NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 51
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2013
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: April 1, 1986
• Content Type: MISC

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National
Bureau of
Standards
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary
National Bureau of Standards
Ernest Ambler, Director
National Bureau of Standards
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
[phone]
National Bureau of Standards
Boulder, CO 80303
[phone]
NBS Special Publication 679
Revised April 1986
Supersedes NBS Special Publication 679
July 1984 Edition
Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number:
84-601089
CODEN: XNBSAV
Prepared by the
Public Information Division
A903 Administration Building
National Bureau of Standards
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
301/921-3181
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Contents
NBS Gaithersburg laboratories.
NBS Boulder laboratories.
Foreword
2
Institute for Materials Science and Engineering 3
National Engineering Laboratory 7
Center for Manufacturing Engineering 8
Center for Chemical Engineering 10
Center for Fire Research 12
Center for Building Technology 14
Center for Applied Mathematics 16
Center for Electronics and Electrical Engineering 18
National Measurement Laboratory 21
Center for Basic Standards 22
Center for Radiation Research 24
Center for Chemical Physics 26
Center for Analytical Chemistry 28
Office of Measurement Services 30
Office of Standard Reference Data 32
Institute for Computer Sciences
and Technology 34
Special Programs 38
International Affairs 39
Office of Research and Technology Applications 40
Office of Product Standards Policy 41
Resources 42
Directory 44
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Foreword
ooking at where we are today and where we want
to be?both for the National Bureau of Standards
as an institution and the nation as a whole?one
basic fact keeps coming to mind. Our knowledge and
technology are this country's major asset and advan-
tage, both in ensuring domestic strength and health and
in competing with other nations. That means we must
make the most of our research resources?our equip- -
ment as well as our people. Cooperation in research
and development is one obvious answer. This is some-
thing that we have been doing since NBS was established
in 1901 as the nation's physical sciences, measurement,
and engineering laboratory. As an agency of the Depart-
ment of Commerce, NBS has made cooperation with in-
dustry a way of doing business, and it has served as a
model for cooperative arrangements which are becoming
more popular today as industry, universities, and gov-
ernment form research partnerships all across the coun-
try. We are using cost-sharing arrangements with others
whenever and wherever possible, and this brochure
provides a number of examples of our cooperative
endeavors.
But cooperation in research and development will not
be enough. Doing the research is only half the battle.
The results of this research must be incorporated into
new ideas, new processes, and new products. New tech-
nology must diffuse throughout our industries, and dif-
fuse more rapidly than it does now. We need to think
about cooperation in the transfer and diffusion of tech-
nology in the same way that we have addressed coop-
eration in research and development.
NBS is taking a lead here, too. We spend a good deal
of time with visiting scientists, engineers, and managers
from industrial firms. About 200 of these specialists work
at NBS each year as research associates, with their
sponsoring organizations paying their salaries. They-
come to NBS to conduct research, but they also come
to learn how they can put our work to use.
We have taken other steps to encourage technology
transfer, by holding literally hundreds of conferences,
workshops, and seminars each year, by encouraging our
staff to publish results of their work as broadly as possi-
ble, and by working actively with professional and tech-
nical societies and standards organizations. We are using
videotapes to explain our research so that others can
take advantage of our work. We now are making many
of our databases and experts available through com-
puter networks, and we are considering expanding this
service so that industry will be able to tap into even
more of our information.
We will continue to look for new outlets, new ways to
disseminate our research results and services through-
out the U.S. economy. I am convinced that as a nation
we must all join together to develop creative ways to
transfer technology, just as we now seem to be develop-
ing the capacity to conduct research together. There is
not much choice if we want this country to be competi-
tive in a changing world economy.
Ernest Ambler
Director
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Institute for Materials Science and Engineering
From ceramic tiles that
shield the space shuttle to
dental adhesives which re-
place metal fillings, new
materials are revolutionizing
technology and everyday
life. NBS is at the forefront
of materials technology with
its broad-based research
effort conducted by the
NBS Institute for Materials
Science and Engineering
(IMSE). The Institute pro-
vides measurements, data,
standards, reference mate-
rials, and other technical
information regarding mate-
rials to industry, govern-
ment agencies, universities,
and other scientific organi-
zations. IMSE research
supports development of
new and improved mate-
rials which can be used
safely, efficiently, and
economically.
e?-??? To determine how
"?--? polymers behave
during processing,
polymer scientists
Charles Han (left) and
Isaac Sanchez use a
forced Rayleigh scatter-
ing instrument to study
phase separations in
polymer blends.
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mong the materials of the future are advanced
high-performance ceramics, which have unique
properties that make them well-suited for use in
electronics, sensors, cutting tools, biomedical devices,
and advanced heat engines. The Institute for Materials
Science and Engineering has begun to investigate the
relationships among the synthesis, microstructure, prop-
erties, and performance of these ceramic materials. In
their initial work, researchers are emphasizing new
chemical approaches to synthesizing the submicron,
multicomponent powders needed by industry to pro-
duce such complex ceramics. They have established
laboratory facilities to study the synthesis and
characterization of advanced ceramics. Other re-
searchers are examining various properties of finished
ceramics and developing a unique program to measure
their high-temperature wear characteristics.
Another class of advanced materials is polymer-matrix
composites. Polymers reinforced with high-strength
fibers such as graphite or glass have outstanding
strength and stiffness for their weight. They are now
found extensively in aerospace applications and will be
used increasingly in automobiles and construction. The
Institute is developing measurement methods to investi-
gate and control composite processing to aid industry in
controlling product quality while increasing production
efficiency. IMSE is also investigating the mechanisms by
which fiber-reinforced composites fail. The test methods
and data produced by this program should lead to im-
proved composite materials and better ways to predict
the materials' useful service lives.
One of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. syn-
thetic polymer industry is the production of polymer
blends, which are mixtures of two or more polymers.
These materials are particularly useful as engineering
plastics designed to replace metals in products such as
gears, pumps, and machine housings. When a polymer
blend is processed, the component polymers separate
into phases of different compositions, affecting many of
its useful properties. The Institute's polymer blends pro-
cessing program is focused on measurement methods,
data, predictive models, and general theoretical descrip-
tions that will form a scientific basis for optimizing control
of blend processing. Researchers will use the small-
angle neutron scattering (SANS) facility at the NBS re-
search reactor to study the mechanism by which poly-
mers separate from each other.
In addition to advanced ceramics and polymers, electro-
optic materials help perform many of the dream feats of
4
forward-thinking engineers. IMSE has begun a program
to measure the optical properties of thin-film materials
and to study their dependence on processing character-
istics. This research will contribute scientific knowledge
to the ongoing effort to improve the performance of
materials in optical information-processing devices and
systems.
In the future, many products made of advanced mate-
rials will be produced in automated manufacturing facili-
ties. These facilities will use nondestructive evaluation
(NDE) techniques to monitor product quality. Advanced
NDE techniques can now monitor important material
properties and product parameters. The Institute's NDE
program is developing the science base, measurement
methods, and standards that will be needed to use NDE
for process control in automated manufacturing plants.
The trend toward automated manufacturing is also ex-
pected to affect welding. NBS collaborated with industry
to establish the American Welding Institute (Awl), which
will study and disseminate information about advanced
welding technology. One of AWI's high-priority pro-
grams will focus on automated welding. NBS will study
how flaws are formed during this welding process by
conducting cdntrolled solidification experiments in
Discussing quasi-
crystal structures
in alloys are (I. to r.)
Daniel Shechtman,
Israel Institute of
Technology; Frank
Biancaniello, NBS;
Denis Gratias, National
Science Research
Center, France; John
Cahn, NBS; Leonid
Bendersky, Johns
Hopkins University; and
Robert Schaefer, NBS.
The discovery of
quasicrystal structures
in materials challenges
a 100-year-old theory of
crystallography, and
the existence of quasi-
crystals may make it
possible to produce
materials with radically
different properties.
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model materials. The experiments will use acoustic
emission and ultrasonic techniques to detect flaws as
they are formed in the welded material. These experi-
ments should lead to better control of defect formation,
more effective feedback control for thick-section weld
automation, and improved weld efficiencies for specific
processes.
To provide the science base for the materials of the
future, the Institute organizes its research around four
technical "themes": materials processing, microstruc-
ture characterization, properties, and performance.
Scientists from each IMSE division plan and coordinate
activities in each of these areas.
For example, there is a coordinated effort within the
Institute to measure, collect, and evaluate phase
diagram data for the processing of metal alloys,
ceramics, and polymer-blend materials. This information
is used in the development of new materials and the
design of new materials processes. The Institute, in col-
laboration with professional societies, periodically
publishes phase diagrams for alloys and ceramics and
makes them available to researchers and industrial
users. A large body of evaluated data is being con-
verted into computerized files so that it will be available
to users through on-line access. The Institute's phase
diagram work is carried out cooperatively with the
American Society for Metals, the American Ceramics
Society, and the Society of Plastics Engineers. Ex-
perimental results for metals, ceramics, and plastics are
compiled and evaluated by authorities in 35 data
centers throughout the world. In addition to providing
phase diagram data, the Institute carries out experimen-
tal and theoretical research in support of the data
program.
An example of the Institute's activity in microstructure
characterization is the work carried out at the SANS
facility. This facility is used to study microstructure and
flaw development in new structural ceramics, to observe
precipitation transformations in supersaturated metallic
systems, and to characterize molecular structure and
conformation in polymer blends. Similar work will be car-
ried out with the NBS/Naval Research Laboratory beam
lines at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brook-
haven National Laboratory. Researchers will use real-
time topography for kinetic studies of solidification;
small-angle x-ray scattering to measure block copolymer
structural features; and interface/inelastic spectroscopy
for characterizing multilayer metal-metal oxide coatings.
Research on the properties of materials focuses on
wear characterization, measurements, and standards for
metals, ceramics, and polymer-matrix composites. Re-
searchers characterize metal-to-metal wear under both
clean and abrasive conditions as well as the wear of
lubricated surfaces. They develop measurement
methods for wear-resistant materials and provide
reference materials for calibrating wear test equipment.
Institute scientists are investigating the erosion of refrac-
tory materials by experimentally observing the effects of
single-particle indentation. Their research has also
shown that the wear of a polymer-matrix composite is in-
fluenced by ambient liquids which soften the matrix.
Performance is a crucial characteristic of all materials.
A major materials performance problem is environmen-
tally induced cracking. For example, stress corrosion
can cause cracking in engineering alloys; hydrogen em-
brittlement can crack high-strength steels; cracking in
glasses and ceramics is often induced by water vapor;
and environmental stresses can crack ethylene-based
plastics. Toward the goal of reducing such damage, In-
stitute researchers establish the basic mechanisms of
the cracking processes and develop test methods to
determine the failure resistance of various materials.
As part of its general program, the Institute operates
several large facilities, which are used extensively by
guest scientists and research associates from academia
and industrial research institutions from across the coun-
try. One is a nuclear reactor dedicated to materials and
radiation standards research. Another is a metals-
processing facility capable of modifying surfaces with
electron beams and by laser melting, as well as pro-
viding measurements of sample quality and microstruc-
ture. Together with the Naval Research Laboratory, the
Institute has led an effort to construct hard radiation
branch lines at the National Synchrotron Light Source.
This facility permits unique experimental work in
materials characterization.
The Institute is also developing a cold neutron source
facility for advanced materials research. The facility is
being designed to contain a low-background radiation
experimental hall and up to 15 new instrument stations.
It will be managed and operated as a national research
facility for industrial, university, and government
scientists.
Cold neutron beams can augment research in virtually
every branch of materials science. Some of the experi-
ments planned for the new facility will focus on the mag-
netic properties of new advanced alloys, the growth of
Chemist Kay
Hardman-Rhyne
conducts small-angle
neutron scattering ex-
periments at the 20-
megawatt NBS research
reactor to observe
crystal structure and
microdefects in
ceramics.
5
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A Metallurgist Joanne
Murray displays a
typical alloy phase
diagram. Such diagrams
are used in the develop-
ment of new materials
and the design of new
materials processes.
6
cracks and nature of voids in new advanced ceramics,
the distribution of dopants in advanced semiconductor
materials, development of new catalytic materials for
petroleum refining, and measurement of the size and
shape of engineered biomolecules.
In addition to managing and carrying out these facili-
ties and programs, the Institute supports fundamental
theoretical work in phase stability and materials fracture.
This work is basic to all of its technical programs and to
materials science research throughout the United
States.
Many of the Institute's prominent research activities are
carried out in cooperation with industrial organizations,
which fund the work of research associates at the
Bureau. For example, Exxon has supported research in
characterizing polymer blends with small-angle neutron
scattering; General Electric has used NBS' unique time-
domain dielectric spectrometer for polymer
measurements; Martin Marietta has cooperated in
characterizing reins used on the space shuttle. Ongo-
ing cooperative programs involve:
0 The American Society for Metals?evaluation and
dissemination of computerized alloy phase diagrams
and bibliographic information worldwide with funding
support from industry.
CI The American Ceramic Society?establishment of
computer access to phase diagrams and dissemination
of phase diagrams of interest to ceramists. The
American Ceramic Society will develop industry support
and disseminate the phase diagrams and related
information.
CI The Society for Plastics Engineers?development
and dissemination of data on thermodynamic behavior
of polymer blends. This information will be published
through the National Standard Reference Data System
at NBS.
0 The American Iron and Steel Institute?research
aimed at development of process control sensors for the
steel industry. The joint program concentrates on rapid
on-line measurement of temperature distributions and
automatic detection of porosity in hot steel.
0 The National Association of Corrosion Engineers
(NACE)?provision of evaluated corrosion data on alloys
and other materials. NBS supplies technical guidance
and NACE develops program and funding support from
industry.
CI The American Dental Association?development of
dramatically improved tooth restorative adhesives and
more effective fluoridation treatments based on
understanding of tooth mineral phase diagrams. This
research is part of a 58-year-old cooperative program
partly supported by the National Institute of Dental
Research.
0 The American Welding Institute (AWI)?
establishment of the AWI/NBS Welding Data Bank for
rapid dissemination of welding data to U.S. industry and
improvement of narrow gap, thick-plate welding pro-
cesses in order to increase industrial productivity.
0 The Welding Research Council?development of
improved weld procedure qualification methods.
CI The Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Stan-
dards/International Centre for Diffraction Data
(JCPDS/ICDD)?critical evaluation of powder diffraction
data, measurement of reference data, and dissemina-
tion of results. The JCPDS/ICDD provides funding sup-
port through sales of the Powder Diffraction File. They
also disseminate publications and a computer file from
the Crystal Data Center maintained by NBS.
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National Engineering Laboratory
From basic studies of the
subtle behavior of micro-
electronic circuits to their
work in engineering stan-
dards, the staff of the N BS
National Engineering Lab-
oratory (NEL) apply their
expertise in engineering
and scientific measure-
ment to a broad spectrum
of national concerns.
NEL scientists and engi-
neers conduct research in
engineering and the ap-
plied sciences. They study
problems in electronics,
automation and manufac-
turing, chemical engineer-
ing, the behavior (and
prevention) of fires, and
the design and construction
of buildings. NEL re-
searchers also provide the
nation with state-of-the-art
measurement and calibra-
tion services in these
areas. Their research and
services in applied mathe-
matical and computer sci-
ences support technical
programs throughout the
Bureau.
To provide a more
precise voltage ref-
erence for maintaining
the U.S. legal volt, NBS
is exploring the use of
superconducting micro-
electronic circuits.
Here, electronics engi-
neer Richard Kautz
lowers a prototype into
a liquid helium dewar
for testing.
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Center for Manufacturing Engineering
_./.
--'or over a century U.S. factories have led the world
in production of material goods. From appliances
to aircraft, the domestic ,manufacture of products
having discrete parts annually adds $200 billion to the
gross national product. This keystone of the U.S. econ-
omy, under major challenge from foreign competitors,
operates on a system of measurements and standards
supported by the NBS Center for Manufacturing Engi-
neering (CME).
Through its measurement services, the Center pro-
vides manufacturers with access to the national stan-
dards of length, force, and related quantities such as
surface texture, acceleration, and acoustical power. The
Center's standards activities give industry the technical
support it needs to develop voluntary standards for me-
chanical manufacturing. To extend and improve mea-
surements and the technical basis for standards in these
areas, CME conducts research in measurement science,
precision engineering, robotics, and software for
automated manufacturing systems.
A focal point for the Center's measurement and stan-
dards work for the "factory of the future" is the
Automated Manufacturing Research Facility (AMRF).
Scheduled to be fully operational by the end of 1986,
the AMRF is a research form of an advanced flexible
manufacturing system made up of robots and machine
tools working together under computer control.
A cooperative industry-university-government project,
the AMRF has received substantial funding from the
U.S. Navy, and $3.5 million in equipment has been
loaned or donated by industry. Thirty-eight research
associates from industry and researchers from 20 uni-
versities work collaboratively with NBS staff on various
aspects of the AMRF.
The AMRF consists of a number of work stations,
which typically have a numerically controlled machine
tool, a robot, and a computer controller. The work sta-
tions are organized into cells, which are supplied by a
materials handling system and controlled through a
computer network. Upon completion, the AMRF will be
capable of carrying raw metal material through a series
of machining operations to produce a finished, in-
spected part from a computer design of that part, all
under automatic computer control..
In the AMRF, the Center is addressing two critical prob-
lems in computer-integrated manufacturing, the basis of
the factory of the future. The first problem is to get
robots, computers, and machine tools from different
manufacturers to communicate and work together in an
integrated system. The second is to find a means for
carrying out quality control in a fully automated factory
environment.
A solution to the first problem is the development of
interface standards for the many devices, including the
robots, machine tools, sensors, controllers, and comput-
ers, which make up an automated factory system. Such
standards permit manufacturers of automated equipment
to design and build interfaces for their products that pro-
tect the proprietary aspects of these products while allow-
ing them to work with those of other manufacturers.
An important example of such an interface standard is
the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES),
which was developed by an industry-government coali-
tion led by NBS and adopted by the American National
Standards Institute, a private voluntary standards organi-
zation. IGES allows the transfer of part-design data be-
tween computer-aided design (CAD) systems from dif-
ferent vendors. Every major producer of CAD systems is
now using IGES, and organizations such as the U.S.
Navy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion (NASA), and General Motors are writing IGES into
procurement specifications.
Within the AMRF, NBS has developed and implemented
a hierarchical control system with associated software
and database systems as a basis for an entire family of
standard interfaces. In such a computer control scheme,
The first space-
made product to be
offered for sale was
NBS Standard Reference
Material 1960, 10-micro-
meter polystyrene
spheres that can be
used to improve micro-
scopic measurements
made in electronics,
medicine, and other
high-technology areas.
Physicists Thomas
Lettieri and Arie
Hartman (seated) used
a technique called
"center distance find-
ing" to make very ac-
curate measurements
of the spheres.
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NBS ROBOT
CONTROL SYSTEM
nResearch engineers
Karl Murphy (fore-
ground) and Rick
Norcross study the per-
formance of an experi-
mental parts-deburring
station at the NBS Auto-
mated Manufacturing
Research Facility.
the data processing and computation necessary to ac-
complish a task is split into discrete levels, with the out-
put of higher levels being used as input commands for
lower levels, and lower levels furnishing status reports
for higher levels. Each level in the hierarchy accepts
tasks from the level above it and splits those tasks into
subtasks that are parceled out to the levels below it. Such
systems tend to be fast and efficient, because they can
be designed so that decisions are made no higher in the
architecture than necessary.
Center researchers also are working on a solution to
the second problem, how to carry out quality control in
a fully automated factory. They are devising the means
to automatically monitor and control the manufacturing
process so parts are made right the first time. Within the
AMRF, researchers have designed and implemented
measurement techniques for such process control.
The turning center workstation in the AMRF, for exam-
ple, employs a microcomputer-based error compensation
system for real-time control of the machining process.
This system calculates the positioning error associated
with a particular location of the cutting tool based on
prerecorded data, monitors the temperature of various
parts of the machine tool, and, through its automatic
tool-setting station, checks the position of the tool's cut-
ting edge relative to the machine's coordinate system.
All three elements are used by the system to achieve
high-accuracy in part diameters without dependence on
post-production inspection.
At the same time that it gives measurement and stan-
dards support for industry's development of computer-
integrated manufacturing to meet a major foreign chal-
lenge, the Center also provides 27 percent of the total
volume of NBS calibration services and conducts ad-
vanced measurement research in all its areas of
responsibility.
For example, Center scientists have developed high-
resolution electron and optical techniques for the cali-
bration of the dimensions of industrially important micro-
scopic objects. They are using these techniques to cali-
brate billions of tiny polystyrene spheres made aboard a
NASA space shuttle flight and now being sold as an NBS
Standard Reference Material. The spheres, the first prod-
uct manufactured in space to be offered for sale, will
be used to improve microscopic measurements made
throughout the economy in electronics, medicine, and
other high-technology areas.
In another project, researchers from CME and the
Center for Radiation Research have developed a tech-
nique for observing simultaneously the magnetic char-
acter of a surface and its physical structure over dimen-
sions as small as 100 angstroms. Combining scanning
electron microscopy with polarization analysis, the tech-
nique can be used to study important magnetic materials
such as high-density magnetic media for computers.
Collaborative studies with industrial researchers are
planned.
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Center for Chemical Engineering
r__3 he NBS Center for Chemical Engineering (CCE)
provides measurement methods, traceability to
national measurement standards, fundamental
chemical engineering science, and reliable evaluated
data and databases. This work helps to strengthen the
competitiveness of U.S. industry in the world market, to
assure equity in domestic and international trade, and to
provide industry with the engineering basis for improved
design and control of chemical processes. Through re-
search programs in chemical process metrology, ther-
mophysical properties of fluids and solids, and chemical
engineering science, Center researchers develop exper-
imental and theoretical techniques to provide needed
measurements and databases. The results of these ef-
forts include calibration and other measurement ser-
vices, measurement practices and standards, and engi-
neering data.
The CCE staff work closely with trade associations,
steering committees, and consortia of the chemical, pet-
rochemical, plastic, gas, petroleum, and paper indus-
tries. Their research also contributes to the science base
of the rubber, metals, glass, food, pharmaceutical, and
related industries as well as the chemical engineering
science programs of other government agencies.
As the prices of natural gas and oil have risen, in-
dustry has sought more precise ways to measure these
fuels. NBS has developed a unique way to make pre-
cise gas flow measurements on a mass flow basis.
CCE's mass flow facility in Boulder, Colo., has the
capability to test measurement systems with pipelines
up to 15 centimeters in diameter. A large heat ex-
changer is used to vaporize liquid nitrogen for gas flow
tests at room temperature and high pressure. The gas is
recondensed and weighed as a liquid, providing better
than normal accuracy. The Gas Research Institute is
sponsoring evaluation of orifice meters using this refer-
ence measurement technique. In a companion program
supported by the American Petroleum Institute, CCE
researchers at NBS in Gaithersburg, Md., are using a
NiVater test fluid to improve liquid and gas flow measure-
ments made by orifice meters.
An industry-government consortium of users and
manufacturers is sponsoring research at the Center on
vortex shedding flowmeters, a device that measures a
wide range of flow rates. Researchers are designing
computer flow models as well as advanced laser tech-
niques to define the meter flow field. Their work will lead
to a fundamental understanding of this type of flowmeter
and will give industry the basis for designing and using
improved vortex flowmeters.
10
In response to the long-range needs of the biotech-
nology industry, the Center has initiated and sponsored
workshops in collaboration with Lehigh University on
"Process Measurement for Biotechnology" and "Stan-
dardization Problems in the Design and Scale Transla-
tion of Bioreactors." These workshops complement a
small focused program in the Center on bioreactor mea-
surement and bioseparations.
Center researchers are collaborating with an industrial
consortium of 13 private firms to develop the properties
needed to exploit supercritical extraction separation
techniques. They are working to develop the equations-
of-state and phase equilibria properties of supercritical
Laser tomography
is used by mechan-
ical engineer Steven
Ray to observe high-
temperature reactions
important in a number
of industrial processes
such as power and
steam generation, re-
covery of materials, and
materials processing.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Using an ellipso-
u "meter, physicist
James Schmidt mea-
sures the thickness of
extremely thin liquid
layers adsorbed or
flowing on solid sur-
faces. The thickness
data are then used in
the design of more effi-
cient heat exchangers
and methods of oil
extraction.
fluids (such as carbon dioxide) which can be used as
solents to dissolve large amounts of other fluids (such
as crude oil in oil recovery operations). By lowering the
pressure of the mixture, the solute can be recovered
(separated) and the solvent can be reclaimed to be
used again. The use of supercritical fluids may reduce
significantly the cost of chemical separations in many
future industrial processes.
Improved energy and equipment efficiencies could
result from the use of various types of membranes to
separate and recover desired products from fluid
chemical mixtures. The Center is conducting both
theoretical and experimental studies to provide ref-
erence data and methods of measuring the performance
of different types of membranes. CCE researchers are
modeling immobilized liquid membranes, ion exchange
membranes, and emulsion liquid membranes to deter-
mine the effects of such factors as geometry, time,
solubility constants, diffusion coefficients, and forward
.and reverse reaction rates on mass transfer rates.
To minimize expenditure on high-price fuel, U.S. in-
dustry wants to obtain the maximum energy output from
fuel combustion. Advanced methods of measuring and
evaluating combustion are necessary for this effort to
succeed. The Center is pursuing new ways to improve
combustion efficiency by studying particle formation and
growth at high temperatures. For example, Center re-
searchers are using laser scattering, extinction, and
Doppler velocimetry to determine the size of soot par-
ticles, their distribution, and their velocity. In soot forma-
tion studies, researchers want to know how to adjust the
flame, oxygen, and fuel levels to form the optimum
amount of soot and then allow the proper amount of
time for the soot to burn out. These studies are aimed at
improving the performance of boilers, dryers, and
furnaces.
The International Association for the Properties of
Steam has endorsed steam tables developed by NBS
and the National Research Council of Canada. The
tables offer an unprecedented range of temperatures
and pressures for scientific and general use. The re-
vised steam tables will help scientists and engineers in
designing industrial and chemical processes; exploring
for petroleum and minerals; designing heat transfer
systems, boilers, and turbines; and in harnessing geo-
thermal energy.
CCE researchers correlated all existing quality ther-
modynamic data on water and steam with a wide-ranging
equation of state now known as the Haar-Gallagher-Kell
equation, on which the steam tables are based. The
equation establishes a formulation that provides scien-
tists and engineers with thermodynamically consistent
data on the properties and density of water from the tri-
ple point to 2500 ?C and from zero pressure of an ideal
gas to more than 20 kilobars.
Other important thermophysical properties data are
being provided to industry through new correlations,
equations, models, and transportable computer pro-
grams. These programs predict the viscosity, density,
and thermal conductivity of various pure fluids and fluid
mixtures. Additional work is in progress to extend the
range of these predictive codes to fluid mixtures of over
100 components and to include phase equilibria proper-
ties. NBS in-flaking these evaluated properties-predic-
tive computer codes available to the public through the
NBS Office of Standard Reference Data.
11
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Fire Research
he United States has one of the worst fire loss
records in the industrialized world. The NBS
L Center for Fire Research (CFR) is committed to
providing the scientific and engineering bases needed
by manufacturers and the fire protection community to
reduce both these losses and the cost of fire protection.
By improving the understanding of the chemistry and
physics that take place during combustion and by
developing accurate computer models of fire hazards,
the Center provides technical information to voluntary
standards organizations, engineering and design com-
munities, building industry, fire service and fire protec-
tion organizations, and materials manufacturers. The
Center also helps these groups to translate the findings
into new engineering practices, test methods, and pro-
posals for improved standards or code provisions. NBS,
however, does not promulgate or enforce standards or
regulations.
One of the most complex and yet crucial phenomena
affecting fire growth is soot formation. It is incandescent
soot, radiating thermal energy that converts furnishings
or construction materials into gaseous fuels, that drives
fire growth. Soot also affects people's survivability in
fires, both from inhalation and the obstruction of vision.
Yet the same particles form the fire "signature" that acti-
vates the now-common smoke detectors. Center scien-
tists are conducting a long-term study of the fundamen-
tal chemistry and physics of soot formation. They have
devised new, laser-based techniques for measuring key
molecules in the chemical chain of soot growth. Using
multiphoton ionization measurements researchers can
detect certain organic species, such as butadiene,
throughout the flame itself. They have also obtained pro-
files of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using ultravio-
let and visible fluorescence. Concurrent theoretical
calculations on the "stickiness" of aromatic molecules
have further clarified which chemistry is significant in
building soot particles from small molecules.
Perhaps the topic of most concern in fire research to-
day is that of fire gas toxicity. Most fire deaths are caused
by the inhalation of smoke. Carbon monoxide, a com-
bustion product of most burning materials, has been
widely considered as the primary cause of these deaths.
Recent laboratory tests and analyses of samples from
some fire victims, however, have suggested that other
toxicants or factors may contribute to some deaths.
Building on a decade of leadership in measuring the
12
lethal effects of fire-generated smoke, Center research-
ers are now studying the extent to which the generation
rates of a few principal toxic gases can be used to
predict mortality. The results of experiments with carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen
chloride, and reduced oxygen levels are helping to ex-
plain the lethality of fire gases.
Center researchers are also creating ways to predict
the precise contribution of materials to a fire's severity.
Their oxygen consumption technique greatly simplifies
the measurement of a burning sample's rate of energy
release, a key factor in the rate of fire growth. This
method is now used to measure the heat given off by
furniture and wall coverings during full-sized room fires.
A Center-designed instrument, the cone calorimeter,
operates on the same principle and shows exceptional
\ To study how tur-
bulence mixes fuel
gases with air, thereby
feeding a fire, research
chemist William Pitts
designed a unique cam-
era that works with
other technologies, in-
cluding a laser, to help
in the research.
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kmer*?1_.
promise for predicting the large-scale rate of heat
release using small samples.
Predicting fire growth requires a fundamental under-
standing of elemental fire processes, such as flame
spread, and the characterization of fire-induced flows.
Researchers have developed methods to correlate the
speed at which flame spreads across and down a burn-
ing vertical surface with the basic thermal properties of
the burning materials. Measurements of flame height
and flame radiation are now providing key information in
our understanding of upward flame spread, a faster and
therefore more critical process.
The buoyancy-driven flow of fire gases through doors
and open windows and their replacement by ventilated
air is also predictable. Ventilation and the rate of heat
release of the burning mater.ials are the primary factors
which determine if and when a room will "flashover," a
term used to describe the total fire involvement of all
items in a room.
Information obtained in experimental work is used in
mathematical models designed to predict the vulnerabil-
ity of a building and its occupants to fire. These
computer-based models make it possible to simulate
real fire situations within a limited budget. It is far less
costly to "burn" a room or building using a computer.
Center researchers are now designing a true general
purpose model of fire hazard. It will include the burning
behavior of a room, the movement of fire gases through-
out a building, and the effect of those gases on people.
By using such a model, fire professionals will be able to
study "their fire" on a computer, varying each compo-
nent as needed, and making quantitative decisions for
improving fire safety.
Several prediction models are already available. In
one model, termed ASET (Available Safe Egress Time),
the computer code incorporates sound but simplified
single-room fire growth. It calculates the time at which a
smoke detector is activated and the time at which the
room becomes uninhabitable. The difference between
these two events is the time that the occupants of the
room have to escape.
Another model, called FAST (Fire and Smoke Trans-
port Model), can be used to determine the smoke level
and temperature in a multiroom building with a fire in
one room.
The Center recently set up a Fire Simulation Labora-
tory where scientists and engineers from the fire protec-
tion community can see demonstrations and obtain
"hands on" experience with various fire models.
Researchers also use the laboratory to modify models
for particular applications.
More widespread and proper use of sprinkler systems
also could significantly reduce fire losses. To assure their
efficacy, better operational and design criteria are needed.
The Center has recently produced a computer program
for calculating the response time of heat-activated
sprinklers. It predicts the response time based on
characteristics of the fire and the location and thermal
properties of the sprinkler heads. The predicted temper-
atures at those sites agree well with steady-state
laboratory tests. Large-scale tests with growing fires are
planned to establish the range of applicability of the
computer code.
The Center for Fire Research also sponsors a pro-
gram of grants and, to a lesser degree, contracts for fire
research in support of the internal research program of
the Center. Approximately 25 grants are awarded to
universities and research institutes annually.
A Physical scientist
Randall Lawson ad-
justs instrumentation
on the Bureau's furni-
ture calorimeter, part of
an NBS-developed
method to measure the
rate at which heat is re-
leased by burning fur-
nishings. The heat re-
lease rate in large part
determines how a mate-
rial will contribute to a
room fire.
13
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Building Technology
ver two-thirds of the nation's fixed reproducible
wealth is invested in constructed facilities. More-
over, the construction industry is one of the nation's
largest, and constructed facilities shelter and support
most human activities. The quality of these facilities af-
fects the safety and quality of life of the American people
as well as the productivity of U.S. industry.
The NBS Center for Building Technology (CBT) in-
creases the usefulness, safety, and economy of build-
ings through the advancement of building technology
and its application to the improvement of building prac-
tices. CBT conducts laboratory, field, and analytical
research to develop technologies for the prediction,
measurement, and testing of the performance of build-
ing materials, components, systems, and practices.
Center researchers concentrate their efforts in com-
puter-integrated construction, structural engineering,
earthquake hazard reduction, building physics, building
materials, and building equipment. They carry out their
work in sophisticated and comprehensive laboratory facil-
ities, which include: a six-degree-of-freedom structural
testing facility, a large-scale structures testing facility, en-
vironmental chambers, a guarded hot plate, a calibrated
hot box, a'.five-story plumbing tower, and anechoic and
reverberation chambers.
CBT provides technical support and information to a
number of voluntary standards groups such as ASTM;
the American Concrete Institute; the American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers;
the American Society of Civil Engineers; and building
code organizations. While it contributes to the develop-
ment of voluntary product standards, the Center does
not promulgate or enforce standards or regulations.
Through this work, the Center helps eliminate techno-
logical market barriers of the construction industry and
reduces the burdens of unnecessary or ineffective
building regqations while maintaining safety.
CBT represents the United States in several interna-
tional building research and standards organizations in-
cluding the International Council for Building Research,
Studies and Documentation; the International Union of
Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and
Structures; and the U.S.-Japan Panel on Wind and
Seismic Effects. These efforts contribute to U.S. use of
foreign research accomplishments and the international
competitiveness of U.S. building technology.
Much of the Center's research is done in cooperation
with, or for, other federal agencies such as the Depart-
ment of Energy, the General Services Administration, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Administration, and the White
House. In addition, each year about 70 researchers
14
IL-$ ''-
's.siZs, ik.-?
1
iivSeri-V,
41:711k..
from international and U.S. universities and industries
join CBT staffers in cooperative programs.
As an impartial third party, the Center is called upon
to investigate the physical causes of major building and
construction failures, such as the walkway collapse in
the Kansas City Hyatt Regency in 1981 and the East
Chicago, Indiana, ramp collapse in 1982. The results of
the Center's investigations are promptly and publicly
reported to help preclude recurrences.
More of the Center's research, however, is aimed at
developing improved building practices so that such trag-
edies do not occur. For example, Center engineers are
working on ways to determine when poured concrete is
strong enough for construction formwork to be removed.
They have developed a standardized test for determining
This computerized,
large-scale struc-
tural test facility is be-
ing used by NBS re-
searchers to test how
full-scale bridge and
building components
perform during earth-
quakes.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
concrete strength and a computerized method of analy-
sis, both of which are being considered by ASTM for
adoption as voluntary standards. Important from both
safety and economic standpoints, these tools will help a
builder remove the formwork as soon as possible, with-
out risking the workers' safety.
Center researchers have designed and constructed a
computerized facility to test how full-scale bridge and
building components will perform during earthquakes.
In a project sponsored by the National Science Founda-
tion, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Cali-
fornia Department of Transportation, CBT researchers
are testing 30-foot-high bridge columns under conditions
simulating earthquake forces. They are also running
tests on columns one-third and one-sixth that size. By
comparing the results of both tests, the researchers will
be able to determine whether the behavior of small-scale
-???. Civil engineer
Nicholas J. Carino
and co-op student Mary
Sansalone from Cornell
University are studying
a technique known as
pulse-echo detection to
determine whether it
can be used reliably to
detect flaws in concrete
structures such as
buildings or bridge
columns.
bridge columns can be used to predict that of full-scale
columns. They will use this information to evaluate and
refine computer models that predict how structures per-
form during earthquakes, enabling the building com-
munity to design safer buildings and bridges with fewer
expensive physical tests.
To help the construction industry respond effectively
to the opportunities and challenges offered by advanced
computation and automation, CBT is investigating their
application to performance prediction and measurement
technology. For example, increases in computer power
and reductions in computing costs will lead to "smart
buildings" with integrated, automated control systems
for greater usefulness, safety, and economy in opera-
tion. Center researchers are developing and verifying
minute-by-minute simulations of the performante of
building control systems to help owners, designers,
manufacturers, and contractors set up economical and
reliable automated control systems for buildings.
Computer technologies will make possible measure-
ment advances in building diagnostics, quality assur-
ance, and prediction of building behavior. CBT is, for
example, developing modeling techniques for the micro-
structure of cements that will allow prediction of how
cement ingredients, mixing, placement, and curing will
affect the strength and durability of concrete structures.
Center researchers are formulating three-dimensional,
dynamic computer simulations that will predict heat, air,
moisture, and pollutant movements in buildings. These
techniques will help improve energy conservation, use
of solar energy and natural ventilation, smoke control for
fire safety, and indoor air quality.
Other computer simulations are being developed and
verified for dynamic tests of the thermal performance of
walls. Improved test methods will provide more accurate
assessments of effects of wall mass, air and moisture
movements, and multi-dimensional heat, air, and mois-
ture flow at junctions of building elements on thermal
comfort and energy efficiency.
To provide the technical bases for substantial increases
in the efficiency of innovative heat pumps and air condi-
tioners, Center researchers are developing and verifying
computer simulations of heat transfer properties of mixed
refrigerants and refrigeration cycles.
Center researchers are also working with leading con-
struction standards organizations to adapt artificial intelli-
gence technologies to the needs of the building com-
munity and to supply the advanced performance pre-
diction and measurement technologies that will be needed
to realize the potential of expert systems for
construction.
15
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Center for Applied Mathematics
iiin virtually all the Bureau's research programs, and in
laboratories throughout the United States, there is a
substantial need for advanced mathematical, statisti-
cal, modeling, and computing techniques. It is the role
of the NBS Center for Applied Mathematics (CAM) to
provide the best available tools of modern applied
mathematics and computing to the NBS staff. Such
tools, developed at NBS, are often used widely by
American and foreign researchers.
While schooled in theory, NBS mathematicians have
their feet firmly planted on the ground of application.
They are concerned primarily with developing and
adapting mathematical techniques for NBS research
programs. Their work takes them into the areas of space
science, robotics, fire research, economics, manufactur-
ing, measurement, and development of new hardware
and software for future computers. Center researchers
are aided in their work by visiting scientists from in-
dustry, government, and universities.
In providing its support service, the Center's profes-
sional staff interacts and collaborates with the NBS
scientific staff to solve a wide variety of scientific and
engineering problems. This work calls for research into
computing methods and for computer-intensive studies
in the applied mathematical sciences. Current applica-
tions involve all aspects of modern scientific computing,
including advanced programming languages, knowledge-
based systems., interactive software tools, color
graphics, and supercomputer algorithms.
The Center also operates the central computing facil-
ity?a CDC Cyber 205 supercomputer with a Cyber 855
"front end"?which serves both the NBS Gaithersburg
and Boulder sites as wel) as the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Environmental Research
Laboratories and the National Telecommunications and
16
A supercomputer
r, facility has been in-
stalled at NBS to meet
its large-scale scientific
computing needs as
well as those of the En-
vironmental Research
Laboratories of the
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Adminis-
tration and the Institute
of Telecommunication
Sciences of the National
Telecommunications
and Information Admin-
istration.
Information Administration. In addition to managing the
central facility, Center staff run local area networks in
Gaithersburg and Boulder and provide engineering and
software support for distributed computing.
One recently completed project helps fire researchers
understand how indoor fires behave. CAM, in collabora-
tion with the Center for Fire Research, developed,
tested, and validated a mathematical model of fluid mo-
tion and smoke evolution patterns for an indoor fire.
Researchers tested calculations based on both two- and
three-dimensional models.
The high-resolution dynamic graphics display system
used in this project allows researchers to observe the
swirling motion of heated air on a computer screen. The
system, also permits users to cycle rapidly through any
sequence of graphic figures stored in the computer,
moving them around in almost any way and observing
them from many angles. As the pictures appear to
rotate three-dimensionally on the computer screen, new
patterns can be perceived. The researcher can "zoom
in" to study details or "zoom away" to take in the larger
view.
Soon after its introduction, the Center's graphics
display system became popular throughout NBS, pro-
viding new ways to study a variety of phenomena. The
Institute for Materials Science and Engineering used it to
develop dynamic displays of polymer chains and mole-
cular structures. The Center for Chemical Engineering
used it to simulate molecular behavior in a dense liquid,
taking into account local interactions between very large
numbers of atoms in order to achieve realistic answers.
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n Mathematician
u II James Blue (stand-
ing), CAM, and senior
research scientist
Charles Wilson, CEEE,
developed a new com-
puter model, CS 1,
which brings sophisti-
cated mathematical
analysis techniques to a
semiconductor model
efficient enough to run
on a minicomputer.
The need for a highly sophisticated "three-dimen-
sional" dynamic computer graphics display is also pre-
sent in the Bureau's robotics research. In order for
robot-like machines to operate in an automated manu-
facturing facility, their grippers must be able to move
through space without colliding. CAM is working with
the Bureau's Center for Manufacturing Engineering to
develop algorithms and software which will plan trajec-
tories for moving objects in space. They are construc-
ting efficient methods for determining paths through
regions, avoiding obstructions.
The Center has also developed models which aid in a
different area of manufacturing: the development of
complex, custom integrated circuits for advanced com-
puters and other electronics systems. This highly com-
petitive field depends on efficient computer-aided
design tools. Cooperating with the Center for Electronics
and Electrical Engineering, CAM mathematicians are
designing a family of specialized computer packages
which can be run on minicomputers. The CS 1 package
offers features that were previously available only in
codes which required large mainframe computers. It
has been provided to more than 80 users since 1982.
Applied mathematics also makes an important contri-
bution to the quality and validity of the Bureau's
measurement services. Specifically, CAM statisticians
blend their theoretical statistical research with extensive
experience to aid in the design of measurement assur-
ance programs and in the development and certification
of Standard Reference Materials.
Measurement assurance programs provide a frame-
work for industrial and other government laboratories to
compare their measurement system to national stan-
dards and, thus, improve quality control. Working with
the Office of Measurement Services, Center statisticians
develop specific measurement sequences and control
procedures. They have, for example, helped implement
four pilot measurement assurance programs at the Ford
Motor Company Central Research Laboratory.
In the case of Standard Reference Materials, which
are homogeneous, stable materials that have one or
more physical and/or chemical properties accurately
measured and certified by NBS, Center researchers
plan investigations of homogeneity of the materials and
evaluate variability from different sources. In current
work, they are investigating improved methods for using
Standard Reference Materials to enhance the precision
of measurements in the laboratory.
In other recent work, the Center has:
0 Streamlined the dissemination of alloy phase stabil-
ity data to industrial users through development of an in-
teractive computer program that generates camera-
ready diagrams.
Eli Designed a model that helps state and local gov-
ernments to evaluate the costs of proposed waste re-
covery facilities.
0 Developed and distributed a graphics and statistics
interactive language system called DATAPLOT, now used
at more than 100 sites including major industrial firms.
O Helped develop a model that improves control of a
manufacturing method known as unidirectional solidifi-
cation, used in the production of high-quality metal
alloys and semiconductors.
17
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Electronics and Electrical Engineering
he scope of research in the NBS Center for Elec-
tronics and Electrical Engineering (CEEE) extends
quite literally from the sand to the stars. Grains of
sand are the genesis of silicon-based integrated circuits,
the "miracle chips" of the computer industry and one
major focus of CEEE's work. Distant stars emitting radio
signals are used by Center scientists to evaluate advanced
telecommunications satellite equipment, a second em-
phasis of the Center's research.
In these areas, and others, Center researchers are
working to eliminate measurement-related barriers to the
effective use of electrotechnology in a wide range of ap-
plications that are important to industrial productivity,
national defense, safety, energy, and commerce. To
fulfill this goal, they conduct research, develop measure-
ment methods and physical standards, provide calibra-
tion and special test services, and develop models and
data.
The Center's research is concentrated in four major
areas:
O Measurements and analyses for advanced integrated
circuits and for semiconductor materials, processes,
and devices.
O Fundamental metrology for fast signal acquisition,
processing, and transmission, covering the analog and
digital techniques and frequencies from direct current
through microwave to lightwave.
O Improved techniques for measuring electric power
and energy, fast high-energy transients, and the quality
of electrical insulation.
O Methods for measuring and characterizing the elec-
tromagnetic environment, sources and reflectors of elec-
tromagnetic energy, and immunity of equipment to out-
side interference.
Very large-scale integration (VLSI), which yields inte-
grated circuits with hundreds of thousands of transistors
on a single "chip" of silicon, is revolutionizing signal
processing, communications, and computing. Before the
full potential of VSLI can be realized, however, engineers
must overcome significant technical barriers related to
materials purity, demanding fabrication technology, and
circuit complexity. To address these barriers, CEEE is
developing measurements, analytical techniques, and
Standard Reference Materials (SRM's) for evaluating the
quality of semiconductor materials and the performance
of integrated circuit fabrication equipment, fabrication
processes, and circuit elements.
18
CEEE, for example, has prepared SRM 's for calibrating
equipment used to measure semiconductor resistivity by
the four-probe and spreading resistance techniques.
These SRM's help engineers in the semiconductor in-
dustry to obtain more accurate measurements of resis-
tivity, one of the most important material parameters in
the fabrication of integrated circuits.
As international trade increases and computer tech-
nology spreads throughout the world, the need for inter-
national standards becomes critical. NBS has played a
key role in bringing together all five of the free-world
organizations that write test-method standards for semi-
conductor materials so these methods can have a com-
mon basis in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Techniques developed by CEEE for measuring line-
widths on photomasks have been transferred to virtually
every U.S. manufacturer of integrated circuits as well as
to manufacturers of photomask equipment. Photomasks,
which define the integrated circuit patterns on semicon-
ductor wafers, are key elements in the fabrication of in-
tegrated circuits. This work was disseminated to the
semiconductor community through a series of training
seminars, NBS reports and archival papers, and profes-
sional meetings. Future work in this area, which will
cover measurements for a broadened range of struc-
tures and instruments important to microlithography, will
be carried out by the NBS Center for Manufacturing Eng-
ineering.
Physical chemist
George Candela
(left) and physicist
Deane Chandler-
Horowitz are shown
with the computer-con-
trolled principal-angle
ellipsometer they
designed for measuring
the optical properties of
thin films on various
materials.
Physicist Robert
Hebner adjusts a
unique NBS device that
optically measures
electrical fields and
space charges in high-
voltage insulating
systems.
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1
Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Integrated circuit test structures developed by CEEE
are widely used by the semiconductor industry and
other government agencies. These specially-designed
semiconductor devices can be used to characterize
integrated circuit fabrication processes, to evaluate the
effectiveness of semiconductor processing equipment,
to obtain crucial parameters for device and process
models, and for product acceptance. Continuing collab-
orations with several integrated circuit manufacturers are
yielding improved test structures and procedures.
To address the metrological needs involved in improv-
ing signal acquisition and processing systems, the
Center is working on standard waveform generators
and measurement systems, some of which use super-
conducting electronics. To help solve signal transmis-
sion problems, CEEE is developing measurements for
.characterizing optical fibers, national measurement stan-
dards for microwave and millimeter-wave parameters,
measurement methods for complex antennas, and mea-
surements and standards for lasers.
The Center has taken the lead in providing the
technical basis for measurement methods and stan-
dards for the rapidly expanding optical fiber com-
munications industry. Measurement methods are tested
in round-robin intercomparisons organized in collabora-
tion with a committee of the Electronics Industry Associ-
ation (EIA), refined in the laboratory, and disseminated
as EIA or military standards. This work has aided the
transition from multimode to single-mode fibers and will
continue to help advance the application of optical com-
munications technology.
In the area of microwave and millimeter-wave para-
meters, CEEE is developing high-accuracy six-port
measurement systems to support calibration services
focusing on critical quantities to 50 GHz. The Center is
also working on an automated radiometer that will aid in
the calibration of solid-state and gas-discharge noise
sources by extending noise measurements first into the
range 1 to 12 GHz and then to 50 GHz. A 94-GHz noise
standard of novel design is already in place which will
permit extension of noise standards to millimeter-wave
frequencies.
Center researchers have developed a new test sys-
tem for accurately determining the important properties
of precision 12-18 bit digital-to-analog (D/A) and analog-
to-digital (A/D) converters. Both static linearity and dy-
namic step response characteristics can be measured
and reported in an NBS calibration service now avail-
able for these devices.
Using precision waveform synthesis techniques that
incorporate microprocessor-based electronics, CEEE
Engineering aide
David Dean takes
readings of phase shifter
settings of the large (4
feet by 25 feet) AWACS
antenna being measured
in the newly enlarged
NBS near-field facility.
19
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
IN Here electrical
1-1 uengineer Robert
Gallawa measures the
bandwidth of multi-
mode optical fibers as
part of an NBS program
to develop measure-
ment methods that can
be used in fiber devel-
opment, fiber evalua-
tion in the marketplace,
and fiber compatibility
in communications
systems.
20
researchers are working on a new generation of wave-
form standards. An audio frequency phase-angle stan-
dard with 5-20 millidegree accuracy over 2?Hz to 50 kHz
now provides special calibration tests for phase-angle
meters. New voltage, power, and energy calibrations
are being developed based on a dual-channel synthe-
sized waveform source, with 18 bit D/A converters, that
generates precision amplitude and phase ac waveforms.
Many Center projects involve direct collaboration with
industrial firms and laboratories. For instance, CEEE
completed a special study for a major domestic aero-
space manufacturer. The company wanted to know if
near-field antenna testing could provide accuracies as
good as or better than far-field testing for a complete .
range of measurements. Based on the NBS study results,
the company selected the Bureau's near-field antenna
measurement methodology for performance testing of
antennas to be flown on a new satellite. The indoor
near-field technique, pioneered by NBS, offers higher
resolution as well as savings in personnel, travel, and
equipment costs over the conventional outdoor far-field
technique. It is frequently used by industry for perform-
ance testing and is now finding use in manufacturing
process control for complex antennas.
Some projects involve international collaboration. NBS
researchers, working with scientists from a West German
standards laboratory, have demonstrated constant volt-
age steps at 1.2 volts from a series array of 1,464
Josephson junctions operating with a 90-GHz signal.
This major achievement showed that there are no scien-
tific barriers to the development of Josephson-junction
voltage standards at convenient voltage levels. NBS
researchers are proceeding with the development of
such a practical, convenient standard.
A recent achievement is a microcomputer-based stan-
dard for measuring the average power contained in
highly distorted electrical waveforms. This standard pro-
vides an improved basis for comparing the performance
of commercially available wideband wattmeters and
permits on-site power tests using an NBS standard.
Much of the Center's work in advanced power metrol-
ogy has been performed in the newly completed high-
voltage and high-current laboratories. These labora-
tories can generate voltage pulses with peak amplitudes
up to 600,000 volts and current pulses with peak ampli-
tudes up to 100,000 amperes. They are also equipped
with a wide range of conventional, computer-based,
and optical systems to measure these pulses and the re-
sponses of various systems to pulsed stimuli. These fa-
cilities are being used by university and industrial guest
scientists in collaboration with Center staff.
The nation's electrical power systems, communications
networks, computers, and defense systems are all vul-
nerable to disturbance by electromagnetic pulses. To
resolve system performance problems caused by electro-
magnetic interference, scientists must be able to measure
electromagnetic environmental conditions produced by
signal patterns from multiple sources. The Center is fo-
cusing on measurements of complex, interfering electro-
magnetic fields and electromagnetic emissions and on
generating standard fields for immunity testing.
As part of this work, the Center, in collaboration with
Sandia National Laboratories, has performed electro-
optical measurements of 2.5 million-volt pulses of 100-
nanosecond duration. The Center also has developed
the capability to characterize voltage sensors in the
1-nanosecond range, a first step toward standardized
techniques for evaluating pulse power systems. In addi-
tion, the Center has the capability to make the quantita-
tive measurements necessary to evaluate the effects of
aging on gaseous insulation.
Research to characterize the electromagnetic environ-
ment requires new tools. Broadband sensors (covering
from 10 MHz to beyond 10 GHz) and electro-optic trans-
ducers in conjunction with fiber optic transmission lines
are under development. Center researchers are also
working on smaller isotropic sensors needed for mea-
suring fields within small enclosures, such as electronic
instrument cases.
All of these projects provide some of the world's most
advanced measurement techniques for the rapid devel-
opment of the electrical and electronics technology which
pervades almost every facet of modern life.
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National Measurement Laboratory
Our highly technical society
demands increasing mea-
surement accuracy for the
continued advancement
of technology. And im-
provements in measure-
ment science require an
ever deepening under-
standing of the physical
world. Scientists in the
NBS National Measure-
ment Laboratory (NML)
conduct research at the
frontiers of physics which
leads to improved realiza-
tion of the basic physical
quantities that underlie
measurement science?
mass, length, time, tem-
perature, electric current,
and radiant intensity. Their
research also helps to im-
prove understanding of
fundamental atomic, mole-
cular, and nuclear radia-
tion processes. NML pro-
vides the nation with state-
of-the-art measurement
services in thermody-
namics, transport proper-
ties, chemical kinetics, sur-
face science, molecular
spectroscopy, and
chemical analysis.
Research chemist
Laurence Hi!pert
prepares to analyze an
environmental sample
by gas chromatography/
mass spectrometry, a
sensitive analytical
technique used to mea-
sure trace level toxic
organic compounds at
the parts per billion
level.
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21
Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Basic Standards
s the inheritor of the government's nearly century-
old attempts to standardize weights and
measures, the NBS Center for Basic Standards
(CBS) is responsible for the consistency of physical
measurement standards in the United States. It devel-
ops and maintains the national standards for mass,
length, time and frequency, temperature, pressure,
vacuum, and electrical quantities. The Center's work en-
sures that these national standards are compatible with
those of other nations, and the staff provide a variety of
measurement services to the public.
In addition, the Center conducts basic experimental
and theoretical research to build a stronger and more
accurate foundation for physical measurements and to
improve our understanding of the phenomena upon
which physical measurements are based. For example,
researchers in the Center and their collaborators from
the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY)
recently announced the first electromagnetic trapping of
neutral atoms in experiments at NBS Gaithersburg. To
trap the atoms, the NBS/SUNY team developed tech-
niques for producing ultra-cold atoms using laser cool-
ing. With these techniques, an atomic sodium beam is
decelerated, stopped, and finally trapped using the
radiation pressure from a laser beam. The stopped
atoms are then confined in a magnetic trap. Demonstra-
tion of a practical method of confining neutral atoms in a
trap opens the possibility of a new generation of ex-
periments in atomic physics.
The Center is also working vigorously to develop an
"atomic" standard of resistance based on a phenome-
non of solid-state physics known as the quantum Hall ef-
fect or QHE. This phenomenon occurs in certain semi-
conductor devices when they are cooled to tempera-
tures near absolute zero and placed in a large magnetic
field. Under these conditions, the resistance of the
device is quantitized, that is, it has specific, discrete
values, and these values depend upon certain invariant
fundamental constants of nature. Center researchers
have now devised and put into operation a new auto-
mated resistance bridge for measuring quantitized Hall
resistances with an accuracy of a few parts in 100
million. The QHE has been used to monitor the U.S.
legal ohm since the summer of 1983, and it is expected
that by 1987 the QHE will be used to define and main-
tain the U.S. legal ohm.
To assure accuracy of the kilogram, the last remaining
artifact standard, the NBS kilograms were compared
22
with those at the International Bureau of Weights and
Measures, and they were found to agree to a few parts
per billion. A new generation of high-precision kilogram
comparators is now being designed and constructed at
NBS.
As part of its responsibilities for maintaining and
disseminating the nation's physical measurement stan-
dards for the benefit of industry, commerce, and
science, the Center presents seminars on standards
and measurement technology for technicians engaged
in industrial metrology. The Center also has published
the first volume of a new industrial Measurement Series,
called A Primer for Mass Metrology.
Through the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics
in Boulder, Colo., which NBS cosponsors with the Uni-
versity of Colorado, Center scientists collaborate with
university faculty and visiting scientists to conduct the
kind of long-term basic research on which the Bureau's
standards, measurements, and data ultimately depend.
One recent achievement complementing the atom-trap-
ping experiments in Gaithersburg has been the use of
With researchers
from the State
University of New York,
physicists Alan Migdall,
John Prodan, and
William Phillips, pic-
tured, completed what
is believed to be the
first successful experi-
ment to trap neutral
atoms, an important ad-
vance in the technology
of atomic physics.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
"????1 Kilogram Prototype
r---" K-20, one of two
prototypes that define a
kilogram of mass in the
United States, and
hence the entire U.S.
measurement system
for mass, is the small
platinum-iridium cyl-
inder resting on the
balance pan on the
right-hand side of this
photograph.
radiation from a tunable dye laser to slow, stop, and
reverse a free-flying atomic beam of sodium. The major
innovation here is the development of efficient electro-
optic phase modulators that produce a frequency-swept
laser sideband to match the changing absorption fre-
quency as the atoms slow down. In addition to potential
advances in frequency standards, these experiments
should make it possible to test theories in quantum elec-
trodynamics and general relativity.
Center scientists also are exploring the practicality of a
space experiment to detect gravitational waves from
sources such as binary stars. The experiment involves
the use of laser heterodyne techniques to measure vari-
ations in the million-kilometer separation of three masses
in Earth-like orbits around the Sun.
A new generation of portable absolute gravity meters
designed by Center scientists will aid in geodetic, geo-
physical, geological, tidal, and tectonic studies. The in-
struments use the free fall method and consist of four
parts: a drag-free dropping chamber, a long-period
isolation device, a stabilized laser, and the necessary
timing electronics. The meters are sensitive enough to
detect vertical tectonic motions as small as 2
centimeters.
In other experiments, Center researchers have dem-
onstrated an ingenious new approach for measuring
highly accurate photodissociation quantum yields of
electronically excited states. The method uses a fast
time response laser probe to measure the gain imme-
diately after photolysis and the subsequent total absorp-
tion, the ratio giving a relative quantum yield that is in-
dependent of most experimental parameters. Another
researcher has succeeded in measuring the relative
abundance of the radicals composed of silicon and
hydrogen present in electrical discharges in silane. Such
discharges are used in producing solar cells of amor-
phous silicon, which could be valuable sources of solar-
derived energy if the processes involved in the deposi-
tion of the silicon compounds were better understood..
In parallel experiments, Center scientists will use an
optical fiber thermometer (OFT) and a new NBS photo-
electric pyrometer to determine the difference between
the thermodynamic temperatures of gold and silver
freezing points. The goal of the experiments is to pro-
vide state-of-the-art measurements of the various
parameters of the OFT so the overall uncertainty of a
temperature determination will be less than 20 parts per
million.
Because of its high index of refraction and its proximi-
ty to the source, the sapphire probe of the OFT captures
significantly more signal than the.optics of conventional
pyrometers. As a consequence, the OFT has greater
sensitivity and can operate at lower temperatures than
those instruments. In principle, once the OFT is
calibrated at a single temperature within its range, it is
capable of measuring thermodynamic temperatures
over its entire range (600 to 2000 ?C).
Using high-energy accelerators and reactors around
the world, Center scientists have developed the capability
of making very accurate x-ray and gamma-ray wave-
length measurements. They have also designed new
techniques for investigating the structure of matter and
studying high-energy interactions that test fundamental
theories. Experiments have been carried out at a
number of locations including the reactors at the Institute
Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France, and at the Gesell-
schaft fu Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Ger-
many. Work is planned for a new beam line on the
National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven
National Laboratory.
23
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Radiation Research
=-= hrough its research to understand and measure
various forms of radiation, N BS produces informa-
tion that is used to enhance industrial productivity,
assure public health and safety, explore outer space,
control pollution, conduct energy research, and design
advanced telecommunications equipment.
In the NBS Center for Radiation Research (CRR),
scientists examine both electromagnetic radiation, in-
cluding visible light and x rays, and particle radiation,
such as beams of electrons, ions, and neutrons. They
study and measure ways in which such radiation in-
teracts with matter, ranging from extended materials sur-
faces to the molecular and subnuclear levels.
Much of this work results in accurate methods for
measuring, characterizing, and producing radiation
sources and standards. In recent years, radiation
research has developed an important new relationship
to health and medicine. For example, doctors are now
trying to determine the long-range health effects of
human exposure to low-level radiation. To do so, they
need new measurement tools and data describing how
radiation interacts with the human body.
One research group in CRR is studying the chemical
mechanisms through which ionizing radiation affects
biological systems. Such information is vital to the prop-
er use of radiation, food irradiation processing, and
post-irradiation dosimetry, a technique used to deter-
mine if a substance has been irradiated and how much
radiation it has received.
CRR scientists have discovered novel physiological
antioxidants that may inhibit the effects of radiation or,
possibly, even promote recovery from radiation
damage. Some of their findings, which show how the
structure of antioxidants affects their performance, could
be used in the design of novel, tailor-made antioxidants.
These researchers are also exploring the role structure
plays in the behavior of DNA-base materials in irradiated
cells.
In addition, Center scientists are collaborating with
researchers from local universities, the National Cancer
Institute, and the Armed Forces Radiation Research In-
stitute to study the DNA-damage/radiation-sensitivity
correlations in normal and Alzheimer cells.
24
Other research is aiding in the real-time monitoring of
radiation used to treat cancer patients where the ac-
curacy with which the dose is administered helps deter-
mine treatment success. Special optical waveguide
dosimeters with the same response characteristics as
human tissue are being developed at CRR to improve
clinical dosimetry and thereby help reduce the dan-
gerous side effects of radiotherapy. These dosimeters
are small enough to be placed directly into the body
through conventional catheters.
The radiation-processing industry is growing by about
30 percent annually, in part because the use of several
chemical decontaminants, recently found to be unsafe,
is now limited by federal regulatory agencies. Ionizing
radiation, for example, could be used instead of EDB
(ethylene dibromide) to control pests in foodstuffs, as
well as to sterilize medical devices instead of EO
(ethylene oxide). Radiation-processing industries have
installed more than 200 radiation sources to meet the
new industrial demand. The Center has contributed to
this technology by developing radiation standards and
improved industrial quality control systems to monitor
radiation doses, so that safely sterilized products are
delivered to consumers.
By combining an
ultrahigh vacuum,
high-resolution scan-
ning electron micro-
scope with a new, com-
pact electron spin-
polarization detector,
physicists (I. to r.) Gary
Hembree, CME, Robert
Celotta, John Unguris,
and Daniel Pierce can
observe simultaneously
the magnetic character
of a surface and its
physical structure over
dimensions as small as
100 angstroms.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
The steady growth of the use of radiation in medical,
industrial, and energy applications has created a need
for increased assurance of measurement accuracy. A
system of secondary laboratories that will provide the
supporting services required for measurement quality
assurance is being developed in conjunction with in-
terested organizations in the private, state, and federal
sectors. These laboratories will meet documented per-
formance criteria and use procedures that achieve a
high degree of consistency with the standards maintained
by CRR.
To produce radiation for experimental purposes, the
Center builds and operates sophisticated accelerators
and other radiation sources that it shares with the
general scientific community. The largest is the Syn-
chrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility (SURF II), which at-
tracts users from a wide range of universities, govern-
ment laboratories, and private companies.
SURF II is one of a few sources in the world that can
provide continuous radiation in the ultraviolet and near
x-ray region of the spectrum. The special properties of
this radiation enable NBS to use this synchrotron as the
only absolute national radiometric standard in the far
ultraviolet range of the light spectrum (below 100 nano-
Physicist Paul
Lamperti adjusts an
ion-chamber type de-
tector in an x-ray
calibration facility (laser
beam is used to align
the detector). The ion
chamber will be used as
a "transfer standard"
to calibrate x-ray
sources and other
detectors.
meters). It is used as a research and calibration tool by
numerous visiting scientists and for the study of optical
properties of materials, molecular kinetics, ionization
dynamics, and other fields of investigation.
In collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory
and the University of Maryland, with support from the
National Science Foundation, a high-resolution spec-
trometer was installed on SURF II to permit research on
the dynamics of energy transfer in atoms and molecules
with an energy resolution 10 times better than was
previously obtainable.
Other ongoing CRR projects will aid a wide variety of
theoretical and practical scientific and technological in-
vestigations. These projects involve:
0 Combining scanning electron microscopy with
electron polarization analysis to produce high-resolution
images of microscopic magnetic domains. Developed in
cooperation with the NBS Center for Manufacturing
Engineering, this new measurement technique is being
used to study submicron magnetic microstructure of ad-
vanced magnetic materials. It is expected to have im-
portant applications in a number of fields, including the
development of high-density magnetic recording media
for computers and small, high-efficiency electric motors.
0 Constructing a race-track microtron (RTM) electron
accelerator that will be used in a variety of radiation
research programs of interest to NBS, other government
agencies, industrial laboratories, and university
researchers.
0 Establishing a new calibration service for beta par-
ticle sources and transfer instruments to assist users in-
volved in radiation monitoring in medicine and nuclear
power.
0 Calibrating rocket-, satellite-, and shuttle-borne in-
struments used to measure far ultraviolet radiations from
the Sun and stars.
0 Developing atomic physics codes needed to iden-
tify atomic ions produced by hot plasmas in fusion reac-
tions and other computer codes that describe collisional
interactions between ions and plasmas. These codes
provide data necessary for modeling fusion plasma
behavior.
25
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Chemical Physics
i nvironmental monitoring, fossil fuel combustion,
land biotechnology are among the applications of
research conducted by the NBS Center for
Chemical Physics (CCP) Center researchers develop
advanced measurement techniques in surface science,
chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, and molecular
spectroscopy. Using these techniques, scientists can
achieve greater understanding of the molecular founda-
tions of complex physicochemical systems.
Many rapidly growing areas of technology, including
the development of high-performance materials, com-
puters, and semiconductors, involve surface character-
ization. One thrust of NBS surface science research is to
develop measurement techniques for surface character-
ization. A second major goal of NBS surface science
research is to determine the structure and reactivity of
molecules adsorbed on surfaces, especially those im-
portant in catalysis. To conduct this research, the Center
has established some unique experimental facilities.
Center researchers, for example, constructed an atom
probe field ion microscope that has several novel fea-
tures. It combines principles of field ion microscopy?
which provides images of a crystal structure's individual
atoms at magnifications up to several million times?and
a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The microscope, a
powerful tool in materials analysis, can detect the loca-
tions and mass of individual atoms in a crystal structure.
With it scientists can probe regions ranging from only 5
angstroms in diameter to areas 800 times as wide. Re-
searchers from NBS and industry are now using this
microscope to analyze high-technology alloys.
The NBS synchrotron (SURF II) and an x-ray light
source at the Brookhaven National Laboratory are being
used to study the bonding of atoms and molecules to
surfaces of metals and oxides. Combined with other sur-
face-sensitive methods, this research is providing new
insights into the geometrical and electronic structures of
molecules on surfaces and the electronic properties of
the substrate. The results of this research could help to
improve materials used in electronics and other high-
technology industries.
The study of chemical kinetics at NBS has numerous
near-term applications, particularly in controlling and
monitoring environmental pollution, of interest to in-
dustry, energy, defense, and standards experts. For ex-
ample, Center researchers have proposed a new way to
monitor the effectiveness of the burning of hazardous
26
waste using tracer compounds known to be more dif-
ficult to destroy than the hazardous components of the
waste mixture.
They have also conducted the first definitive study of
the chlorine content of municipal solid waste in the
United States. This work provides an important founda-
tion for understanding how chlorinated pollutants, such
as dioxins, are formed and destroyed during waste in-
cineration. Sponsored by the Department of Energy, this
research is part of a cooperative effort with the Warren
Spring Laboratory, United Kingdom, to study waste
combustion. In addition, CCP scientists are cooperating
Physical chemist
Eugene Domalski
and engineering techni-
cian Sally Bruce assem-
ble the NBS 2.5-kilo-
gram combustion flow
calorimeter for an ex-
periment to measure
the heating value of a
refuse-derived fuel.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
,
with the Solar Energy Research Institute to provide
evaluated thermodynamic data for major components of
solid waste.
Industry is interested in the Center's recently patented
idea that could help solve the nation's acid rain prob-
lem. Center scientists proposed a new chemical process
for removing the noxious pollutant sulfur dioxide from in-
dustrial gas streams, which could prove more efficient
and reliable than the slurry systems presently in use.
Other Center scientists are compiling and evaluating
thermodynamic data for flue gas cleanup using current
fossil fuel technology.
The nationwide effort to develop more efficient and
less polluting combustion systems has created a grow-
ing need for chemical kinetics data and models. NBS is
working to provide the scientific database for the
design, modeling, and optimization of high-temperature
processes. With the Department of Energy, NBS is ask-
ing research groups throughout the United States to
cooperate in preparing an evaluated chemical kinetics
database of elementary single-step reactions for use in
combustion modeling.
As part of its data evaluation services, the Center, in
conjunction with the Standard Reference Data Program,
produced a new set of tables of chemical thermody-
namic properties. More than 60,000 references were
used to compile the original data, which were then
carefully evaluated and checked for thermodynamic
consistency using specially developed computer pro-
grams. The tables have been published by the Ameri-
can Chemical Society and the American Physical
Society.
In the NBS tradition of providing the measurement
base for new and growing industries, the Center is
beginning studies in the area of biothermodynamics.
CCP researchers are evaluating existing thermodynamic
data to estimate the properties of important biological
building blocks. They are examining enzyme-catalyzed
reactions to obtain data on product formation under
varying process conditions and measuring the ener-
getics of nucleic acids by combustion bomb calorimetry.
NBS-designed microcalorimeters and a high-perfor-
mance liquid chromatography technique developed
and validated at NBS are being used to investigate the
thermodynamics of isomerization reactions.
In a related area, CCP and the National Foundation
for Cancer Research have established a cooperative
research program to study the chemical behavior of
metalloenzymes. These proteins are important in DNA
replication and may play a role in the growth of tumors.
NBS researchers have developed quantum chemical
?
7413,14EnelitiagEllaIMMIEMEMIERENe----'
computation techniques to calculate how complex
systems of organic molecules interact with metal ions.
These calculations will enable them to predict important
chemical properties.
Another major effort in the Center is a study of the
properties of weakly bonded molecules. Center scien-
tists are presently interested in hydrogen bonding at the
molecular level in condensed phase systems. They are
coupling theoretical spectroscopy with their infrared and
microwave experimental results to explain the highly
resolved rotation-vibration spectrum of hydrogen-
bonded molecules. From this spectroscopic data, scien-
tists can obtain bond strengths and potential energies of
the hydrogen-bonded systems.
In support of the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration's project HALOE, Center scientists are mak-
ing very precise spectroscopic measurements of hydro-
gen fluoride and hydrogen chloride. This work is aimed
at broadening the database used to make and evaluate
spectroscopic measurements of atmospheric consti-
tuents by ground-based and balloon- and satellite-borne
instruments. They are also collaborating with the
Chemical Manufacturers Association to develop the
spectroscopy needed for the direct detection of trace
components of the stratosphere. Most recently, they
studied the compound hypochlorus acid, thought to be
important in ozone destruction.
Research chemists
"?-? Jennifer Colbert
and Duane Kirklin
prepare Standard Refer-
ence Materials using
this precision calori-
meter which measures
the thermodynamic
properties of foods,
biological materials,
and fuels.
27
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Analytical Chemistry
^ ore than 50 billion chemical analyses are per-
formed each year in the United States by scien-
- L fists and technicians in government, industry,
academia, and private and public testing laboratories.
The NBS Center for Analytical Chemistry (CAC) helps to
ensure the accuracy of these analyses. The Center
serves as the nation's reference laboratory for chemical
compositional measurements of inorganic, organic,
gaseous, and particulate materials.
To help solve national problems that involve analytical
chemistry, the Center develops accurate measurement
methods and Standard Reference Materials (SRM's) by:
(1) investigating fundamental chemical and physical
principles to develop new analytical procedures; (2)
developing analytical methods, which have been in-
vestigated exhaustively to remove bias and obtain high
measurement accuracy and precision; (3) extending
and modifying existing analytical methods to include
new sample types and to permit accurate measurement
of samples with lower concentrations of important
chemical constituents; and (4) performing standardiza-
tion research, including certification of chemical com-
positions in SRM's.
Much of the Center's research has important applica-
tions in technology development. For example, to de-
sign new high-technology machines and instruments,
engineers must be able to predict the performance of
materials such as alloys, composites, and electronic
components. The performance of these materials is linked
to their chemical composition and structure on a
micrometer scale. In collaboration with more than 15
guest workers and research associates from the aero-
space, metals, and electronics industries, academia,
and other national laboratories, Center scientists are
using beams of neutrons and ions to measure elemental
compositions in materials important in high-technology
industries. The data from these techniques?neutron
depth profiling and microprobe analysis?are combined
using digital image processing to form compositional
maps. These maps, with resolution at the tens to hun-
dreds of nanometer levels, can play a major role in
establishing relationships between the chemical com-
position of materials and their performance.
In the biotechnology area, the Center's work has two
focuses: to develop measurement methods and stan-
dards for use in separating, identifying, and measuring
biomolecules and to use the very specialized reaction
properties of biomolecules themselves as measurement
tools. This research will give scientists in the public and
private sectors the means to determine the purity of
28
molecules, such as insulin, produced by bioengineering
and to monitor processes in bioreactors. The research
can also be used in such unique applications as identify-
ing subspecies of commercially important fish and other
marine organisms by protein profiles and determining
the effects of various pollutants on the genetic make up
of species in the food chain.
While developing new chemical measurement methods
and techniques at the cutting edge of technology,
Center researchers also produce highly accurate
methods that are the cornerstone of quantitative
analytical chemistry. Using these methods, Center
scientists determine chemical concentrations for a wide
variety of complex sample types and have certified the
chemical composition of more than 700 SRM's. These
SRM's cover a broad spectrum of inorganic and/or
organic constituents in a variety of matrices, including .
human serum, metals, gases, nuclear materials, and
7,\ Technician James
Norris adjusts the
Bureau's ozone refer-
ence photometer which
is used as a "defini-
tive" standard for
calibrating the refer-
ence photometers in
Environmental Protec-
tion Agency regional
laboratories.
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
glasses. Scientists in both the public and private sectors
use SRM's to assess the accuracy of their own analytical
methods.
In one specific area of research, Center scientists use
very accurate mass spectrometry to determine isotopic
ratios. They have, for example, recently redetermined
the atomic weights of gallium and silver. An accurate
value for the atomic weight of gallium is important in the
semiconductor industry while an accurate value for
silver is needed to determine fundamental physical con-
stants such as the faraday.
The International Ozone Commission has recom-
mended to the World Meteorological Organization that
CAC ozone cross-section data be accepted as the inter-
national standard. These cross sections, important in
determining accurate concentrations of ozone in the at-
mosphere and stratosphere, are used in the modeling of
ozone atmospheric processes and have already
significantly reduced previously reported discrepancies
between aerial- (plane and satellite) and ground-based
ozone measurements.
Using a secondary
ion mass spectro-
metry instrument, met-
allurgist Dale Newbury
is able to map the dis-
tribution of elements
both on and below a
sample's surface.
Center scientists are also developing measurement
methods and reference materials for selected vitamins
and trace elements in foods and body fluids as part of a
major National Cancer Institute epidemiological study to
assess the effect of nutrition in cancer prevention.
To provide the more accurate and highly complex
measurements that are needed today, Center research-
ers have investigated the interaction between chroma-
tographic column materials and the chemicals being
analyzed. Using the results of this investigation, they will
be able to develop chromatographic systems tailored
for the separation and analysis of specific organic com-
pounds in complex samples containing thousands of
chemicals.
In other work done to respond to new requirements
arising from health and environmental concerns, Center
scientists analyzed the reactive gases nitric oxide,
nitrogen dioxide, and nitric acid using infrared diode
lasers to resolve discrepancies in measurements. They
analyzed cholestrol and other constituents in human
serum for proficiency testing in collaboration with the
College of American Pathologists, and developed a
diesel particulate SRM and a nitro-polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbon reference material with the Coordinating
Research Council. In addition, they produced trace
organic reference materials for analysis of toxic
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) and dioxins and, in
cooperation with industry and the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration, developed microspectrofluorimetric stan-
dards for use in medical research.
The Center, in cooperation with the Environmental
Protection Agency, established a pilot environmental
specimen bank that contains well-characterized biologi-
cal samples for analysis of chemicals present in the en-
vironment. These samples can be used in the future to
evaluate environmental changes that may occur over
time and also to distinguish human-caused changes
from natural ones. The project to date has involved
developing analytical protocols for sampling, process-
ing, and storing samples; evaluating analytical methods
for determining trace elements and organic pollutants in
biological samples; establishing baseline data on se-
lected environmental specimens; and evaluating the fea-
sibility of long-term sample storage under various condi-
tions. Several international conferences have resulted
from this project, and collaboration has expanded to in-
clude the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the
Food and Drug Administration as well as the govern-
ments of Germany, Japan, Canada, and Sweden.
29
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Office of Measurement Services
, eliable measurements can help avoid costly
I-) manufacturing mistakes and ensur'e more effec-
tive use of products and systems. They can pro-
vide the basis for sound and economical environmental
and safety regulations. Good measurements can also
improve health care by ensuring the validity of clinical
tests and procedures.
At the heart of the NBS mission are services that en-
sure the accuracy and compatibility of measurements
on a national and international scale. Through these ser-
vices NBS-developed measurement technology also is
disseminated to users around the world. Two such pro-
grams are directed by the NBS Office of Measurement
Services: the Standard Reference Materials (SRM) Pro-
gram and the Calibration Services Program.
SRM's, produced by NBS since 1906, are stable,
homogeneous materials that have one or more physical
and/or chemical properties accurately measured and
certified by NBS. They are used throughout the world to
calibrate instruments and evaluate test methods used in
industrial quality control, medical diagnostics, environ-
mental monitoring, and basic metrology. NBS currently
maintains an inventory of about 900 different SRM's,
which are described in the NBS Standard Reference
Materials Catalog 1986-87, NBS Special Publication
260. Each year, NBS sells nearly 40,000 SRM units to
over 10,000 customers, including 2,500 foreign
customers.
While NBS has been providing basic measurement
services such as SRM's for about 80 years, the ac-
celerated pace of technology development has called
for new and more accurately certified SRM's. Some of
the most recently developed SRM's are used in high-
technology applications and advanced materials pro-
duction. These include SRM's designed for controlling
the quality of integrated circuits, for evaluating the per-
formance of automated analytical instrument systems
such as mass spectrometers, and for evaluating the per-
formance properties of new materials, such as ad-
vanced lubricating oils.
Billions of tiny (10-micrometer) polystyrene spheres
made aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger have been
certified as SRM 1960, the first product made in space
to be offered for sale. This SRM is one of a series of
30
micro-dimensional SRM's designed for calibrating par-
ticle-sizing equipment used in such fields as metallurgy,
clinical chemistry, environmental monitoring, and food
technology, as well as in the production of printing inks,
explosive powders, and cement. Developed by Lehigh
University and the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration, SRM 1960 was certified by NBS, in
cooperation with a research associate sponsored by
ASTM, using an array-sizing optical microscope
technique.
TA Machinist Frank
" u Mills uses a lathe to
chip metal that will be
ground, sieved, and
blended into a titanium
alloy Standard Refer-
ence Material, which
manufacturers Will be
able to use to control
the quality of their
titanium products.
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The steel and basic metals industries use more than
250 different reference materials to assure quality pro-
duction and to calibrate automated measurement sys-
tems. The SRM 1200 series of low-alloy steels, prepared
to NBS specifications, has been the standard for the
low-alloy steel industry for more than a decade. NBS is
in the process of replacing this entire series of SRM's by
materials that meet state-of-the-art specifications. Other
recently developed metal SRM's include: unalloyed tita-
nium, low-carbon and sulfur-silicon steel, cast irons, and
nickel steels.
SRM's are used not only in America's basic industries
and manufacturing but also in areas important to public
health and safety such as environmental monitoring and
clinical chemistry. NBS now has over 30 SRM's to sup-
port clinical chemistry measurements and over 100
SRM's for use in environmental testing, including a new
SRM series for use in the analysis of trace organic
pollutants.
The calibration and other physical measurement ser-
vices provided by NBS are as essential as the spiv] ser-
vices. By calibrating a variety of measurement stan-
dards and instruments of industry and other govern-
ment agencies, these services provide the basis for a
complete and consistent national system of physical
measurements. NBS offers over 300 different calibration
services, which are described in NBS Special Publica-
tion 250, NBS Calibration Services Users Guide
1986-88. Services include a variety of calibrations and
special tests for important parameters including fun-
damental quantities (mass, length, time, electrical cur-
rent, and temperature) and derived quantities (such as
fluid flow rate, electrical resistance, spectral radiance,
and microwave attenuation). NBS performs nearly 7,000
calibrations each year on a variety of instruments and
transfer standards submitted by more than 1,500
customers.
In its continuing search to identify new measurement
requirements and develop priorities for new services,
NBS works very closely with such organizations as the
National Conference of Standards Laboratories, the
Council on Optical Radiation Measurements, and the In-
stitute for Electronics and Electrical Engineers. These
organizations have recently issued several reports
aimed at assisting NBS in planning future physical
measurement service activities.
When customers properly use instruments calibrated
by NBS, they can be reasonably assured of accurate
measurements in their laboratories. Inaccuracy can oc-
cur, however, if the device is damaged in shipment, or if
other factors (such as unskilled operators or environ-
mental conditions) hamper accurate measurements. For
customers whose measurements must be of the highest
accuracy and traceable to national measurement stan-
dards, NBS has developed a limited number of Mea-
surement Assurance Program (MAP) services.
MAP's are multilaboratory testing programs that
enable participants to evaluate the performance of their
total measurement systems relative to national stan-
dards maintained by NBS and to the performance of
other participating laboratories. NBS offers MAP ser-
vices for electrical resistance, dc voltage, platinum
resistance thermometers, mass, gage blocks, watt-hour
meters, laser power and energy, optical retro-reflec-
tance, and optical transmittance. MAP's have been
shown to improve the precision and accuracy of par-
ticipants' measurement systems substantially. To pro-
vide information on how to set up and operate a MAP,
NBS has published a two-volume manual designated as
NBS Special Publications 676-land 676-11, Measure-
ment Assurance Programs.
To enhance the use of accurate measurements
throughout the scientific community, NBS has also
developed a series of special measurement assurance
seminars and training courses, which are held
periodically at different locations throughout the United
States. These seminars provide in-depth training in both
measurement techniques and statistical evaluation of
measurement processes and are intended to assist par-
ticipants in establishing rigorous quality control pro-
grams in their laboratories. Areas covered by these
seminars include electrical measurements, precision
thermometry, and calibration of piston gages. NBS also
offers a very popular seminar in the field of chemical
measurements, which covers the use of SRM's in
chemical measurement applications.
Here engineering
technician Linwood
Jenkins calibrates a
force-measuring instru-
ment which is in turn
used to calibrate equip-
ment that tests the
strength of materials.
31
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Office of btanaara Reference Data
acientists and engineers frequently find it difficult to
be sure about the reliability of data in technical
papers. Yet research and development decisions
based on inadequate or outdated technical information
often result in the costly overdesign of industrial facilities
or failure of products.
Researchers at all levels of industry, government, and
academia depend on the evaluated physical and chemi-
cal databases developed and distributed by the NBS
Office of Standard Reference Data. This program, man-
dated by the Standard Reference Data Act (Public Law
90-396), coordinates the activities of 23 continuing data
centers and 40 other data evaluation projects. Each
data center monitors an important scientific area and
develops and maintains one or several databases, while
the smaller data projects often answer the need for
specialized databases in particularly important areas of
science and technology. These databases are then
made available to the technical community in several
formats: published, computer-readable, or on-line.
The Office now distributes 10 major databases in
computer-readable format on magnetic tape in its Stan-
dard Reference Database Series. In this way, the
databases are more accessible to a variety of users and
can be updated more easily. These databases have
numerous uses, such as identifying chemical unknowns
encountered in different environments, predicting
chemical reaction equilibria, and designing industrial
processes. For example, the Photon and Charged Parti-
cle Data Center has just prepared two such databases
of accurate cross-section data for the interaction of
photons and electrons with matter. These data are
needed by many scientists working in energy research,
medical physics, space science, radiation sterilization,
and materials processing. The first, called Photon At-
tenuation Coefficients in Materials, contains data pertain-
ing to the interaction of x rays and gamma rays with
substances in the energy region 1 keV and 100 GeV.
The second, which is known as Electron and Positron
Stopping Powers of Materials, consists of stopping
powers for electrons in 285 materials and for positrons
in 29 materials of dosimetric interest in the energy range
10 keV to 10 GeV.
The other databases presently available on magnetic
tape are: NBS/NIH/EPA/MSDC Mass Spectral Data-
base, NBS Chemical Thermodynamics Database, NBS
Thermophysical Properties of Hydrocarbon Mixtures
Database, NBS Crystal Data Identification File, Thermo-
physical Properties of Helium, Interactive Fortran Pro-
gram to Calculate Thermophysical Properties of Six
32
Fluids, Activity and Osmotic Coefficients of Aqueous
Electrolyte Solutions, and the NBS Steam Tables.
Some of the Office's recent data evaluation and data-
base development work involves the use of prediction
and correlation techniques. These techniques help
determine hard-to-measure data and provide internal
checks to assure that a particular database is scien-
tifically self-consistent. An example of this effort is the
NBS Chemical Thermodynamics Database which con-
tains data on the thermodynamic properties of 15,000
substances, all totally consistent with the laws of
thermodynamics.
Researchers in the Fluid Mixtures Data Center are
developing techniques which will enable scientists to
predict transport properties of pure fluids from thermo-
dynamic and molecular data, to predict properties of
mixtures from the properties of pure fluids, and to inter-
polate and extrapolate data over a range of tempera-
ture, pressure, and relative concentrations (in mixtures).
A\ Physicist Stephen
Seltzer works on an
evaluated, interactive
x-ray attenuation data-
base designed to be
used in radiation safety
and medical physics.
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With such capabilities, researchers can generate needed
thermophysical data on-line for specific multi-component
mixtures. It would be impossible to provide such infor-
mation on all possible mixtures in printed tabular form.
To make the Standard Reference Data program suc-
cessful, its managers must be aware of data require-
ments in the U.S. technical community and obtain that
community's assistance in the job of providing needed
data. For this reason, program managers collaborate
with a variety of industrial and professional groups.
These cooperative activities provide considerable
assistance-in-kind to the program, as well as highly ef-
fective routes for dissemination of data.
For example, the National Association of Corrosion
Engineers and NBS have established a joint program to
provide evaluated corrosion data on alloys and other
materials. Corrosion of materials, such as in machinery
Research chemist
r--1 Marlene Morris, an
NBS research associate
with the JCPDS Inter-
national Centre for Dif-
fraction Data, studies
an x-ray powder diffrac-
tion pattern that was
recorded on a labora-
tory diffractometer.
and bridges, cost the United States an estimated $167
billion in 1985. The new cooperative effort is aimed at
reducing these costs through improved utilization of
materials and application of good anti-corrosion prac-
tices. The Office of Standard Reference Data has
established a new Corrosion Data Center within the
NBS Institute for Materials Science and Engineering.
The data center will provide overall guidance of the
technical aspects of the program and will assure reliabili-
ty of the data evaluations.
The Office of Standard Reference Data also collabo-
rates with the Design Institute for Physical Properties
Data (DIPPR), sponsored through the American Institute
of Chemical Engineers. DIPPR's purpose is to provide
reference data to the chemical industry by a combina-
tion of critical data evaluation and experimental mea-
surement. The more than 40 organizations that support
DIPPR include companies which manufacture chemicals,
design processes and plants, and provide a variety of
services to the chemical industry. As a result of this
cooperative effort, the Office will disseminate the mag-
netic tape version of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers DIPPR database.
In addition to new activities, the Office of Standard
Reference Data enjoys a number of long-standing coop-
erative arrangements. One is its 14-year collaboration
with the American Chemical Society and the American
Institute of Physics to publish the Journal of Physical and
Chemical Reference Data, the major printed output
channel for the National Standard Reference Data Sys-
tem. The journal presents compilations of physical and
chemical property data that have been evaluated by
scientists knowledgeable in the pertinent field of
research.
The American Chemical Society handles promotion
and subscriptions as well as a unique service: selling
bound offprints of articles. The American Institute of
Physics is responsible for composition, printing, and
mailing, while NBS provides technical and editorial con-
trol. By sponsoring this effort and actively disseminating
the results to their membership, these two professional
societies demonstrate their recognition of the data's
importance.
These database development and cooperative activi-
ties are merely representative of the large and compre-
hensive efforts through which the Office of Standard
Reference Data provides up-to-date evaluated scientific
information to the technical community.
33
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology
One of the most significant
technological develop-
ments of the past 40 years,
computer technology is
used to carry out basic
manufacturing processes,
to manage programs and
financial activities, and to
provide a broad range of
consumer and information
services. It has spawned
increases in productivity
throughout the American
economy, contributed to the
development of high-tech-
nology products and ser-
vices, and advanced sci-
ence and engineering re-
search.
The NBS Institute for
Computer Sciences and
Technology (ICST) plays a
vital and unique role in pro-
viding the standards, speci-
fications, measurement and
test methods, and technical
guidance needed by gov-
ernment and industry to
make better use of comput-
er technology. ICST ser-
vices and research contrib-
ute to the development of
better products, the growth
of markets, and productive
applications of computer
products and services.
Through participation in
the development of national
and international voluntary
standards, ICST supports
U.S. industry competitive-
ness and leadership in com-
puter technology.
?????.1 To improve the
management of in-
formation resources,
computer scientists (I.
to r.) Patricia Konig,
Helen Wood, and Alan
Goldfine are working on
specifications for a fed-
eral, ANSI, and inter-
national standard for
data dictionary software.
34
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Computer technology?a technology of rapid
change?results in new products and new appli-
cations of computers almost every day. As with
all new, changing technologies, however, this also leads
to new problems relating to computer use.
The Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology's
programs in standards development, technical assistance,
and research focus on helping government and industry
manage this changing technology to improve productivity
and help U.S. industry keep its technical lead in inter-
national trade.
To carry out its programs, ICST researchers work co-
operatively with a broad spectrum of organizations,
such as federal, state, and local governments; industry
computer users and manufacturers; research organiza-
tions; and voluntary standards groups. In many cases,
scientists and engineers from industry come to ICST lab-
oratories to collaborate on joint research projects. Tech-
nology and test methods developed in Institute labora-
tories are transferred to industry and academia as well
as other government agencies. Industry depends upon
ICST's neutrality and technical expertise to support the
development of broad consensus standards and the im-
partial tests needed to assure that products conform to
standards.
Voluntary computer standards continue to be one of
the most effective means for managing change. Standards
help to bring order to the computer marketplace and to
broaden the market for computer products. The com-
plexities of computer systems and their many interfaces
between users, programs, data, operating systems, hard-
ware, and communications systems make it difficult to
link different components and systems, to exchange in-
formation between different automated activities, and to
take full advantage of automation.
As a large computer user, the federal government's
requirements for standards are similar to other large
users. More than $15 billion is spent annually on com-
puter-related activities by federal agencies, and the im-
plications of faulty computer operations, waste, and in-
efficiency are far reaching. Many organizations have
made large investments in small computers for indi-
vidual applications, while microcomputers and large
mainframe computers serve other organizational needs.
Yet tying these systems together for true distributed pro-
cessing is still a technical challenge.
As more users need to integrate existing automated
systems, the standards process becomes more complex
and distributed. Standards development is segmented
by technical issues addressed, by special user commu-
nity needs, and by organizations developing the stan-
dards. To meet the federal government's need for co-
herent and compatible standards, ICST supports the
development of voluntary national and international
standards that are cooperatively produced by users and
industry and that result in off-the-shelf, compatible hard-
ware and software products.
ICST staff members provide technical expertise and
leadership to the voluntary standards development pro-
cess by helping to write technical specifications and pro-
viding laboratory results. They work with more than 70
different committees in national and international organi-
zations such as the American National Standards Insti-
tute (ANSI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-
neers (IEEE), the International Organization for Standard-
ization (ISO), the European Computer Manufacturers
Association (ECMA), and the Consultative Committee on
International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT). Increas-
ingly, the focus of the Institute's standards-making ac-
tivities has been in international organizations because
of the global nature of communications and information
exchange and the importance of having U.S. technology
used in international standards. As a result of its close
collaboration with U.S. industry, ICST represents U.S. in-
terests in international standards development.
For several years, the Institute has been conducting
workshops for vendors and users to discuss the imple-
mentation of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
Reference Model. The OSI Reference Model, which was
developed by ISO with ICST assistance, provides the
framework for the development of a complex system of
standards that will enable different manufacturers'
equipment to work together in computer nebkorks. ICST
Investigating ways
to make software
maintenance less com-
plex and time consuming
are computer scientists
Wilma Osborne and
Roger Martin.
35
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ICST researchers
'-' (I. to r.) Richard
Linn, Jr., Jeffrey Gura,
Daniel Rorrer, Wayne
McCoy, and Stephen
Nightingale (seated)
worked with industry to
develop a transport pro-
tocol test system, which
allows vendors and
users to test their com-
puter systems to make
sure they conform to
networking standards.
36
is cooperating with ISO, ANSI, and other groups to de-
velop the needed standards and with industry in imple-
menting the standards in commercial products for the
office and factory.
Participants in the workshops have represented more
than 175 organizations, including computer manufac-
turers, semiconductor manufacturers, word processing
vendors, process control vendors, communications car-
riers, and industry and government users from the United
States, Canada, and Europe. Two successful demon-
strations?one at the 1984 National Computer Confer-
ence, the other at AUTOFACT '85?of standards for the
OSI reference model have resulted from the workshops.
Two major U.S. corporations, General Motors and Boe-
ing Computer Services, have adopted standards for
their computer operations based on the workshop effort.
The corporate standards are Manufacturing Automation
Protocol (MAP) and Technical and Office Protocol
(TOP), respectively.
ICST contributed to these demonstrations and to the
development of commercial products implementing the
standards by helping participating organizations test
their products using test methods developed in Institute
laboratories. New techniques were also devised to auto-
mate the design-to-implementation, testing, and perfor-
mance measurement processes, thereby reducing the
time needed to write the sophisticated testing proce-
dures. In addition, ICST will coordinate a globally dis-
tributed digital data network for OSI research?called
OSINET?to which 15 companies have agreed to com-
mit resources.
Institute researchers are also working on the standards
needed to integrate different computer programs and
user applications and to establish standard formats and
definitions for data processed by computer. They have
contributed to voluntary standards for programming ap-
plications for database and graphics systems as well as
for tying these applications languages to high-level pro-
gramming languages. These standards will make pro-
gramming easier and programs, training, and skills trans-
portable from one system to another.
ICST's standards efforts cover other application areas,
including system interfaces and information exchange.
For example, Institute researchers are involved in devel-
oping standards for magnetic media and for structuring
data files on media. ICST is supporting more than 35 dif-
ferent final, proposed, and planned standards that rep-
resent basic requirements for exchanging information
stored on different types of magnetic media.
Developing standards is just the first step toward com-
patibility of products. The standards must be imple-
mented properly in products to assure compatibility with
other products, and test and measurement methods are
essential for ensuring that products and systems meet
the increasingly complex standards. Without tests, stan-
dards are simply paper specifications, and no one can
be sure that products are compatible.
Industry is contributing to this effort by providing re-
searchers to collaborate with Institute staff members and
by donating research equipment. More than 20 major
computer and communications companies have been
working with ICST in developing test methods for net-
work standards. To extend that effort to the critical soft-
ware needed for processing data distributed in networks,?
ICST has started a new project with industry to develop
test methods for software standards. These include data-
base management systems, data dictionary systems,
computer graphics, programming languages, user inter-
faces to operating systems, and office systems/docu-
ment interchange.
In the case of magnetic media, reference measurement
systems and reference materials are needed to support
the standards that are developed for tapes, disks, and
cartridges. ICST has developed and maintains such ref-
erence services for six different types of magnetic
media. Standard Reference Materials are used to evalu-
ate the performance of media and systems and to main-
tain quality control over their production.
NBS and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundersanstalt
(PTB) in West Germany are the only organizations pro-
viding these services. To focus the efforts of both
organizations more effectively, NBS has agreed to con-
centrate on developing new Standard Reference Mate-
rials for magnetic tape products while PTB will center its
work around the production of reference materials for
flexible disk cartridges. ICST is also working on stan-
dards and supporting services for optical digital data
disks, a new storage technology.
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rA Electronics
Li 1-1 engineer James
Park works on Standard
Reference Materials
that can be used to
evaluate the perform-
ance of magnetic
storage media.
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Institute researchers provide technical assistance to
other government agencies and industry in a number of
areas, including computer security, communications se-
curity, and reduction of software management costs.
The need for security has increased as organizations
become more dependent on computers. Systems and
networks must be protected against all hazards including
"hacker break-ins," computer center disasters, comput-
er-related crimes, erroneous funds disbursements, dis-
closure of sensitive information, and theft of data and
software. If left uncorrected, system and network vulner-
abilities could result in costly losses and dangerous in-
terruptions to data processing.
ICST researchers are currently investigating security
for small computer systems, contingency planning,
communications security, and personal identification
methods. Other technical efforts involve development of
risk assessment methods, use of cryptography, and
development of computer-access controls. A number of
management guides, tests, performance measures,
standards, and guidelines have been developed to
assist organizations in protecting their computer infor-
mation from unauthorized modification, destruction, or
disclosure and in assuring that computers are available
for processing when needed.
Working with the President's Council on Integrity and
Efficiency as well as computer experts and auditors
from government and industry, the Institute is develop-
ing procedures to help auditors determine the most crit-
ical aspects of system security to review.
Protection of electronic funds transfers is important to
the stability of the banking system as billions of dollars
are transferred electronically each day. ICST researchers
are working with the banking community and the Treasury
Department to apply data encryption techniques to pro-
tect the transfer of financial messages. A Treasury policy
requires that electronic funds transfer (EFT) messages be
authenticated using federal and voluntary industry stan-
dards to assure that messages have been sent by an
authorized party and have not been tampered with dur-
ing transmission. These researchers are also helping the
voluntary standards community to develop the standards
needed for data authentication and encryption of data.
As part of the same project, ICST researchers have
developed tests to validate devices that implement the
standards. Vendors can now test their devices via elec-
tronic hook up with the Institute. The test results will be
used by Treasury to certify devices for use in EFT trans-
missions. The National Security Agency is also assisting
in this effort.
Institute researchers are planning a cooperative pro-
gram to investigate the possible use of small, credit-
card-sized devices for personal identification and record
keeping. Meetings with government and industry repre-
sentatives have pointed up the potential applications of
such devices, as well as the security technology that is
needed to make them practical and effective.
Several ICST projects support the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget's government-wide initiatives to re-
duce the costs of software management and to manage
end-user computing. Well-publicized problems with
complex systems have focused attention on the critical
need for high-quality, error-free software. The Institute is
investigating ways to make the process of software
maintenance less complex and time consuming.
While the use of off-the-shelf software packages avoids
software development costs, these software packages
must be compatible with existing software if they are to
be integrated into existing systems. Institute researchers
are examining approaches for evaluating software pack-
ages to assure that they meet user requirements. They
then plan to issue guidelines to help federal agencies
develop their requirements for off-the-shelf software and
to aid in the selection of software packages that meet
their needs.
ICST is also studying other ways to improve the pro-
ductivity of workers who develop their own computer
applications, for example, the use of fourth-generation
programming languages to make programming methods
more efficient and easier to maintain. To make the ex-
change of information between computer-based office
systems more efficient, ICST is developing standards for
document interchange between different manufacturers'
systems.
In addition to providing general technical support to
computer users, ICST carries out specific projects on a
reimbursable basis for federal agencies. Typical projects
include: assistance in establishing and maintaining soft-
ware development policies and guidelines; evaluation of
the data management capabilities of software; assis-
tance in developing and implementing computer security
procedures; and development of prototype network sys-
tems to meet special agency requirements.
The results of ICST research are disseminated through
guides, forecasts, analyses, workshops, and symposia.
ICST publishes a computer science and technology series
that transfers technology about new applications to
users. The Institute is also experimenting with automated
information services that computer users can reach by
phone using computer terminals and small computers.
In other cases, teleconferences are used to exchange
information with state and local governments and in-
dustry users. Working directly with industry and com-
puter users to get standards implemented in products is
ICST's preferred way of transferring technology. This
helps to advance the development of standard products
and the productive application of computers.
37
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Special Programs
The planning, organizing,
and executing of NBS re-
search programs require
extensive interaction with
numerous groups to assure
that NBS is developing the
measurement technology
needed by the country and
that it is reaching the
Bureau's clients. Many of
these interactions are co-
ordinated through the As-
sociate Director for Inter-
national Affairs, responsible
for cooperative work with
other countries; the Office
of Research and Tech-
nology Applications, which
disseminates the results of
NBS research to industry
and state and local govern-
ments; and the Office of
Product Standards Policy,
which, among other activi-
ties, provides guidance
and services to state and
local weights and mea-
sures officials.
4:1110.,, Research associate
Eric Reisenauei
from Naval Ordnance
Station examines a
microcomputer-con-
trolled buffer system for
robot fingers, turning
center collets, and
quick-change tooling in
the NBS Automated
Manufacturing Re-
search Facility.
38
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
International Affairs
The laws of science and the art of measurement
know no international boundaries. To achieve its
goals, NBS must interact with scientists and insti-
tutions of other nations whose objectives are related to
those of NBS. The Bureau's international activities
include:
O Representation of the United States in international
governmental bodies such as the International Bureau
of Weights and Measures, which was created by the
Treaty of the Meter, and the International Organization of
Legal Metrology.
O Participation in bilateral agreements for cooperation
in science and technology. NBS currently is participating
in cooperative programs with Canada, the United King-
dom, Japan, India, Italy, Korea, China, Yugoslavia,
Spain, Egypt, Hungary, Pakistan, and other countries.
O Provision of training and technical assistance to de-
veloping countries.
O Interchange of guest scientists with foreign countries.
In 1985, NBS hosted several hundred short-term foreign
visitors, plus 265 foreign guest scientists from 40 coun-
tries who worked at the Bureau for periods from 2 weeks
to 1 year or more. The number of foreign scientists work-
ing at the Bureau has increased dramatically in recent
years, as has the number of NBS personnel visiting or
working at foreign institutions.
United States participation in international standards
organizations dates from 1875, when the United States
joined other countries in signing the Treaty of the Meter.
From the time of the Bureau's birth in 1901, NBS has
been assigned the responsibility of representing the U.S.
government in technical activities associated with this
treaty. The NBS Director serves as the U.S. delegate to
the quadrennial General Conference on Weights and
Measures and is a member of the International Commit-
tee of Weights and Measures, which sets policy and
guides the technical work of the General Conference.
NBS staff members serve on the eight technical sub-
committees of this parent body.
In a similar vein, NBS cooperates with related institu-
tions in the major industrialized countries of the world,
including Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France,
and Canada. An example of this cooperative effort is the
U.S.-Japan Panel on Wind and Seismic Effects, for
which NBS serves as co-chair for the United States. By
sharing research results in an annual joint seminar, and
by jointly determining objectives for future research, the
two countries are able to work together to minimize future
damage by earthquakes, hurricanes, and typhoons.
An example of the Bureau's work with developing
countries is its program of providing technical assis-
tance to Egyptian standards organizations. Sponsored
and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Devel-
opment, Egyptian scientists are trained at NBS, and
NBS specialists are sent to Egypt to provide consultation
and assistance in procuring special equipment.
Literally hundreds
of guest workers
from other countries
visit or work at NBS
each year. Shown here
is Yang Zu Zhang of the
Shanghai Bureau of
Metrology, People's
Republic of China, who
is working with re-
searchers in the Center
for Analytical Chemistry.
39
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Office of Research and Technology Applications
he competitiveness of U.S. industry and the well-
being of U.S. society are increasingly dependent
on technology. In 1985 the United States spent
$107 billion on research and development. The federal
government spent about $50 billion of that amount, with
federal laboratories doing approximately $10 billion of
the research and development. For the nation to gain the
maximum benefit from the federally sponsored research,
the results must be actively made available to users and
interested members of the public. The Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 promotes the active
transfer of federal technology to private industry and
state and local governments.
At NBS, the Office of Research and Technology Appli-
cations (ORTA), as required by this Act, provides private
industry and state and local governments ready access
to federal technology and to NBS research and facilities,
in particular. ORTA, staff respond to inquiries and
establish cooperative research programs between NBS
and other organizations.
One of the most popular and effective ways to make
NBS research and facilities accessible to U.S. industry is
through the Industrial Research Associate program, which
NBS has run since the 1920's. Under this program, in-
dustrial scientists and engineers join NBS researchers in
solving technical problems of mutual interest. Industrial
interest in collaborative research is at an all-time high: In-
dustry currently sponsors and pays the salaries of about
200 research associates in more than 80 different pro-
grams at the Bureau. Recent changes make the program
even more attractive to industry. For example, revisions
in patent policy give industrial research associates rights
to inventions conceived while working at NBS. And,
under prescribed circumstances, companies can now
conduct proprietary research in NBS facilities.
In keeping with the growing national interest in indus-
try-government interaction, ORTA participates in a wide
range of joint activities. The Office arranges and partici-
pates in industry-government workshops that promote
the exchange of information on exciting advances in
technology. The Office also helps state officials organize
40
and implement conferences on opportunities for using
federal technology. ORTA staff and other NBS
managers joined the Department of Commerce Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs and representatives from other
Commerce agencies in visits to Louisiana, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, and Minnesota to advise the state officials
about federal services that might promote their econom-
ic development.
The Office is part of a federal laboratory computer net-
work set up to locate federal technology and facilitate its
transfer to potential users. Also, ORTA staff provide
leadership for the U.S. Technology Transfer Society.
ORTA participates in the national and regional meet-
ings, panels, and workshops of city, county, and state
government officials to help them solve their technical
problems. Subjects of particular current interest to these
officials are computer security and technology, fire
research, building technology, and law enforcement
product standards.
nIn a cooperative
industry/govern-
ment effort to develop
process control sensors
for the steel industry,
NBS metallurgist Floyd
A. Mauer (left) and
David C. Rogers, Ameri-
can Iron and Steel In-
stitute research asso-
ciate from U.S. Steel
Corporation, set up a
cylindrical steel billet
for ultrasonic tomo-
graphic temperature im-
aging measurements.
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Office of Product Standards Policy
L- NBS Office of Product Standards Policy (OPSP)
formulates and carries out federal policy relating to
national and international standardization, labora-
tory accreditation, and legal metrology. As part of this
effort, the Office works with domestic, foreign, and inter-
national organizations concerned with standardization
and related measurement activities. The Office also pro-
vides guidance and services to state and local weights
and measures jurisdictions and manages U.S. interna-
tional legal metrology obligations.
The Office maintains information on a quarter of a mil-
lion standards-related documents and responds to thou-
sands of inquiries each year. Its National Center for
Standards and Certification Information develops direc-
tories and indexes and disseminates information to the
public. In support of U.S. trade, the Office serves as the
U.S. Inquiry Point for the Agreement on Technical Bar-
riers to Trade ("Standards Code") of the General Agree-
ment on Tariffs and Trade and furnishes technical assis-
tance to industry and trade negotiators in addressing
trade problems with other countries.
To promote equity in the marketplace, OPSP sponsors
the National Conference on Weights and Measures. Of-
fice staff develop procedures to evaluate measuring in-
struments for the marketplace, coordinate training pro-
grams, support state metrology laboratories, and coop-
erate with the Conference to promote nationwide unifor-
mity of state and local government requirements pertain-
ing to measurements in the marketplace. At the interna-
tional level the Office manages U.S. participation in over
100 committees of the International Organization of
Legal Metrology (OIML), which aims for international
uniformity of requirements for legal metrology.
In view of the importance of having valid U.S. test
data accepted abroad, the Office works at the national
and international levels to assure reliable laboratory
testing. OPSP conducts workshops on test methods, de-
velops techniques for proficiency testing, and operates
the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Pro-
gram (NVLAP). NVLAP is a voluntary system for assess-
ing and evaluating testing laboratories and accrediting
those found competent to perform specific test methods
or types of tests on products and materials. Through this
program, laboratories are accredited for testing a variety
of products, including telecommunications equipment,
thermal insulation, and radiation dOsimeters.
The Office works closely with international organiza-
tions to have U.S. technology and practices incorpo-
rated in international standards and guidelines. Its staff
serve on key committees of the United Nations Econom-
ic Commission for Europe, the International Laboratory
Accreditation Conference, the International Electrotech-
nical Commission, the International Organization for
Standardization, OIML, and many others.
cq To provide trace-
ability to national
standards, the Office
supports the system of
state weights and
measures laboratories.
41
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Resources
The Bureau's work is carried
out by highly skilled staff
who are often recognized as
national or international
leaders in their specialties.
In Gaithersburg, Maryland,
located north of Washington,
D.C., NBS has about 2,350
full-time employees working
in 26 buildings on 576 acres.
The Bureau also has nearly
390 full-time staffers who
work in 14 buildings on 208
acres in Boulder, Colorado.
The Joint Institute for Labo-
ratory Astrophysics, co-
sponsored by NBS and the
University of Colorado, is
located in Boulder, where
scientists study atomic and
molecular physics and astro-
physics. At Ft. Collins, Col-
orado, NBS operates radio
stations WWV and WWVB,
which broadcast standard
time and frequency infor-
mation. Another station,
WWVH, broadcasts from
Kauai, Hawaii.
In an overhead
view of the small-
angle neutron scatter-
ing (SANS) spectrome-
ter, physicist Charles
Glinka analyzes data at
a computerized color-
display terminal linked
to a two-dimensional
neutron detector
located inside the
3.5-meter flight path
tube behind the sample
chamber.
42
? 2nig=111
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
As the nation's central reference laboratory, the
Bureau houses a number of special facilities and
equipment, many of which are available for use
by the scientific and engineering communities?some
for conducting proprietary research. For example, the
NBS 20-megawatt research reactor is a major national
facility for cooperative research in materials characteri-
zation. About 200 scientists from industrial firms, univer-
sities, and federal agencies use the NBS reactor each
year in projects ranging from nuclear theory to analyses
of food contaminants.
An electron accelerator, capable of producing well-
focused electron beams at energies between 14 and
140 million electron volts, is used to produce high-
energy electrons,- positrons, photons, and neutrons for
nuclear physics research, neutron measurements and
standards, analytical chemistry, and dosimetry research.
As part of this facility, a 200-million-electron-volt
racetrack microtron, which will be a user facility for
research in nuclear physics, is now being installed. The
microtron, which is scheduled to be available for re-
search in late 1987, is expected to have a number of
unique performance characteristics, including a contin-
uous-wave beam, high current, easily variable energy
over a wide range, excellent emittance, and very small
energy spread.
The Bureau's Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility
(SURF II) is a 280-million-electron-volt electron storage
ring that radiates synchrotron radiation which is highly
collimated, nearly linearly polarized, and of calculable in-
tensity. SURF II is used in studies in atomic, molecular,
biomolecular, and solid-state physics; surface and mate-
rials science; electro-optics; and chemistry and radiation
effects on matter.
Among other NBS facilities are an Automated Manu-
facturing Research Facility, several environmental cham-
bers, a tri-directional structural testing facility, a fire
research laboratory which includes a facility for smoke
movement studies, a 2-story structural steel test facility,
and a network protocol testing and evaluation labora-
tory. In addition, an extensive instrument shops group
answers specialized research needs. Shop capabilities
include glass blowing, optics, and metalworking.
In fiscal year 1985, direct Congressional appropria-
tions accounted for about 60 percent of NBS' budget of
$208.9 million. The balance resulted from work performed
by NBS for other government agencies, and from the
sale of NBS goods and services such as Standard Ref-
erence Materials and calibrations.
Total NBS Operating Funds?All Sources
(in millions of dollars)
FY 1984
(actual)
FY 1985
(actual)
FY 1986
(estimate)
Measurement research and standards
$ 55.8
$ 60.7
$ 61.7
Materials science and engineering
27.5
31.2
33.4
Engineering measurements
and standards
72.1
77.9
79.1
Computer sciences and technology
12.4
13.6
13.0
Research support activities
28.9
25.5
26.2
Total NBS
$196.7
$208.9
$213.4
43
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Directory
Director
Deputy Director
Office of the Legal Adviser
Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs
Office of Research and Technology
Applications
Associate Director for International Affairs
Associate Director for Office of Product
Programs, Budget, Standards Policy
& Finance Standards Code &
Program Office Information
Budget Office Laboratory Accreditation
Office of the Comptroller Standards Management
Weights & Measures
Office of the Director Director of Administration
NBS Boulder Laboratories EEO Support
Information Resources
& Services
Public Information
Management Systems
Plant
Facilities Services
Occupational Health & Safety
Personnel
Acquisition & Assistance
44
National Measurement
Laboratory
Office of
Standard Reference Data
Office of
Measurement Services
Center for Basic Standards
Center for
Radiation Research
Center for Chemical Physics
Center for
Analytical Chemistry
National Engineering
Laboratory
Center for
Applied Mathematics
Center for Electronics
& Electrical Engineering
Center for Manufacturing
Engineering
Center for
Building Technology
Center for Fire Research
Center for Chemical
Engineering
Institute for Computer
Sciences & Technology
Center for
Programming Science
& Technology
Center for
Computer Systems
Engineering
Institute for Materials
Science & Engineering
Ceramics
Fracture and Deformation
Polymers
Metallurgy
Reactor Radiation
Nondestructive Evaluation
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
echnical work is carried out in the
National Measurement Laboratory, the
National Engineering Laboratory, the In-
sti ute for Computer Sciences and Technology,
and the Institute for Materials Science and Engi-
neering. These groups are supported by the
Office of the Director of Administration; the Of-
fice of the Director, NBS/Boulder Laboratories;
and the Office of the Associate Director for
Programs, Budget, and Finance. This amal-
gam of people and programs forms a commu-
nity dedicated to service. An interdisciplinary
approach allows NBS to provide the nation
with scientific measurements of high precision
and accuracy, coupled with solutions for cur-
rent and future technological problems.
This brochure highlights only some of the
Bureau's programs. For more information on
specific projects, contact the people listed in
this directory. To reach members of the
Gaithersburg, MD staff, dial (301) 921 + ex-
tension or write to the National Bureau of Stan-
dards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Bureau staff
located in Boulder, CO, can be contacted on
(303) 497 + extension or write to the National
Bureau of Standards, Boulder, CO 80303.
Boulder staff members are designated in the
directory with asterisks.
Office of the Director
Dr. E. Ambler, Director (2411)
Mr. R.G. Kammer, Deputy Director (2451)
Legal Adviser
Mr. A.J. Farrar (2425)
Office of Congressional and Legislative
Affairs
Mrs. E.C. Cassidy, Director (2441)
Office of Research and Technology
Applications
Dr. H.E. Sorrows, Director (2226)
Industrial Liaison/Research Associates
Dr. H.E. Sorrows (2226)
State and Local Governments Liaison
Mr. J.M. Wyckoff (3814)
Associate Director for International Affairs
Dr. E.L. Brady (3641)
Office of Product Standards Policy
Dr. S.I. Warshaw, Director (3751)
Mr. J.L. Donaldson, Deputy Director (3751)
Office of the Director,
NBS/Boulder Laboratories
The Office of the Director, NBS/ Boulder
Laboratories, which is located in Boulder,
Colo., oversees the technical programs of the
NBS/ Boulder Laboratories'. These Labora-
tories conduct research in time and frequency,
quantum physics, and thermodynamics for the
National Measurement Laboratory and in ma-
terials science for the Institute for Materials
Science and Engineering. The Laboratories
also carry out programs for the National
Engineering Laboratory in electromagnetics,
thermophysical properties, and fluid dynamics.
Dr. R.A. Kamper, Director (3237)*
Office of the Associate Director
for Programs, Budget,
and Finance
The Office of the Associate Director for Pro-
grams, Budget, and Finance plans, develops,
and evaluates Bureau-level programs and for-
mulates and carries out policies and strategies
for programmatic, budgetary, and financial
matters. It develops techniques for and coor-
dinates the review of technical and overhead
programs; serves as the NBS Director's staff
for Bureau-level, programmatic budget for-
mulation and execution and finance matters;
and develops and maintains mechanisms to
monitor planned and actual uses of resources
by providing integrated, evaluated information
on program progress, opportunities, and re-
sources to the NBS Director. In addition, the
Office advises management on significant
changes and deviations and recommends pro-
gram, budget, finance, and accounting
priorities to the NBS Director.
Dr. P.L.M. Heydemann, Associate Director
(3361)
Program Office
Dr. A.H. Sher, Chief (3137)
Budget Office
Mr. T.A. Gary, Budget Officer (2544)
Office of the Comptroller
Vacant (2814)
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45
Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Office of the Director of
Administration
The Office of the Director of Administration
directs the management of Bureau-wide facili-
ties, information systems, and management
and administrative services including informa-
tion resources and publications services; pro-
curement, administrative computing, technical
and public information functions; personnel,
management analysis, health, safety, and
security services as well as physical plant,
facilities, and space management. The Office
also decides on policies and plans and directs
actions to assure that these services are
responsive to the needs of the technical
programs.
Mr. &W. Chamberlin, Jr., Director (2477)
Mr. K.E. Bell, Deputy Director (3444)
Equal Employment Opportunity Support
Division
Mr. A.C. Lewis, Chief (3494)
Public Information Division
Mr. R.S. Franzen, Chief (3112)
Management Systems Division
Mr. O.H. Tobey, Chief (3384)
Information Resources and Services
Division
Ms. P.W. Berger, Chief (3405)
Plant Division
Mr. J.N. Brewer, Chief (2825)
Facilities Services Division
Mr. W.J. Rabbitt, Chief (2525)
Occupational Health and Safety Division
Mr. L.E. Pevey, Chief (3366)
Personnel Division
Mrs. E.W. Stroud, Chief (3555)
Acquisition and Assistance Division
Mr. R. de la Menardiere, Chief (3521)
Boulder Executive Office
Mr. F.P. McGehan, Acting Executive Officer
(3955)*
Instrument Shops Division
Mr. D.W. Cook, Chief (3855)*
Plant Division
Mr. R.L. Rodger, Chief (3886)*
46
Institute for Materials Science
and Engineering
The Institute for Materials Science and
Engineering (IMSE) provides the nation with a
central basis for uniform physical measure-
ments, measurement methods, and measure-
ment services basic to the processing, micro-
structural characterization, properties,, and per-
formance of materials. It provides government,
industry, universities, and consumers with
standards, measurement methods, data, and
quantitative understanding concerning metals,
polymers, ceramics, composites, and glasses.
IMSE also obtains accurate experimental data
on the behavior and properties of materials
under service conditions to assure effective
use of materials.
Dr. L.H. Schwartz, Director (2891)
Office of Nondestructive Evaluation
Dr. H.T. Yolken, Chief (3331)
Ceramics Division
Dr. S.M. Hsu, Chief (2847)
Fracture and Deformation Division
Dr. R.P. Reed, Chief (3870)*
Polymers Division
Dr. L.E. Smith, Chief (3734)
Metallurgy Division
Dr. E.N. Pugh, Chief (2811)
Reactor Radiation Division
Dr. R.S. Carter, Chief (2421)
National Measurement Laboratory
The National Measurement Laboratory (NML)
provides the national system of physical and
chemical measurements; coordinates the sys-
tem with measurement systems of other nations;
and furnishes essential services leading to ac-
curate and uniform physical and chemical ?
measurements throughout the nation's scien-
tific community, industry, and commerce. NML
also furnishes advisory and research services
to other government agencies; conducts phys-
ical and chemical research; develops, pro-
duces, and distributes Standard Reference
Materials; and provides standard reference
data and calibration services.
Dr. D.R. Johnson, Director (2828)
Dr. C.W. Reimann, Deputy Director for
Resources and Operations (2878)
Standard Reference Data
Dr. D.R. Lide, Jr., Director (2467)
Measurement Services
Mr. G.A. Uriano, Director (3231)
Office of Standard Reference Materials
Mr. S.D. Rasberry, Chief (3479)
Office of Physical Measurement Services
Mr. E. Garner, Chief (2805)
Center for Basic Standards
Dr. K.G. Kessler, Director (2001)
Dr. J.D. Simmons, Deputy Director (2001)
Electricity Division
Dr. B.N. Taylor, Chief (2701)
Temperature and Pressure Division
Dr. R.J. Soulen, Jr., Chief (3315)
Length and Mass Division
Dr. J.D. Simmons, Chief (2001)
Time and Frequency Division
Dr. D.B. Sullivan, Chief (3772)"
Quantum Physics Division
Dr. K.B. Gebbie, Chief (3527)*
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Center for Radiation Research
Dr. C.E. Kuyatt, Director (2551)
Dr. W.A. Cassatt, Deputy Director (2551)
Atomic and Plasma Radiation Division
Dr. W.L. Wiese, Chief (2071)
Radiation Physics Division
Dr. W.R. Ott, Chief (3201)
Radiometric Physics Division
Dr. K.D. Mielenz, Chief (3864)
Radiation Source and Instrumentation
Division
Dr. S. Penner, Chief (2503)
Ionizing Radiation Division
Dr. R.S. Caswell, Chief (2625)
Center for Chemical Physics
Dr. P.J. Ausloos, Director (2711)
Dr. R.A. Haines, Deputy Director (2711)
Surface Science Division
Dr. C.J. Powell, Chief (2188)
Chemical Kinetics Division
Dr. S. Stein, Chief (2792)
Chemical Thermodynamics Division
Dr. S. Abramowitz, Chief (2131)
Molecular Spectroscopy Division
Dr. 'A:Weber, Chief (2021)
Center for Analytical Chemistry
p Dr. H.S. Hertz, Director (2851)
Dr. R.A. Durst, Acting Deputy Director (2852)
Inorganic Analytical Research Division
Dr. J.R. DeVoe, Chief (2748)
Organic Analytical Research Division
Dr. W.E. May, Chief (3778)
Gas and Particulate Science Division
Dr. H.L. Rook, Chief (2886)
Institute for Computer Sciences
and Technology
The Institute for Computer Sciences and Tech-
nology (ICST) develops computer standards,
conducts research, and provides scientific and
technical services to aid federal agencies in
the selection, acquisition, application, and use
of computer technology to improve effective-
ness and economy in government operations
in accordance with Public Law 89-306, rele-
vant Executive Orders, and other directives.
ICST manages a government-wideprogram for
standards development and use, including
management of federal participation in ADP
voluntary standardization activities. In addition,
ICST provides technical support in: the devel-
opment of federal ADP management and pro-
curement policies, the selection and direction
of federally sponsored computer research and
development, and the resolution of computer
utilization issues.
Mr. J.H. Burrows, Director (3151)
Center for Programming Science
and Technology
Mr. T.N. Pyke, Jr., Director (3436)
Information Systems Engineering Division
Ms. H.M. Wood, Chief (3553)
Systems and Software Technology
Division
Mr. A.L. Hankinson, Chief (2208)
Center for Computer Systems
Engineering
Mr. R.P. Blanc, Director (3817)
Systems and Network Architecture
Division
Dr. J.F. Heafner, Chief (3537)
Systems Components Division
Vacant (2705)
National Engineering Laboratory
The National Engineering Laboratory (NEL)
furnishes technology and technical services to
users in the public and private sectors to help
to solve national problems in public interest.
NEL conducts research in engineering and
applied science in support of these efforts,
builds and maintains competence in the nec-
essary disciplines required to carry out this
research and technical services; and develops
engineering data and measurement capabili-
ties. NEL also provides engineering measure-
ment traceability services; develops test
methods and proposes engineering standards
and code changes; develops and proposes
new engineering practices; and develops and
improves mechanisms to transfer results of its
research to the ultimate user.
Dr. J.W. Lyons, Director (3434)
Mr. S. Kramer, Deputy Director (3233)
Dr. G.A. Sinnott, Associate Director for
Technical Evaluation (3235)
Office of Energy-Related Inventions
Mr. G.P. Lewett, Chief (3694)
Law Enforcement Standards Laboratory
Mr. L. Eliason, Chief (3161)
Office of Product Safety Technology
Mr. S. Kramer, Acting Chief (3233)
Center for Applied Mathematics
Dr. B.H. Colvin, Director (2541)
Dr. J.R. Rosenblatt, Deputy Director (2541)
Mathematical Analysis Division
Dr. F.C. Johnson, Chief (2631)
Scientific Computing Division
Dr. F.E. Sullivan, Chief (3395)
Statistical Engineering Division
Mrs. M.G. Natrella, Acting Chief (3651)
Computer Services Division
Mr. M.R. Shaver, Chief (3424)
Computer Systems and Communications
Division
Mr. S. White, Chief (2905)
47
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Center for Electronics and
Electrical Engineering
Mr. J.C. French, Director (3357)
Mr. R.I. Scace, Deputy Director (3357)
Electrosystems Division
Dr. 0. Petersons, Chief (2328)
Electromagnetic Fields Division
Mr. C.K.S. Miller, Chief (3131)"
Electromagnetic Technology Division
Dr. R.A. Kamper, Chief (3535)"
Semiconductor Electronics Division
Dr. K.F. Galloway, Chief (3541)
Center for Manufacturing
Engineering
Dr. J.A. Simpson, Director (3421)
Dr. D.A. Swyt, Deputy Director (3421)
Factory Automation Systems Division
Mr. H.M. Bloom, Chief (2461)
Fabrication Technology Division
Mr. R.T. Penn, Chief (2436)
Automated Production Technology
Division
Mr. D.S. Blomquist, Chief (3565)
Precision Engineering Division
Dr. R.J. Hocken, Chief (2577)
Robot Systems Division
Dr. J.S. Albus, Chief (2181)
48
Center for Building Technology
Dr. R.N. Wright, Director (3377)
Mr. J.G. Gross, Deputy Director (3375)
Structures Division
Dr. C.G. Culver, Chief (2196)
Building Physics Division
Dr. T. Kusuda, Chief (3637)
Building Equipment Division
Dr. J.E. Hill, Chief (3465)
Building Materials Division
Dr. G.J. Frohnsdorff, Chief (3704)
Center for Fire Research
Dr. J.E. Snell, Director (3143)
Mr. J. Winger, Deputy Director (3143)
Office of Fire Research Resources
Dr. R.S. Levine, Chief (3845)
Fire Safety Technology Division
Dr. A.J. Fowell, Chief (3255)
Fire Measurement and Research Division
Dr. R.G. Gann, Chief (2963)
Center for Chemical Engineering
Mr. J. Hord, Director (5108)*
Dr. M.M. Hessel, Deputy Director (2034)
Chemical Engineering'Sciences Division
Mr. M.J. Sikdar, Chief (5232)*
Thermophysics Division
Mr. N.A. Olien, Chief (3257)*
Chemical Process Metrology Division
Dr. J.J. Ulbrecht, Chief (3558)
*U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 986 - 491-097 - 814/52532
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Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4
Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not
imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Bureau of
Standards nor does it imply that the products mentioned are necessarily
the best available for the purpose.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/01/23: CIA-RDP90-00530R000501260009-4