‘‘(A) 1 manufacturing industry partner; 
and 
‘‘(B) 1 nonindustry partner. 
‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 
under this section is to foster cost-shared collabora-
tions among firms, educational institutions, research 
institutions, State agencies, and nonprofit organiza-
tions to encourage the development of innovative, 
multidisciplinary manufacturing technologies. Part-
nerships receiving awards under this section shall 
conduct applied research to develop new manufac-
turing processes, techniques, or materials that would 
contribute to improved performance, productivity, 
and competitiveness of United States manufacturing, 
and build lasting alliances among collaborators. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM CONTRIBUTION.—Awards under this 
section shall provide for not more than one-third of the costs 
of a partnership. Not more than an additional one-third 
of such costs may be obtained directly or indirectly from 
other Federal sources. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards under 
this section shall be submitted in such manner, at such 
time, and containing such information as the Director shall 
require. Such applications shall describe at a minimum—
‘‘(1) how each partner will participate in devel-
oping and carrying out the research agenda of the 
partnership; 
‘‘(2) the research that the grant would fund; and 
‘‘(3) how the research to be funded with the 
award would contribute to improved performance, 
productivity, and competitiveness of the United States 
manufacturing industry. 
‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In selecting applications 
for awards under this section, the Director shall consider 
at a minimum—
‘‘(1) the degree to which projects will have a 
broad impact on manufacturing; 
‘‘(2) the novelty and scientific and technical 
merit of the proposed projects; and 
‘‘(3) the demonstrated capabilities of the appli-
cants to successfully carry out the proposed research. 
‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION.—In selecting applications under 
this section the Director shall ensure, to the extent prac-
ticable, a distribution of overall awards among a variety 
of manufacturing industry sectors and a range of firm sizes. 
‘‘(f) DURATION.—In carrying out this section, the Di-
rector shall run a single pilot competition to solicit and 
make awards. Each award shall be for a 3-year period.’’.
SEC. 4. MANUFACTURING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 
Section 18 of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278g–1) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 
‘‘The Director is authorized’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) MANUFACTURING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—To promote the develop-
ment of a robust research community working at the 
leading edge of manufacturing sciences, the Director 
shall establish a program to award—
‘‘(A) postdoctoral research fellowships at the 
Institute for research activities related to manu-
facturing sciences; and 
‘‘(B) senior research fellowships to estab-
lished researchers in industry or at institutions 
of higher education who wish to pursue studies 
related to the manufacturing sciences at the In-
stitute. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for an award 
under this subsection, an individual shall submit an 
application to the Director at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Di-
rector may require.
‘‘(3) STIPEND LEVELS.—Under this section, the 
Director shall provide stipends for postdoctoral re-
search fellowships at a level consistent with the Na-
tional 
Institute 
of 
Standards 
and 
Technology 
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, and sen-
ior research fellowships at levels consistent with sup-
port for a faculty member in a sabbatical position.’’. 
SEC. 5. MANUFACTURING EXTENSION. 
(a) MANUFACTURING CENTER EVALUATION.—Section 
25(c)(5) of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k(c)(5)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘A Center that has not received a positive evaluation by 
the evaluation panel shall be notified by the panel of the 
deficiencies in its performance and may be placed on proba-
tion for one year, after which time the panel may reevaluate 
the Center. If the Center has not addressed the deficiencies 
identified by the panel, or shown a significant improvement 
in its performance, the Director may conduct a new com-
petition to select an operator for the Center or may close 
the Center.’’ after ‘‘sixth year at declining levels.’’. 
(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Strike section 25(d) of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 
U.S.C. 278k(d)) and insert the following: 
‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to such 
sums as may be appropriated to the Secretary and Director
to operate the Centers program, the Secretary and Director 
also may accept funds from other Federal departments and 
agencies and under section 2(c)(7) from the private sector 
for the purpose of strengthening United States manufac-
turing. Such funds, if allocated to a Center or Centers, shall 
not be considered in the calculation of the Federal share 
of capital and annual operating and maintenance costs 
under subsection (c).’’. 
(c) MANUFACTURING EXTENSION CENTER COMPETI-
TIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 25 of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278k) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(e) COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall estab-
lish, within the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
program under this section and section 26 of this Act, 
a program of competitive awards among participants 
described in paragraph (2) for the purposes described 
in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) 
PARTICIPANTS.—Participants 
receiving 
awards under this subsection shall be the Centers, or 
a consortium of such Centers. 
‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program 
under this subsection is to develop projects to solve
new or emerging manufacturing problems as deter-
mined by the Director, in consultation with the Di-
rector of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
program, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership 
National Advisory Board, and small and medium-
sized manufacturers. One or more themes for the com-
petition may be identified, which may vary from year 
to year, depending on the needs of manufacturers and 
the success of previous competitions. These themes 
shall be related to projects associated with manufac-
turing extension activities, including supply chain 
integration and quality management, or extend be-
yond these traditional areas. 
‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for awards 
under this subsection shall be submitted in such man-
ner, at such time, and containing such information 
as the Director shall require, in consultation with the 
Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Advi-
sory Board. 
‘‘(5) SELECTION.—Awards under this subsection 
shall be peer reviewed and competitively awarded. 
The Director shall select proposals to receive 
awards—