VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (VCAT or Committee)

MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 20th, 2020

WEBINAR MEETING

ATTENDANCE:

Visiting Committee 

Members Attending

Adler, Allen

Alexander, Jay

Fischer, George

Garvey, Michael (Mike)

Ishak, Waguih

Jackson, Keoki

Kaler, Eric

Khan, Mehmood

Ku, Katharine

Sizer, Theodore (Tod)

Vasko, David (Dave)

Wasserman, Gail

Designated Federal Officer 

Shaw, Stephanie 

NIST Leadership Board 

Bahar, Mojdeh

Boehm, Jason

Brockett, Del

Brown, Essex

Copan, Walt

Dimeo, Rob

Dowell, Marla

Fangmeyer, Robert

Harary, Howard

Jenkins, George E.

Kushmerick, James

Lin, Eric

Mackey, Liz

Molnar, Mike

Olthoff, Jim

Romine, Charles (Chuck)

Sastry, Chandan

Thomas, Carroll

Vaughn, Robert (Skip)

Wixon, Henry

NIST Staff 

Acierto, Linda

Alderman, David

Alderoty, Neil

Antonishek, Brian

Boisvert, Ronald

Bryner, Nelson

Carnahan, Lisa

Choquette, Steven

Claussen, Monica

Deblasi, Ann

Dohne, Kirk

Evans, Heather

Fasolka, Mike

Fedchak, James

Gayle, Frank

Gillerman, Gordon

Glenn, Rachel

Goldstein, Barbara

Greene, Kristen

Hanna, Nancy

Hardis, Jonathan

Healy, Bill

Hoffman, Elizabeth

Hooker, Stephanie

Huergo, Jennifer

Ivester, Rob

Ivy, Nahla

Jahanmir, Said

Jones, Ronald

Jungbluth, George

Kimball, Kevin

Keys, Mirta

Kim, Yekyung (Yennie)

Lawson, Jeremy

Lin-Gibson, Sheng

Materese, Robin

McLinden, Mark

Meritis, Dimitrios

Nist, Jennifer

Perkins, John

Porch, Susanne

Poster, Dianne

Reidy, Kari

Rimmer, Kate

Rudnitsky, Robert

Saundry, Claire

Sberegaeva, Anna

Schiller, Susannah

Schlatter, Katie

Schroeder, Melissa

Seiler, David

Sharpless, Kathy

Shyam-Sunder, Sivaraj

Silverthorn, Courtney

Slifka, Andrew

St. Pierre, Jim

Stine, Kevin

Sullivan, Suzanne

Szakal, Christopher

Szuchyt, April

Tabassi, Elham

Tarlov, Michael

Teske, Michael

Ufford, Donald

Valdez, Zachary

Vanek, Anita

VanLandingham, Mark

Varadi, Laslo

Wang, Tom

Wilkinson, Richard

Williams, Carl

Wollman, David

Yuter, Stephen

Zangmeister, Rebecca

Zimmerman, Neil

Others

Atkinson, Rob – Information

 Technology & Innovation

 Foundation

Capella, Gregory – National 

 Technical Information 

 Service

Cassady, Amber – Lewis-

 Burke Associates, LLC

Hill, Jade – Toyota Motor North

 America

Jillavenkatesa, Ajit – Apple

Lenihan, Brian – International 

 Trade Administration

McDaniel, Paul – NAVFAC 

 EXWC, Regulatory Support 

 Desk

Updyke, Craig – ASTM 

 International 
2

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Call to Order - Dr. Alan Adler, VCAT Chair

Dr. Adler called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m., reviewed the meeting logistics and took roll call. Dr. Adler

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 thanked VCAT members Hemma Prafullchandra and Mike Garvey for their engagement with VCAT 

and contributions to NIST as their term concludes on the advisory committee.

Dr. Copan also shared the latest NIST leadership changes:

• Ms. Carroll Thomas, Director of Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is retiring and Dr. 

Rob Ivester will become the Acting Director until a replacement is announced;

• Ms. Gail Porter, Director of Public Affairs has retired after 30 years and Ms. Jennifer Huergo will be the 

Acting Director until a replacement is announced; and

• Mr. Stephen J. Yuter, has been announced as the Director of the Office of Acquisition and Agreements 

Management (OAAM) and Bureau Procurement Official (BPO).

NIST Budget. Currently, NIST is operating under a Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, planning a 

budget for FY2022, and in the early stages of developing a budget for FY2023. Dr. Copan said the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) request for FY2021 is matched by NIST's current request for FY2022, a total 

budget proposal for NIST of $737.5 million. Additional appropriations under the CARES (The Coronavirus Aid, 

Relief, and Economic Security) Act for the work of Manufacturing USA and Hollings MEP came through at $66 

million. There is, however, a $1 billion deficit of maintenance expenses on buildings and infrastructure at NIST.

NIST Inclusivity Update. A major effort of inclusivity is ongoing at NIST, and Dr. Copan outlined some recent 

events:

• Film screening of Picture a Scientist and discussion sessions hosted by WiSTEM (Women’s Inclusion 

in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and the NIST Ombuds;

• Upcoming focus Groups in an ongoing COACh study of inequity in promotion;

• Professor Stefanie Johnson at the University of Colorado-Boulder gave insights on ABCs of breaking 

bias in her recent book Inclusify;

• Dr. Ellen Ochoa gave a talk as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month;

• Two upcoming events, Inclusivity in Standards NIST workshop and Inclusivity Showcase; and

• Posting of new position, the Director of Diversity and Inclusion.

NIST Privacy Framework Update. NIST issued its Privacy Framework earlier in the year. International 

Association of Privacy Professionals hosted a workshop Growing a Workforce for Managing Privacy Risk to 

discuss how to achieve the Privacy Framework’s outcomes and activities. Enter privacy Consulting Group

performed a Crosswalk of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) to the NIST Privacy Framework, 

utilizing Microsoft’s mapping of GDPR to ISO 27701 and ISO 27701 to the NIST Privacy Framework.

Cybersecurity: NIST Work in Encryption Update. Dr. Copan stated there's been tremendous progress made on 

encryption work. NIST has announced the completion of round three down-selection of the post-quantum 

cryptographic algorithms. Work is ongoing on lightweight cryptography, including a workshop to gain feedback

for a selection of finalist algorithms for lightweight cryptographic standards.

Substantial progress in cybersecurity and privacy has been made. The NIST Special Publication 800-53, a 

catalog on security and privacy controls, has been gratefully received by the community of practice, to include 

the Department of Defense. NIST has issued a series of resources on cybersecurity and telework and is in the 
3

midst of the validation of cryptographic modules to FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-3 to 

provide Federal agencies with a security metric to use in procuring equipment There has been a lot of interest 

and excitement about the development and issuance of the Special Publication 800-207 Zero Trust 

Architectures which discusses cybersecurity paradigms that move defenses from static, network-based 

perimeters to focus on users, assets, and resources.

Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT): Responsible Use. PNT services is an essential part of NIST 

portfolio. An Executive Order was issued earlier in the year to recognize NIST's specific role and leadership 

within the Department of Commerce to make a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-independent source 

of Coordinated Universal Time to enhance the resilience of and support the needs of critical infrastructure. A

draft came out at the end of August on the development of a cybersecurity profile for responsible PNT use. A 

PNT workshop to develop the profile was held in September, and a draft profile for public comment is expected 

in the coming weeks. The aim is to have a system that's a thousand times more accurate than the internet time 

service. Dr. Copan stated this is of national security importance to have a ground-based backup to GNSSbased time distribution.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Standards Coordination. NIST is developing the vocabulary and measurements 

needed for technical requirements of Trustworthy AI. A Bias in AI workshop was held on August 18th, and two 

draft documents, Four Principles of Explainable AI and Secure AI: Terminology and Taxonomy, are expected in 

the fall of 2020. Novel computational paradigms have been established for the needed metrics and 

benchmarks for AI hardware. There is interest across the federal sector for collaborations to advance these 

issues, such as hardware-based systems that can be utilized in algorithmic computation. NIST has been 

working on the testing of synaptic weighting functions using these hardware systems.

AI is being applied broadly across NIST's research and standardization efforts. NIST ran an internal funding 

competition to identify new use-inspired research topics to accelerate deployment of AI to advance programs. 

Three projects have been selected for an investment of $3.6 million in the coming year:

• A trusted AI framework for a new class of standard reference materials and data led by Materials 

Management Laboratory (MML);

• Low-field magnetic resonance imagine being led by Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML); and

• Deep generative modeling for communication system testing and data sharing led by Communications 

Technology Lab (CTL).

In collaboration with the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), NIST has Ms. Elham Tabassi as 

the AI standards coordinator. NIST is working with the broader community to connect all federal efforts relating 

to AI standards development and use, with the goal of the community leveraging and learning from each 

other’s successes.

NIST Phish Scale. NIST developed a new tool to support cybersecurity awareness training, the Phish Scale,

which provides a methodology for assessing the degree of danger and risk associated with cyberattacks.

NIST Facial Recognition. Dr. Copan said NIST continues its work on facial recognition technology and issued a 

report on the accuracy of algorithms for facial recognition when face masks are in use. The next report will 

document accuracy values for more recent algorithms.

Quantum: Interagency Coordination Update. The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) has 

been a tremendous success at NIST, bringing together nearly 200 potential members. Formal participation 

agreements are in process. The goal is to have a close tie between NIST, public, and private sectors

to identify and address needs for enabling technology, standards and a workforce to support the emerging 

quantum-based industry. The consortium will provide a coordinated voice for industry to inform and guide 

federal R&D investment priorities, standards and regulation, as well as workforce education and development.

NIST will be looking to franchise this model with global partners in the future. A series of R&D (research and 

development) process have been initiated as part of the National Quantum Initiative. New activities included

building the supply chain for quantum 2.0 industry, initiating a project to demonstrate compact scalable 

quantum repeater, led by NIST's own Nobel Prize winner Dr. David Wineland out of University of Oregon, and 

an effort to demonstrate an optical clock that could provide a backup to GPS.
4

Quantum: Material Measurements. Dr. Copan said NIST has been working on a new microscope that can carry

out three kinds of atom-scale measurements simultaneously. It is an atomic force image known as the Swiss 

Army Knife method instrumentation, which can uncover new knowledge about a wide range of special materials 

that are crucial for developing the next generation of quantum computers, communications and a host of other 

applications.

NIST-on-a-Chip Update. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced two new 

programs based on NIST-on-a-Chip and quantum sensing systems. A series of patents have been issued. The 

nanophotonic combs are now available in a chip-scale device. 

Standards: 5G and Advanced Communication. As part of the NIST work on 5G and advanced communication, 

the Synthetic Aperture Measurements of Uncertainty in Angle of Incidence (SAMURAI) system provides 

traceable measurements to fundamental constants to support accurate 5G measurements for antenna 

optimization and use of AI in support of frequency sharing.

Advanced Communication: Public Safety. On advanced communications, Dr. Copan stated the public safety 

program is in high gear, funded through spectrum auction funds. The funding is intended to go through FY

2022.

NIST Community Resilience Update. NIST work has resulted in the development of community resilience 

guides, codes, and standards for fire mitigation, safety and building materials. The National Academies via

NRC (National Research Council) panels gave glowing reports on the NIST programs in these areas.

Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services (ICAMS). NIST has been working with the OSTP 

(Office of Science and Technology Policy) in structuring a new interagency council. NIST will provide expertise 

in metrology, cybersecurity, and resilience and will co-chair the Committee on Facilities, Cyber, and 

Infrastructure to carry out this function.

MEP CARES Act. Manufacturing USA CARES Act non-competitive grants have been awarded to NIIMBL

(National Institute for Innovation and Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals), America Makes, Lift, ARM 

(Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing), and BiofabUSA. NIIMBL is at the heart of the fight against COVID with

a series of pandemic response programs.

MEP Update. MEP continues to be a consistent source of guidance and expertise on cybersecurity for

manufacturers, with a specific focus on the defense supply chain, and a MATTR (MEP-Assisted Technology

and Technical Resource) program. Dr. Copan said the Strategic Competition Program is having a great impact 

on network development. 

Manufacturing: 3D Printing of Soft Materials. NIST research continues to focus on new methods and standards 

for 3D printing of soft materials, such as gels. New approach using shorter wavelengths and electrons can 

produce gels with finer detail. Since hydrogels are compatible with living cells, these materials could be 

developed for medical applications, such as drug delivery systems or flexible electrodes that can be inserted 

into the human body.

Smart Manufacturing Guidelines. A series of guidelines have been issued in various dimensions of smart 

manufacturing, including industrial wireless deployment and the management of manufacturing data.

Rapid Microbial Testing Method Consortium. In September, NIST kicked off a Microbial Testing Method 

Consortium. Consortium will address shared needs such as measurements for microbial testing in 

regenerative medicine products and will design in inter-laboratory studies to support development of best 

practices and new standards.

COVID-19 Measurements Update. Dr. Copan said NIST's work on COVID-19 has focused on standard 

reference materials. NIST has shipped over 125 units of SARS-CoV-2 synthetic RNA fragments of Reference 

Grade Test Material (RGTM) to customers in U.S. and abroad. This is an international effort bringing together 

the National Metrology Institutes around the world, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, and the 

CCQM (Care Coordination Quality Measure) working group on nucleic acid analysis. Studies on immune 
5

response to COVID-19 are ongoing, and NIST is a trusted partner to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a wide 

range of efforts in measurements and standards, data integrity, and security in this regard.

ROI Progress: Stevenson-Wydler & Bayh-Dole. The Stevenson-Wydler legislation has gone through a series of 

cycles and is anticipated that this package on the ROI initiative will go to congressional committees for

sponsorship this year. Part of the green paper and this role for technology transfer and innovation is the update 

to the Bayh-Dole Act. It is anticipated that a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be issued in November.

ROI Progress: Other Areas. Dr. Copan shared progress made with laboratory collaboratives. The rebuild of the 

Interagency Edison system is on schedule, expected to launch in FY2022. The Tech Transfer Metrics 

definitions have been updated and published for Federal Agencies.

Recent International Engagements. 

NIST is engaging with international metrology partners discussing the impact of the pandemic and provided its 

first online “hands on” lab training to over 30 SIM partners on Radiation thermometry. The BIRD Board of 

Governors met on October 13 to discuss the future of the foundation to ensure it continues to be a vibrant 

mechanism for U.S.-Israel cooperation on innovation. NIST is working with UK Research and Innovation 

(UKRI) to finalize an MOU focused on Innovation and Commercialization Practices and other areas of mutual 

interest. The US-Australia JCM was held in August, potential future exchanges and collaborations around QIS 

and AI were discussed.

Recent Awards. Dr. Copan mentioned recent awards of NIST staff. Ms. Donna Dodson received a Service to 

America medal award, and Dr. Winnie Wong-Ng, who started at NIST as a postdoc and has continued her 

career, was inducted into the Louisiana State University (LSU) Hall of Distinction for her work in science and 

technology. The NIST team for the Rethinking Manufacturing video was recognized with a regional Emmy 

award.

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

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• Hiring of the Director of Diversity and Inclusion;

• Challenges and solutions for an inclusive environment at NIST;

• Tools available to employees to speak up in an environment of diversity and inclusion;

• Discussion sessions on how gender bias is manifested throughout scientific community;

• Challenges associated with training AI facial recognition algorithms; and

• How NIST can maintain synergistic connections between researchers working virtually.

NIST Safety Update – Keeping NIST Staff Safe During COVID - Dr. Elizabeth 

Mackey, Chief Safety Officer and Director of Office of Safety, Health, and 

Environment

Dr. Mackey provided an update on what has transpired since the last VCAT meeting when a memorandum was 

issued by OPM and OMB to instruct agencies on how to engage in a phased reopening. 

• NIST met OPM/OMB criteria, entered Phase 1 on July 6, 2020

• Ongoing implementation of OPM/OMB and DOC guidance at NIST, monitoring external and internal 

conditions

• COVID-19 health and safety requirements formalized in NIST Directives

• Training “NIST Safe Return to Campus for Phase 1” Version 1 issued in June; currently on version 4

• Refined procedures established for reporting and responding to possible COVID-19 cases

• Communication with staff: town hall meetings, FAQs, website, guidance

NIST had brand-new directives put in place to minimize the potential for COVID on campus:

• NIST Notice 2200.00 Phased Re-opening During Pandemic Conditions
6

• NIST Notice 2200.01 Requirements to Mitigate Spread of COVID-19 On Campus

• NIST Notice 2200.02 Use of Cloth Face Coverings During Pandemic Conditions

• NIST Notice 2200.03 Visitor and Contractor Protocols for Mitigating COVID on Campus

The Office of Human Resource Management issued the Supervisors' Guide: Talking to Staff about Returning 

to Onsite Work which covers telework, leave possibilities implementation, and a safety component for high-risk 

staff. Dr. Mackey said 20 individual guides to help implement the safety requirements have also been issued.

Dr. Mackey reviewed NIST’s strategies to prevent COVID transmission at NIST: eliminating the hazard,

exposure screening, minimizing the potential of spread, and cleaning of surfaces.

The NIST Daily COVID-19 Screening form is updated on a weekly basis. There is a requirement to stay off 

campus and self-monitor when having any of the following, based on the CDC website:

• Symptoms

• COVID test status

• Recovering from COVID

• Exposure to others

• Travel to high-risk areas

Dr. Mackey stated it is mandatory for all employees to take the training to return on campus. “NIST Safe 

Return to Campus Training for Phase 1 - Version 4” has been completed by 3,558 staff.

DOC requires daily updating on teleworking, employees who are symptomatic or no longer symptomatic, selfmonitoring, COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 recovered incidents. Staff who spend 15 minutes within 6 feet of 

a symptomatic person are notified for potential exposure of COVID-19 and instructed to quarantine for 14 days 

or until notified that the symptomatic person tested negative.

Dr. Mackey emphasized the focus on communication. The safety website is an excellent resource and has links 

to directives, guides, training, signs, and FAQs. There are 20 different guides on health and safety 

requirements. There is a comprehensive guide for supervisors on HR policies, practices, and guidance on highrisk staff. There is also signage all over campus to provide reminders on disinfecting workspaces and washing 

hands.

Much effort has been put into the internal criteria for a phased reopening. The janitorial service contracts have 

been modified to make sure there is at least a 30-day buffer for supplies of disinfectant and hand sanitizer. 

Ventilation is another requirement that is evaluated, ensuring all systems are working. Supplemental ventilation 

units such as portable air filtration systems have been disseminated to increase amount of filtration in the air. 

There have been 80 spaces evaluated in Boulder campus and 70 in Gaithersburg. Supplemental units are 

advised in a handful of those places, and that work is ongoing.

There has been a gradual increase in number of people coming on campus, allowing staff to adapt to the new 

protocols—10 to 12 percent on Gaithersburg campus and up to 20 percent on the Boulder campus. Phase 1 

allows up to 25 percent. Monitoring COVID responses on campus is also ongoing. As of Phase 1 (July 6, 

2020), there were 17 possible cases in which a person was on campus within less than 48 h of having COVIDlike symptoms. Space was disinfected for 10 cases. Close contacts were notified for three cases. None of the

17 tested positive. The total of 13 COVID-19 cases were recorded during Phase 1, and none were on campus 

while infected.

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

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• The program for COVID prevention is proving to be successful;

• Exceptions to return to work may be for reasons other than COVID-related;

• Robots with UV lights used to sanitize laboratories have proven to be effective;

• Laboratory spaces with sensitive equipment will remain dormant to ensure virus is dead;
7

• Limiting staff returning to work because of space availability;

• Additional protective protocols are in place for reactor operators and fire department;

• Measuring live virus on surfaces; and

• Employees being advised to eliminate clutter because of office areas being sprayed with disinfectants.

SESSION II: SETTING THE STAGE – THE ROLE OF NIST IN AMERICA’S 

EVOLVING INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

Keynote – The State of U.S. Advanced Tech Industry Competitiveness and What 

to Do – Dr. Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and 

Innovation Foundation

Dr. Atkinson's began by stating his career started at NIST and currently works at the Information Technology

and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). He gave a brief background on what ITIF does.

Dr. Atkinson began with an update on the economy in terms of employment and productivity growth from 1990

to 2018, and stated it began to stagnate after the Great Recession. Productivity is growing more slowly 

because the economy needs more workers, and the only way to compete globally is by superior productivity 

growth, faster than adversaries and competitors. The Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 18 to 19 percent 

over the past decade, but manufacturing has not kept up – 6 percent less than overall GDP. The data from

1998 to 2018 from the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis sends a distortive message 

about the overall health of U.S. manufacturing growth. The U.S. should be growing manufacturing by 30, 40, 50 

percent, particularly when China is growing its manufacturing. Even with some beneficial steps in the last few 

years, the U.S. trade balance is just going down and worsening.

Many countries are putting in place a set of policies around the next generation of manufacturing. The 

Europeans call it “Industry 4.0," and Americans call it "smart manufacturing." They are developing indices,

benchmarking tools, pilot fabs to help small companies and demonstrate smart manufacturing technologies.

Many countries are providing financial support through grants or tax credits to help manufacturers adopt these 

new technologies, whether it is Internet of Things (IoT), AI, or other advanced production equipment. Dr. 

Atkinson believes the U.S. could to do more of that to keep up with what our competitors are doing. Most 

manufacturers are in the early stages of the manufacturing digitalization journey. American companies need 

improvement in this area.

The U.S. received little greenfield manufacturing when it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI). Most foreign 

companies are buying American companies, which is different than a foreign company coming here to open a 

new facility. Dr. Atkinson says this may be due to the U.S. being less attractive when it comes to business

climate issues compared to some other countries.

Dr. Atkinson stated that the U.S. lags on robot adoption and is ranked seventh, about 200 robots per 10,000 

manufacturing workers, behind Japan and Germany. Korea is far ahead of everybody else. This is in part 

because wages in U.S. are 30 to 40 percent higher than Korea and way higher than China and the U.S. is not 

investing as much in technology or equipment as it should. Data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) 

shows some sectors have increased their R&D to sales ratio in the U.S., most have not. Dr. Atkinson shared 

that more R&D-intensive sectors should be investing more in R&D in the U.S. Another troubling statistic is that

other nations invest more in university research than the U.S. as a share of GDP, and he shared that Congress 

should put more focus on the mission of dedicated innovation agencies. Other nations have more generous 

R&D tax credits. In 2018, Congress passed a tax bill that will take away R&D deductibility in 2022, which takes 

away incentives for U.S. companies to invest more in R&D.

Dr. Atkinson compared President Trump and President-Elect Biden's take on manufacturing investment. 

President Trump's approach has tended to be a combination of pressing our global competitors to play more by

the rules but in general has not been that supportive of a manufacturing policy. He believes Mr. Biden's 

approach is more favorable to investment on manufacturing, quadrupling the size of the MEP program, with big 
8

increases in R&D. To fix the data/analysis problem in the U.S., Dr. Atkinson believes there should be more 

analyzing of the data in a systematic way. NIST does provide this analysis, but more needs to be done in this 

space. He is hopeful that the next Congress will task NIST with funding and resources to allow this to happen. 

China has a new initiative called China Standards 2035. It is their attempt to be the global hegemon in 

standards. To avoid a huge disaster if they are successful, NIST must step up to the plate and respond with the 

best standards and technologies. Bringing back the NIST Advanced Technology Program, TBED (technologybased economic development) programs, and expanding Manufacturing USA institutes to be more industry-led 

with greater diversity of sizes and models are ways to advance this effort. A national industrial strategy needs 

to be developed, which will help push back against China.

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

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• Evidence needs to replace misinformation around innovation and industrial productivity;

• EU projects success through funding and consensus building between industry and academia, and

U.S.’s inability to advance due to antitrust laws;

• Collaborative tax credit would help to fund more R&D;

• Rebranding of NIST Advanced Technology Program creating a national innovation network;

• Independent program versus a NIST program for advocacy; and

• Bringing back critical microelectronics manufacturing maybe through the National Defense

Authorization Act.

Strategic Landscape and Emerging Challenges – Implications for NIST - Dr. Jason 

Boehm, Director NIST Program Coordination Office

Dr. Boehm stated over the past several years, the Program Coordination Office has been doing an 

environmental scan looking at the following factors:

• Societal changes

• Geopolitical landscape

• Political and policy landscape

• Technology and science landscape

On societal changes, Dr. Boehm highlighted a few of the issues around social inequality, multigenerational 

workforce, social unrest, and growing distrust. 

COVID-19 has produced ramifications for NIST. Dr. Mackey and others are making strides to ensure NIST can 

operate safely. The pandemic has had a huge economic impact, and there is stress on federal, state, and local 

budgets. There are more virtual meetings and more telework. Some of the ramifications for NIST revolve 

around pressure on solvency, infrastructure degradation, lapse in mission delivery, and procurement of 

supplies. Some of the biggest changes revolve around workforce with respect to telework.

Dr. Boehm said China is changing their S&T landscape with increased funding for research and development. 

Though the U.S. is still a large funder of R&D in absolute terms, Southeast Asia is providing more R&D funding 

on a percentage basis, most of which comes from China, putting pressure on the United States. There is a 

dramatic increase in the number of patents, publications, and demand for STEM-capable workers, in China. 

The United States must continue to be a leader moving forward.

Industry provides the majority of R&D funding in the United States, but in terms of basic research, Federal 

Government is still the biggest funder. However, the level of federal investment has been flat and declining. 

NIST has been in a consistent 4 percent growth range for funding, though the federal R&D budget has not 

really been growing steadily.

On technology and science drivers, there has been a huge demand for cybersecurity capabilities and issues 

related to food security. The pandemic has magnified the quality and supply chain security writ large. These are 
9

the areas where NIST research may have capabilities to apply. Sustainable innovation is a big trend, as well as 

climate change challenges with water and energy usage. There are huge data needs in this area. With regard 

to advanced manufacturing, NIST will continue to look at robotics and automation. NIST should be well 

positioned to have an impact in all of these areas.

Dr. Boehm detailed key implications and future considerations for NIST in the areas of workforce and 

operational environment and mission delivery. The changing international dynamics will have a huge impact on 

the NIST workforce as it pertains to foreign national guest researchers. One key area is to maintain openness 

while protecting security. Trust is going to be important for the workforce moving forward. There is a need to 

increase communication with stakeholders to build understanding. Maintaining credibility with industry on basic 

research will play a role in emerging tech areas and standardization and there will be increased calls for

leadership from NIST and government engagement.

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

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• Benefits of teleworking and flexible environments;

• Reaching college graduates now to increase diversity and inclusion in future workforce pipeline;

• China's aggressive stance on changing standards to their benefit;

• Establishing a way to deliver mission remotely or robotically on neutron scattering mission delivery;

• Possibility of letting staff come on-site to do experiments in Phase 2 while protecting health and safety;

• Allowing parents with school-age kids to work on different schedules; and

• Lack of innovation in remote working.

SESSION III: STEPS TAKEN AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

Update on NIST Strategic Plan - Dr. Jason Boehm, Director NIST Program 

Coordination Office

Dr. Boehm gave an update on the Strategic Plan. There has been a lot of outreach and engagement. Eight 

actions are under way for implementation. Currently, NIST is at the 6-month progress review and selection of 

next actions for a second round of implementation. There are four strategic goals are:

• 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

• Goal 4, build a One NIST culture

The leadership team and stakeholders from across NIST developed eight actions to tackle the issues within the 

four goals. The eight actions fall into three categories: workforce, infrastructure, and operations and 

procedures. The actions under workforce include improve collaboration and agility across NIST programs,

establish a new funding mechanism to foster cross-collaboration, appoint a NIST diversity coordinator, and 

strengthen NIST's leadership corps by developing and implementing a NIST leadership competency model.

Under infrastructure, the two action areas are: developing a prioritized implementation plan of the NIST 

Campus Master Plan and optimizing ongoing repair activities through utilization of a predictive facilities

maintenance tool. In terms of operations and procedures the actions are: 1) increase the successful transfer of 

NIST developed technologies by applying best practices to enhance customers and stakeholder engagements; 

and 2) s improve stakeholder awareness of NIST via strategic communications and initiating an effort to 

rebrand NIST.

Upcoming steps include a 6-month review in mid-October with the Associate Directors and NIST Director. In 

late November, early December, there will be an open house with NIST staff to showcase progress and collect 

input on actions staff would like to see progress on, and these will be launched as Round 2 actions in early 

2021.
10

Dr. Boehm mentioned noteworthy accomplishments: plans to create an innovation ambassador detail in the 

Office of Technology Partnerships, as well as hiring a diversity and inclusion leader. He also stated 

performance plan modifications to foster a One NIST culture is underway to provide more cross-collaboration 

across NIST and a contract was awarded to work on the branding study.

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

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• More granular KPIs (key performance indicators);

• Returning to campus and looking at underutilized facilities;

• How to effect change in workforce in the virtual world;

• EUL (enhanced-use lease) authority for industry partners to be on-site for collaborative work;

• Inclusion more difficult to attain than diversity, especially for middle and upper management;

• Importance of trust, transparency, and communication with employees working at home; and 

• The need for diverse interview panels for better inclusivity.

Strengthening Technology Transfer – Update on ROI and Plans for NIST - Ms. 

Mojdeh Bahar, Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services

Ms. Bahar stated through public-private partnerships, NIST builds communities around technological

innovations, manufacturing, and performance excellence. The overarching goals of IIS (Innovation and Industry 

Services) is to seek internal synergies, expand the reach, seek external partners, and disseminate the NIST 

story. She reminded VCAT that IIS consists of four organizational units:

• Baldrige Performance Excellence program

• Manufacturing USA program

• Meeting Extension Partnership

• Technology Partnership Office

In FY2020 and FY2021, IIS continues to collaborate projects among the four pillars. Each member of the team 

collaborates projects that will strengthen the One NIST vision. It is imperative to deliver services and 

communicate the delivery of services in a way that is welcomed by partners and stakeholders, as this will help 

to form the public-private partnerships. There is an overarching communication plan for each of the external 

partners, and IIS identified the collaboration opportunities within the NIST laboratories and sought to find out 

which programs were successful and why.

Ms. Bahar said during this age of COVID where everybody has been teleworking, IIS has made breakthroughs 

in COVID-related projects such as COVID-19 ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) platform and 

COVID-19 spike protein detection for therapeutic antibodies and diagnostics. Through CARES Act grants, MEP 

has given away $50 million in grants to 51 centers in 90 days. Manufacturing USA has awarded $12.4 million

competitively to five Manufacturing USA institutes, and this has sponsored 13 high-impact pandemic response 

projects.

Highlights of the FY2021 plan for Manufacturing USA, subject to re-appropriation, are a new Manufacturing

USA Institutes competition, development of policy and procedures for recognizing existing entities for

participation in Manufacturing USA. Ms. Bahar said NIST gained authority to renew an institute based on a 

comprehensive performance review, as NIIMBL will be in its final year of the 5-year cooperative agreement. A 

performance review in 2021 will leverage best practices from across the Federal Government, including from

MEP and the National Science Foundation. 

Notable accomplishments for Manufacturing Extension Partnership were a series of virtual manufacturer

roundtable that highlighted experiences of manufacturing leaders from across the country. During the 11 

roundtables, there were 50 manufacturers representing 27 states and diverse industries. Discussions centered 

on what keeps them up at night, how they are operating during the pandemic, what they see in the future, and 

what NIST and MEP can do to help U.S. manufacturers. The roundtable format provided an excellent forum for 

generating these important conversations and resulted in a great deal of insight into the current challenges and 
11

opportunities for manufacturers. NIST MEP will analyze these sessions and produce a report with common 

themes and actionable findings for NIST and MEP leadership.

FloridaMakes, the MEP Center in Florida, will deliver a project to develop and implement a new, manufacturingspecific, Baldrige-derived assessment tool incorporating Industry 4.0 principles within the Baldrige framework. 

Through these assessments, used as standalones or through regional, state, and/or national award processes, 

companies will be able to benchmark themselves against the criteria, and/or against each other, and 

understand pathways to improve their competitiveness and technological performance.

Developed in response to Executive Orders 13801 Enhancing Apprenticeships and 13845 creating the National 

Council for the American Worker, cross agency collaboration between DOC, DOL, and WH recognizes 

companies that demonstrate excellence in workplace education, training, and retraining policies and 

investments, in order to galvanize industries to identify and adopt best practices, innovate their workplace 

policies, and invest in their workforces. Award criteria and evaluation process borrow from the Baldrige Award 

process. Nine recipient organizations were recognized at the White House in an awards ceremony with Pledge

to America's Workers Presidential Award (PAWPA).

Integration Baldrige principles in NIST Laboratories is being implemented through Baldrige Fellows Program. 

One NIST leader per year will go through Baldrige as a fellow to better integrate Baldrige principles.

The assessment of the NIST-on-a-Chip commercialization pilot made the following recommendations to the 

NIST-wide technology transfer efforts:

1. Eliminate operational silos and communications roadblocks.

2. Create Excitement about tech transfer within the NIST labs.

3. Think and act strategically about IP.

4. Develop technology discovery and marketing strategies.

5. Increase awareness of NIST technologies available for use.

6. Reward and incentivize commercialization activities.

7. Leverage best practices to ensure NIST is world-class in tech transfer.

8. Establish the role of Technology Liaison.

9. Define NIST's roles in the commercialization and patenting process.

10. Communicate the importance of tech transfer broadly.

Ms. Bahar provided a detailed summary of progress made to date to align NIST laboratories with Technology

Partnerships Office (TPO). A point of contact will be established for each lab, which will help with better

communication going forward. Rewriting position descriptions and redefining roles of some staff members will 

afford better opportunities to work together and learn from each other. Innovation ambassador program will 

engage postdoctoral and early career scientists in technology transfer. And umbrella agreements will be put in 

place to help processes move with the speed of industry.

For more information, see Ms. Bahar’s presentation.

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• Difficulties in accepting new technologies during transition;

• Timing for NIST patenting a technology that could help bring commercial product to the table; and

• Manufacturing USA institutes to become self-sufficient and later commercialize technologies.

The Expanding Role of Partnerships in the Delivery of NIST’s Measurement 

Science Mission - Dr. James Olthoff, Associate Director for Laboratory Programs

Dr. Olthoff explained the NIST mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness has caused 

NIST to form partnerships from the very beginning. Over time NIST went from becoming strictly a measurement 

laboratory to a laboratory focused more on innovation and research related to economic competitiveness of the 

U.S. The number of institutes and partnerships has grown since the days of JILA, 60 years ago, and the way

NIST interacts with the rest of the world has also evolved within the last 20 years. Dr. Olthoff stated the number
12

of institutions and physical locations have grown over the years as NIST has promoted and developed new 

partnerships.

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is the Department of Commerce's first federally 

funded research and development center established in partnership with Maryland and Montgomery County. It 

provides NIST with great capability in cybersecurity and the ability to go out and partner with institutions. Last

count, NCCoE had 47 different technology partners. Oversight and management, however, can be 

burdensome with an institution this large.

Dr. Olthoff said the Centers of Excellence (COE) program, established in 2013, was meant to allow NIST to 

grow in fields where there were great measurement needs. Partnering with institutions brought in a great deal 

of expertise. There are three COEs: CHIMaD (Center for Hierarchical Materials Design) with Northwestern 

University on advanced materials; Resilience, focused on community resilience with Colorado State University; 

and CSAFE (Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence) on forensic science with Iowa State 

University. The challenge is that institutions tend to want to be autonomous, it takes time to establish 

productive relationships, and COEs need to ensure their own sustainability after 10 years of funding from NIST.

The joint institutes and centers provide longstanding institutional commitments and embedded NIST staff with

the University of Colorado, the University of Maryland, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

and the Department of Energy. The advantages are access to expertise, ability to build long-term capabilities, 

provide a pipeline for future skilled workforce, and ability to work with academic and industry in an effective 

manner. Challenges are loss of NIST culture at off-site centers and difficulty to disengage from the 

commitment.

Grants programs help to expand the reach of NIST programs, initiate new areas of research, and build new 

partnerships, but the challenges are minimal engagement with NIST researchers and monitoring to ensure 

alignment with NIST programs.

Frameworks have provided a way for NIST to engage with external partners and bring the community together.

Many industrial and technology sectors are interested in frameworks and ask NIST to do this, but there are 

times NIST does not have the expertise or resources to pursue all of them.

nSoft consortia revolve around NCNR user facilities and share the cost of operation of various instruments. Dr. 

Olthoff said these consortia offer great expectations. QED-C is the newest consortium, where NIST has 

brought together many companies and partners that are working on cutting-edge quantum computing

technology. 

Prize competitions stimulate innovation to advance the NIST mission and crowdsource expertise of the whole 

country to solve a problem. Advantages include establishing ambitious goals without predicting who is most 

likely to succeed, reaching beyond the “usual suspects”, and inspiring risk-taking by offering a level playing 

field. Challenges are the requirement for the prize competition expertise and infrastructure, and the need to 

sustain the community and follow-on investments after competition ends.

Because of connections with various partners and relationships with industries and companies, NIST was able 

to respond to the COVID crisis. The combination of having measurement capability and connections already in 

place allowed NIST to implement solutions very rapidly.

In closing, Dr. Olthoff said NIST has lots of the different tools to partner and advance our measurement science 

mission It's an interesting time for NIST to consider all of these tools, whether all of them are equally effective, 

whether some of them are better than others, whether or not we should pursue different ones. 

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

Discussion

The group discussed the following topics:

• Success of consortia versus centers of excellence;

• Future of centers of excellence beyond their 10-year lifetime;
13

• Dilution of resources and understanding fundamental role of NIST; and

• Develop a rigorous framework to compare and contrast results to determine ROI.

Looking Ahead: Opportunities for NIST in America’s Innovation Ecosystem – Dr. 

Walter Copan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and 

NIST Director

• Dr. Copan stated that looking at the future NIST priorities and opportunities for sustained impact in the 

coming years have been grouped into five high-level categories. Advanced Communications 

Technology and Standards for 5G and Beyond

• Standards Leadership for the Nation

• Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain

• Cybersecurity and Privacy

• Strengthening America’s Competitive Position in the World

Advanced communications are enabling dramatic changes in how consumers, manufacturers, governments 

and others consume information, transact business, provide and use essential services, and shop. The NIST 

Communications Technology Laboratory headquartered in Boulder, CO is the hub of NIST’s advanced 

communications efforts, home to over 200 NIST staff and associates and the Department’s lead in technical 

outputs for 5G and beyond, with over 330 technical publications in the past five years. 

In the face of increasing competition from Asia (most prominently from the People’s Republic of China), NIST 

research and work in standards development are critical for keeping the U.S. innovation at the forefront of 

critical emerging technology areas including quantum science, AI, advanced manufacturing, biotech and the 

bioeconomy, communications, cybersecurity, community resilience, and advanced microelectronics. 

The Department of Commerce is uniquely positioned to lead government-wide and national stakeholder 

dialogues on manufacturing policy. An important leader in this effort is NIST, with its strong connections

throughout the manufacturing community engaging on a broad range of issues from research, innovation, 

technology adoption, standardization, supply chains, security, and workforce. NIST laboratories help 

companies create products and services more efficiently by providing data and measurement tools to inform 

their products and processes -- whether a new vehicle design or a biopharmaceutical. Further, NIST research 

is informing technology and standards development for a secure wireless communications supply chain. 

Cybersecurity and privacy are at the forefront of concern for the U.S. whether from the perspective of the 

federal government, private sector, or private citizen. The Department of Commerce, via NIST, has critical roles 

in setting the cybersecurity policy for the federal government. NIST is the Department’s lead agency on 

cybersecurity and privacy issues, with products and services that comprise a portfolio that bridges foundational 

cybersecurity research, applied cybersecurity research and development, and through the development of 

publicly available standards, frameworks and technical guidance. 

Lastly, Dr. Copan stated that NIST continues to play a key role in strengthening America's competitive position 

in the world and its programs support the U.S. innovation base with research and standards in high-value 

emerging technology areas. While the U.S. remains a leader in key areas, continued focus and growth is 

imperative. NIST is dedicated to maintaining the necessary talent, research infrastructure, innovation 

leadership and public-private partnerships.

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

SESSION IV: DISCUSSION WITH VCAT

Discussion with VCAT

Dr. Boehm asked the VCAT for their input on the areas or issues where NIST is missing or not focusing enough 

attention; the right balance of intramural and extramural programs, the best models and where NIST is 

stretched too thin; and international standards development.
14

The group discussed the following:

• More analysis needed for an uncertain future;

• NIST could play a part in providing visibility into resiliency and flexibility;

• Development of extensive modeling and simulation to provide insight into various levels of 

manufacturing;

• Resist pressure to do things faster;

• Changes in the standards community for using tools that maximize effectiveness in standardization 

process;

• NIST has a niche position in manufacturing that can be leveraged in the country at this time;

• New incentives to drive industrial competitiveness in manufacturing sector and innovation system 

forward;

• Building material standards related to energy use;

• Aligning in another area besides manufacturing to gain visibility on the Hill for scientific support;

• A national priority is a qualified workforce to address quantum industries of the future;

• Partnering with industry to build internships into academic programs;

• Develop advanced technology by bringing people from diverse backgrounds;

• MEP opening the door to new technology adoption for small manufacturers;

• Critical gap of education institutions for students in technical areas;

• Strengthening the U.S. innovation system through core research from lab to market;

• Workforce challenges and ability to attract brightest here in U.S.;

• VCAT mission is to look for priorities that give greatest return for America's investment;

• NIST should play larger role in the growing area of Internet of Things;

• Advanced communication is the core of the future in NIST priorities;

• Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) potential for innovative products and services in 

world marketplace;

• Standards development efforts can help the economy of U.S. and maximize the footprint of NIST

globally;

• VCAT's input to educational community on how to embed key elements for future of U.S. 

competitiveness; and

• Prospective collaboration between NIST and Department of Commerce ITA (International Trade 

Administration) on development of measurement science.

Administrative Business

Dr. Adler thanked the NIST leadership for the thought-provoking presentations and discussion of the virtual 

meeting. He also stated the drafting materials for the upcoming VCAT report should be circulated via email to 

members. 

Dr. Adler thanked Dr. Copan for his leadership, contributions, and service to the nation. The VCAT members

also expressed their appreciation.

Dr. Copan thanked the entire VCAT for investing their time and expertise with NIST to improve the mission of 

this institute for the nation. 

There were no public comments offered.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 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. E. Allen Adler, Chair, NIST Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology