 SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, Appoints Kent Rochford as New CEO
Kent Rochford, NIST Associate Director for Laboratory Programs has been appointed the new CEO at SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics beginning May 7, 2018. Kent has spent 22 years at NIST including Acting Director of NIST, the Director of the NIST Boulder Labs and the Communications Technology Laboratory. The role at SPIE is an outstanding opportunity and fit for Kent. In this new job, he will be an international ambassador for optics and photonics, fields that are the foundations for Kent’s career in science. We wish Kent the best in this new endeavor!
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Change in Senate
Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee
Chairman
Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) will serve as the Chairman for
the Senate Appropriations Committee following Senator Thad Cochran’s (R-MS)
resignation. This created an opening for
chairman of the Commerce,
Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee, which has
jurisdiction over NIST’s budget. Senator
Jerry Moran (R-KS) will take over as the new Chairman of the CJS
Subcommittee.
NIST Released
Version 1.1 of its Cybersecurity Framework
On April 16, 2018 NIST released version 1.1 of its popular Framework for
Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, more widely known as the Cybersecurity Framework. The framework was developed with a focus on industries
vital to national and economic security, including energy, banking,
communications and the defense industrial base. It has since proven flexible
enough to be adopted voluntarily by large and small companies and organizations
across all industry sectors, as well as by federal, state and local
governments. Read
More
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Request for Information – Technology
Transfer: Return on Investment
To advance the President’s Management Agenda to modernize government for the 21st century, including the associated Lab-to-Market CAP Goal in coordination with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), NIST announced a Request for Information (RFI). The RFI was posted in the Federal Register on May 1, 2018 to gather
information about the current state of Federal technology transfer and the
public’s ability to engage with Federal laboratories and access federally
funded R&D through collaborations, licensing, and other mechanisms.
In
addition, NIST plans to conduct four public forums held in May and June 2018 to
allow stakeholders an opportunity to share their thoughts. For more
information on the events including registration, please visit our website.
For more information on this initiative, please visit the ROI website or contact NIST at roi@nist.gov.
Report on MEP Impacts
A
recent study by the W.E. Upjohn Institute found the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP) Program generates a substantial economic and financial return
of nearly 14.5:1 for the $128 million invested in FY 2017 by the federal
government. The study also finds that total employment in the U.S. was
over 219,000 higher because of MEP Center projects.
In addition,
the Upjohn study examined additional areas of economic impact not
previously reported by the MEP Program: (1) personal income is $13.76 billion
higher and (2) GDP is $22.01 billion larger, translating into an increase of
$1.86 billion in personal income tax revenue to the federal government
than without the program. Read More
Awardees of the 2018 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
On April 8, 2018 Dr. Walter Copan, U.S. Undersecretary of
Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director, presented five U.S.
organizations with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s
only presidential award for performance and innovation.
The five honorees
are:
- Bristol Tennessee Essential
Services, Bristol, TN (small business sector)
- Stellar Solutions, Palo
Alto, CA (small business sector)
- City of Fort Collins, Fort
Collins, CO (nonprofit sector)
- Adventist Health Castle,
Kailua, HI (health care sector)
- Southcentral Foundation,
Anchorage, AK (health care sector)
Read
More
Advanced Composites
On April 18, 2018 at 10:00am, Dr. Joannie Chin, Deputy Director
of the Engineering Laboratory at NIST testified before the House Committee on
Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Research and Technology. The purpose of the hearing is to review a
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report on “overcoming
barriers to the adoption of composites in sustainable infrastructure” and
discuss the value of developing composites standards for infrastructure applications.. You may view a copy of Dr.
Chin’s testimony or a webcast
of the hearing.
Additional Witnesses included:
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Dr. Hota GangaRao, Wadsworth
Distinguished Professor, Statler College of Engineering, West Virginia
University
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Dr. David Lange, professor,
department of civil and environmental engineering, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
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Mr. Shane Weyant, president
and CEO, Creative Pultrusions, Inc.
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