June 13, 2023

NIST Visiting Committee 

on Advanced Technology (VCAT)

Dr. Laurie Locascio

Under Secretary of Commerce 

for Standards and Technology 

and Director of NIST
Meeting Agenda

Session I: NIST Programmatic Updates

Session II: CHIPS updates

Session III: Standards

Session IV: VCAT Progress and Planning

June 13, 2023

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Welcome New VCAT Members

Dr. Monisha Ghosh

Professor, Electrical Engineering 

University of Notre Dame

Dr. Mark Pierpoint

Senior Vice President

Strategic Innovation & Partnerships

Keysight Technologies, Inc. 

Credit: NIST Credit: NIST

3
CHIPS R&D Office Leadership Changes

Credit: NIST Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Dr. Lora G. Weiss

Director

Dr. Eric K. Lin

Deputy Director 

4

Neil Alderoty

Executive Officer 

Richard-Duane 

Chambers

Associate Director 

for Integration and 

Policy 

Dr. Marla Dowell

Director of the 

CHIPS Metrology 

R&D Program 
NIST Leadership Changes

Credit: ITA Credit: NIST

Dr. Heather Evans

Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Manufacturing

International Trade Administration

Dr. Christopher Szakal

Acting Director

Program Coordination 

Office 5
I. NIST Programmatic 

Updates
NIST Director's Priorities

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Critical & Emerging Technologies

ADVANCED 

COMMUNICATIONS

(5G and beyond) 

and wireless 

technologies

ARTIFICIAL 

INTELLIGENCE

BIOTECHNOLOGY

CYBERSECURITY 

AND PRIVACY

Transparent, 

trustworthy AI and 

machine learning

To enable the 

development and 

deployment of 

emerging 

technologies

And engineering 

biology to impact 

the health, 

agricultural, and 

industrial sectors

ENERGY 

TECHNOLOGIES

QUANTUM 

INFORMATION 

SCIENCE

Leveraging quantum 

mechanics for the storage, 

transmission, manipulation, 

computing, or 

measurement of 

information

Generation, 

storage, distribution, 

and secure, 

climate-friendly, 

efficient utilization 

of energy

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) Update 

Credit: science.house.gov Credit: @SecRaimondo Credit: NIST Institute for Trustworthy 

AI in Law and Society 

(TRAILS)

National AI R&D 

Strategic Plan

AI Research

4th EU-US Trade and 

Technology Council 

(TTC) Ministerial in 

Luleå, Sweden

AI Standards

Credit: @SecRaimondo

Trustworthy and 

Responsible AI 

Resource Center 

(AIRC)

AI Risk Management 

Framework

Credit: NIST

Upcoming Generative 

AI Working Group

Request for 

Information (RFI) 

on measurement and 

evaluation efforts

Generative AI

Credit: pixabay/geralt

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Bioeconomy Update

Credit: NIST

Support of Biodefense

January 2023, NIST released a yeast 

material (surrogate for harmful 

biothreats) for training first responders on 

biothreats

Credit: NIST

Bioeconomy E.O. Report

March 2023, OSTP released the 

NIST-authored report on biotech 

R&D for supply chain resilience

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NIST and FDA scientists 

developed a noninvasive 

method to count the live 

cells in a three-dimensional 

(3D) scaffold

Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A, May 2023
Cybersecurity & Privacy Update

Privacy-Enhancing Technologies Prize 

Challenge Winners

NIST’s Small Business Cybersecurity Community 

of Interest

National 

Cybersecurity 

Strategy

Digital Identity 

Management

Credit: NIST

NCCoE Renewal 

Event March 2023

Credit: NIST

Journey to NIST’s 

Cybersecurity 

Framework 2.0

Credit: NIST

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Advanced Communications Update

Credit: NIST

NIST hosts Spectrum Strategy Workshop

Identified challenges and priorities for 

obtaining, disseminating, and using data 

about spectrum

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

NIST/First Responder Network Partnership

Partnering with First Responder Network 

Authority to host 5x5: The Public Safety 

Innovation Summit. Credit: NIST 13
Climate and Environment Update

Credit: NIST

Forward-Looking Building Standards

• NIST and NOAA incorporating forward-looking climate data 

and projections into standards for buildings and infrastructure

Greenhouse Gas-Urban Dome 

• Investigate and develop measurement tools that support 

independent determination of the accuracy of emissions 

inventory data at urban and regional scales

Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)

• NIST and CAL FIRE recently released a report to describe how 

far flammable structures, such as sheds, should be away from 

homes to limit home damage

Low Carbon Cements & Concretes Consortium

• Evaluate, develop, and standardize methods to characterize 

and quantify carbon and carbonates in these materials NIST Technical Note 2253
Credit: K Dill, NIST

Integrated photonics and atom trapping onto a single chip for 

deployable optical atomic clocks and quantum-enhanced sensing.

Light: Science & Applications, April 2023

Quantum Information Science Update

Image Credit: Steven Burrows/JILA

Clock atoms

Meta-surface photonic integrated 

chip

Credit: JILA

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST

Drs. Ana Maria Rey and 

Paul Julienne were 

elected to the National 

Academy of Sciences

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USG Standards Leadership Update

The U.S. Government National Standards Strategy 

for Critical and Emerging Technology White House 

Rollout event took place on May 4, 2023

Organized by

• National Security Council

• Office of Science and Technology Policy

• U.S. Department of Commerce

• U.S. Department of State

Panelists and experts from

• Academia

• Government

• Private sector

Credit: The White House • American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Focused on the U.S. government’s role in 

bolstering private sector participation and the 

importance of international cooperation 17
International Engagement Update

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U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council

U.S. ● European Commission

Quad

U.S. ● Australia ● India ● Japan

Ottawa 5

U.S. ● Australia ● Canada

New Zealand ● UK

OECD

U.S. ● Australia ● Austria Canada Denmark ● Finland

France ● Germany Hungary ● Japan ● Korea ● Mexico 

Netherlands ● New Zealand ● Poland Russia ● Singapore 

Slovak Republic Slovenia ● Sweden Switzerland ● Turkey 

UAE ● UK ● European Commission

IPEF

U.S. ● Australia ● Brunei ● India ● Indonesia ● Japan

Korea ● Malaysia New Zealand ● Philippines ● Singapore 

Thailand ● Vietnam

Credit: @SecRaimondo

Credit: White House Photo by A. Schultz

Credit: ODNI

Credit: USTR

UK DSIT Delegation Visit to DC

U.S. ● UK

Credit: @StateDept Credit: gov.uk

MEP Update

Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence 

Network (SCOIN)

• Aligns with the National Strategy for 

Advanced Manufacturing and MEP’s 

strategic priorities

• $20 million in new cooperative agreements 

for all 51 MEP Centers

• Under new authority granted by CHIPS Act, 

MEP published first Expansion Awards Pilot 

Program request for applications on Feb 27

• All centers submitted noncompetitive 

applications to implement projects that 

expand the existing MEP capabilities to 

establish SCOIN

Credit: NIST

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Manufacturing USA Update

Credit: NIIMBL

• Ongoing support of NIST-sponsored NIIMBL

• New flexible-topic NIST-sponsored MFG USA 

institute competition

FY23 Base 

appropriations 

$37M

• Funding to address news responsibilities 

under the Research and Innovation 

(“Science”) Division of CHIPS & Science Act

FY23 Special 

appropriations 

$14M

• Up to 3 NIST-sponsored MFG USA 

semiconductor institutes

• Funding for existing institutes for tech and 

training integrated with NSTC

CHIPS 

appropriations 

FY 2023 Enacted Appropriations Manufacturing USA 2023

Network Meeting

Credit: Manufacturing USA

Anticipated‘WEAVE’ 

PublicService Awards

$11M

• Engaging HBCUs, MSIs

• Transitioning institutedeveloped technologies

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NIST Measurement Services

100 billion requests daily 

to Internet Time Service

in vivo MRI Biomarker 

traceability msmts.

Developing: EV supply 

equipment services

Quantum detector 

efficiency calibrations

5G Antenna 

calibrations 

Credit: NIST

1100+ Standard 

Reference Materials

100+ Standard Ref. 

Data Products

Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST Credit: NIST

Credit: NIST Credit: NIST

Credit: US DoT

Credit: Microsoft

Every Year

• 14,000+ calibrations

• 32,000+ SRMs sold

• 800+ accreditations 

of testing and 

calibrations labs
Fighting the Opioid Epidemic

Results shared within 48 hrs. to inform on 

substances in circulation

Unique 

compounds 

identified

First identified in 

Maryland

First identified 

nationally

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77

2

Credit: NIST

TRANQ Research Act (H.R. 1734): Requires NIST to 

support research identifying xylazine, novel 

synthetic opioids, and other emerging 

substances of concern; passed House

Influx of Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer into 

the illegal drug market in Maryland

• Found in 80% of fentanyl samples

• Causes injection site wounds that can lead to 

amputation

NIST developed a safe analytical platform for 

rapid non-targeted drug analysis with the 

sensitivity to detect fentanyl analogues
PFAS Prevalence in Firefighter Gear

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 

(PFAS) are manufactured “forever” 

toxic to humans and wildlife

• NIST examined range of textiles 

used in turnout gear coats and 

pants to identify PFAS types, 

quantity, location 

• Recent report: highest 

concentrations in outermost layers

• NIST is completing a similar study of 

PFAS in new and stressed hoods, 

gloves and wildland gear

Credit: NIST

Congressional interest in other exposures 

- SRMs for drinking water, food, and 

house dust
NIST Disaster Investigations Update

Credit: NIST

Hurricane Maria/Fiona

• Evaluate performance of critical buildings and 

emergency communications; recovery of infrastructure 

systems, businesses, supply chains, and social functions

Hurricane Ian 

• Assess relationships between wind speed and building 

codes to determine benefit-cost analysis for adoption of 

modern wind provisions

• Study emergency communications and evacuation 

actions taken during the event

Champlain Towers South

• May 2023: Move into second warehouse enables new 

phase of testing

• May-Fall 2023: Begin invasive testing of evidentiary debris 

• June 14-15: NCST Advisory Committee meeting

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NCNR Update

Credit: NIST

• NRC authorized reactor restart: March 10, 2023

• Initial operations at low power: March 16, 2023

• Low power testing at 1 MW in progress; Reactor Operator 

Exams in July

• Engineering solutions planned this summer to mitigate 

radioactivity in the primary system

Reactor Status

• Dr. Dan Neumann appointed Associate Director, oversees 

new neutron source study

• Dr. Ron Jones appointed Leader, Neutron Condensed Matter 

Science Group

NCNR Leadership

NCNR Meeting

• June 20: NRC Commission “Briefing on Results of the Agency 

Action Review Meeting”

• Discussion on NIST performance improvement activities

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Morning/Afternoon Sessions
Thank you!