. Copan thanked everyone who participated in the meeting, especially all the 

panelists and speakers for their time and contributions.

There were no public comments offered.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 12:02 PM. 

I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge; the forgoing minutes are accurate and complete.

Stephanie Shaw, Designated Federal Officer, NIST Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology

Dr. Rita Colwell, Chair, NIST Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology