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Introduction

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 five,¹ plus the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR; classified as a User Facility), as well as the adequacy of their 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 standards needs, to enable scientific and technological advances, and to improve and refine existing measurement methods and services.

In 2020, the Director of NIST asked the National Academies to appoint a panel on assessment of NCNR and provided it with the statement of task shown in Box 1.1.

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¹ The five NIST laboratories are the Engineering Laboratory, the Physical Measurement Laboratory, the Information Technology Laboratory, the Material Measurement Laboratory, and the Communications Technology Laboratory.

The Director of NIST asked that the panel consider following:²

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?
   • How well does the organization’s scientific expertise support the organization’s technical programs and the organization’s ability to achieve its stated objectives?
3. 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?
4. 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?

The Director pointed out that in arriving at its assessments, the panel was to be sensitive to the overall 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 objectives of the research done at NIST laboratories are to anticipate future metrology and standards needs, to enable new scientific and technological advances, and to improve and refine existing measurement methods and services.

In order to accomplish this assessment, the National Academies assembled a panel of 10 volunteers, whose collective expertise corresponds well with the research done at NCNR. Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first NCNR review to be held virtually, and the panel is grateful to the NCNR leadership and staff for their extra work to make this effective. The panel members participated in a virtual review of NCNR on July 20–22, 2021. The review began with welcoming remarks and overview comments from the acting Director of NIST and from the Director of NCNR. Their talks were followed by scientific and technical presentations by NCNR staff and by users of NCNR. Ample time was provided for discussions with NCNR management, discussions with the User Group Executive Committee, and panel deliberation, but there were no tours or poster presentations. The panel was provided with copies of all presentations, NCNR annual reports, and copies of other studies relevant to neutron science in the United States, all of which provided valuable input for the preparation of this report.

Time constraints did not allow the panel to explore all aspects of NCNR operations. Instead, the panel focused on the research that the leadership of NCNR chose to present to it and on a number of issues related to laboratory development that the panel identified as requiring particular attention. This report presents the panel’s observations and recommendations. Because the issues this panel was asked to address differed somewhat from those considered by earlier panels, this report should be regarded as complementing their reports, rather than as replacing them.

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² Presentation to the panel in a virtual pre-meeting with NCNR Director Rob Dimeo, June 29, 2021, noting the intent of NIST Director Dr. James Olthoff.