AN ASSESSMENT OF THE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
MATERIAL MEASUREMENT LABORATORY

FISCAL YEAR 2017

Panel on Review of the Material Measurement Laboratory at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Committee on NIST Technical Programs

Laboratory Assessments Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

A Consensus Study Report of

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This study was supported by Contract No. SB1341-12-CQ-0036 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any agency or organization that provided support for the project.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24975

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Suggested Citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Material Measurement Laboratory: Fiscal Year 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24975.

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

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Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

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PANEL ON REVIEW OF THE MATERIAL MEASUREMENT LABORATORY AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

ELSA REICHMANIS, Georgia Institute of Technology, Chair

NICHOLAS L. ABBOTT, University of Wisconsin, Madison

RICHARD C. ALKIRE, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

KEVIN R. ANDERSON, Brunswick Corporation

PHILIP A. BERNSTEIN, Microsoft Corporation

LONG-QING CHEN, Pennsylvania State University

BLYTHE G. CLARK, Sandia National Laboratories

DENNIS E. DISCHER, University of Pennsylvania

JENNIE S. HWANG, H-Technologies Group

MICHAEL E. KASSNER, University of Southern California

MUKUL KUMAR, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

YONG LI, Cleveland Clinic

STEVEN H. MCKNIGHT, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

JEFFREY MORRIS, City University of New York, City College of New York

C. BRADLEY MOORE, University of California, Berkeley

WARREN C. OLIVER, Nanomechanics, Inc.

ISAAC C. SANCHEZ, University of Texas, Austin

ANTONIA R. SEPULVEDA, Columbia University

SUBHASH C. SINGHAL, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

CLIFFORD H. SPIEGELMAN, Texas A&M University, College Station

ANIL V. VIRKAR, University of Utah

JAMES C. WYANT, University of Arizona

QIAOBING XU, Tufts University

Staff

AZEB GETACHEW, Senior Program Assistant

LIZA HAMILTON, Associate Program Officer

EVA LABRE, Administrative Coordinator

JAMES P. MCGEE, Director

ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer

COMMITTEE ON NIST TECHNICAL PROGRAMS

ELSA REICHMANIS, Georgia Institute of Technology, Chair

MICHAEL I. BASKES, Mississippi State University

LEWIS BRANSCOMB, University of California, San Diego

MARTIN E. GLICKSMAN, Florida Institute of Technology

JENNIE S. HWANG, H-Technologies Group

CHRISTOPHER W. MACOSKO, University of Minnesota

C. KUMAR PATEL, Pranalytica, Inc.

BHAKTA B. RATH, Naval Research Laboratory

ALICE WHITE, Boston University

Staff

AZEB GETACHEW, Senior Program Assistant

LIZA HAMILTON, Associate Program Officer

EVA LABRE, Administrative Coordinator

JAMES P. MCGEE, Director

LABORATORY ASSESSMENTS BOARD

ROSS B. COROTIS, University of Colorado, Boulder, Chair

C. WILLIAM GEAR, Princeton University

WESLEY L. HARRIS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

JENNIE S. HWANG, H-Technologies Group

W. CARL LINEBERGER, University of Colorado, Boulder

C. KUMAR N. PATEL, Pranalytica, Inc.

ELSA REICHMANIS, Georgia Institute of Technology

LYLE H. SCHWARTZ, U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (retired)

Staff

AZEB GETACHEW, Senior Program Assistant

LIZA HAMILTON, Associate Program Officer

EVA LABRE, Administrative Coordinator

JAMES P. MCGEE, Director

ARUL MOZHI, Senior Program Officer

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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Frances S. Ligler, College of Engineering at North Carolina State University and School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring panel and the National Academies.

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Contents

SUMMARY

1 THE CHARGE TO THE PANEL AND THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS

2 APPLIED CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS

3 BIOMOLECULAR MEASUREMENT

4 BIOSYSTEMS AND BIOMATERIALS

5 CHEMICAL SCIENCES

6 MATERIALS MEASUREMENT SCIENCE

7 MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

8 OFFICE OF DATA AND INFORMATICS

9 OFFICE OF REFERENCE MATERIALS

10 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

APPENDIXES

A Material Measurement Laboratory Staffing in Fiscal Year 2017

B Acronyms

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