NIST Alignment with 

Administration Priorities

Heather Evans, Ph. D. 

Senior Analyst 

Program Coordination Office 
Key Themes Outlined to Date 

COVID-19

Climate

Racial Equity

Economy

U.S. Manufacturing 

Health Care

Immigration

Restoring America’s Global Standing 

NIST’s programs and mission 

align with Administration 

priorities 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/priorities/

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COVID-19 Response 

https://www.nist.gov/coronavirus

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Climate 

NIST measurement capabilities and programs are helping address climate 

change in areas of infrastructure resilience, environment, and energy 

• Measurement 

• Reference materials & data 

• Testbeds 

• Partnerships 

Credit: Delaware Department of Transportation

Credit: Beamie Young/NIST

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Racial Equity: Laboratory Programs 

Forensic Science Program – Strengthening 

forensic practice 

• R&D, measurements and standards tools for 

forensic science disciplines

• Working with stakeholders to disseminate tools 

to forensic science practitioners and jurists

• Key partnerships through OSAC, CSAFE 

Credit: Courtesy of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine

Technology – Measurements and Standards 

NIST’s Face Recognition Vendor Test –

• Measuring performance of algorithms

• Accuracy of software to identify people of varied 

sex, age and racial background

Artificial Intelligence – understanding bias 

Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST

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Racial Equity: NIST Workplace 

Some recent highlights: 

• New NIST-wide position: Director of Diversity and Inclusion (in 

progress) 

• Ongoing COACh study of inequity in promotion – final 

recommendations due March 2021 

• Peer-to-Peer Bystander Intervention Training sessions (monthly) 

• Conclusion of two staff detail assignments studying inclusivity 

• NIST hosted our 3rd conference for Undergraduate 

Underrepresented Minorities in Physics (CU2MIP) Jan. 2021 

• Active employee groups, including newly re-invigorated NIST 

Association for Black Staff

• Increased communication from senior leadership 

• NIST library guidance for authors to avoid biased language 

• NIST Standards Inclusivity Effort Team draft guidance

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NIST role includes: 

• Supporting national manufacturing 

networks, workforce development 

• Driving discovery in emerging 

technologies using AI, robotics, 

additive manufacturing, and more

• Securing the supply chain through 

new research, measurements, 

standards and other tools 

• Continued effort to support 

quantum information science, 

synthetic biology, and other 

linchpins of future innovation 

Economic Recovery: Manufacturing & Innovation 

F. Webber/NIST

©David Hills

C. Suplee/NIST

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VCAT – A Historic Perspective

• VCAT chartered March 3, 1901 with the establishment 

of NBS / NIST in law

• Vannevar Bush served on the NBS VCAT from 1942 –

1946, during which period he also led writing “Science 

– The Endless Frontier”

• Bush emphasized basic research, its impacts and the 

importance of translation into innovation, leading to 

establishment of NSF and advancing U.S. science & 

technology policy and leadership

Slide presented to VCAT February 2020

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A tasking from President Biden to his incoming 

science advisor 

1. What can we learn from the pandemic about what is 

possible—or what ought to be possible— to address 

the widest range of needs related to our public health? 

2. How can breakthroughs in S&T create powerful new 

solutions to address climate change?

3. How can the United States ensure that it is the world 

leader in the technologies and industries of the future? 

4. How can we guarantee that the fruits of S&T are fully 

shared across America and among all Americans? 

5. How can we ensure the long-term health of S&T in 

our nation? 

https://buildbackbetter.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/OSTP-Appointment.pdf accessed 1/16/21 

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