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The Charge to the Panel and the Assessment Process

At the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has, since 1959, annually assembled panels of experts from academia, industry, medicine, and other scientific and engineering communities to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and standards laboratories, of which there are now seven,¹ as well as the adequacy of the laboratories’ resources. The context of this technical assessment is the mission of NIST, which is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve the quality of life. The NIST laboratories conduct research to anticipate future metrology and standard’s needs, to enable scientific and technological advances, and to improve and refine existing measurement methods and services.

At the request of the acting director of NIST, in 2017 the National Academies formed the Panel on Review of the Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and established the following statement of task for the panel:

The acting director of NIST also suggested that the panel consider during its assessment the following factors:

1. Assess the organization’s technical programs.
   • How does the quality of the research compare to similar world-class research in the technical program areas?
   • Is the quality of the technical programs adequate for the organization to reach its stated technical objectives? How could it be improved?
2. Assess the portfolio of scientific expertise within the organization.
   • Does the organization have world-class scientific expertise in the areas of the organization’s mission and program objectives? If not, what areas should be improved?

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¹ The seven NIST laboratories are the Engineering Laboratory, the Physical Measurement Laboratory, the Information Technology Laboratory, the Material Measurement Laboratory, the Communications Technology Laboratory, the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and the NIST Center for Neutron Research.

• How well does the organization’s scientific expertise support the organization’s technical programs and the organization’s ability to achieve its stated objectives?

• Assess the adequacy of the organization’s facilities, equipment, and human resources.

• How well do the facilities, equipment, and human resources support the organization’s technical programs and its ability to achieve its stated objectives? How could they be improved?

• Assess the effectiveness by which the organization disseminates its program outputs.

• How well are the organization’s research programs driven by stakeholder needs?
• How effective are the technology transfer mechanisms used by the organization? Are these mechanisms sufficiently comprehensive?
• How well is the organization monitoring stakeholder use and impact of program outputs? How could this be improved?

To accomplish the assessment, the National Academies assembled a panel of 23 volunteers whose expertise matched that of the work performed by the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) staff.²

On May 9-11, 2017, the panel assembled at the NIST facilities in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and, concurrently, in Boulder, Colorado, for a two and a half day assessment, during which it received welcoming remarks from the MML director, heard overview presentations by MML management and presentations by researchers at the MML, toured portions of the MML facilities, and attended an interactive session with MML management. The panel also met in a closed session to deliberate on its findings and to define the contents of this assessment report.³

The panel’s approach to the assessment relied on the experience, technical knowledge, and expertise of its members. The panel did not attempt to report an exhaustive assessment of every project reviewed. Rather, the panel’s goal was to identify and report accomplishments and opportunities for further improvement with respect to the following: the quality of the technical programs at the MML; the portfolio of scientific expertise within the laboratory; the adequacy of the laboratory’s facilities, equipment, and human resources; and the effectiveness by which the organization disseminates its program outputs. The panel illustrated its conclusions with salient examples of programs and projects that are intended collectively to portray an overall impression of the laboratory, while preserving useful suggestions specific to projects and programs.

To accomplish its mission, the panel reviewed the material provided by the MML prior to and during the review meeting. The choice of projects to be reviewed was made by the MML. The panel applied a largely qualitative approach to the assessment. Given the nonexhaustive nature of the review, the omission in this report of any particular MML project should not be interpreted as a negative reflection on the omitted project.

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² See the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory website for information on Material Measurement Laboratory organization and programs, at https://www.nist.gov/mml, accessed May 30, 2017.

³ The agenda for the assessment meeting is presented on the website of the National Academies, at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/meetingview.aspx?MeetingID=9296&MeetingNo=1, accessed September 25, 2017.