STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN, BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL, TO ANALYZE THE
FULL EXTENT AND NATURE OF THE PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING AND PERSONNEL
PROBLEMS OF NBS. THE ADMINISTRATION WILL THEN CONSIDER WHAT NEEDS
TO BE DONE TO RESOLVE THESE PROBLEMS.
As DR. BARUCH HAS TESTIFIED, WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER IN DEVELOPING
A DETAILED PROPOSAL FOR REORGANIZING NBS. GOALS OF THE
REORGANIZATION INCLUDE FORMALIZING CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF
OUR WORK, PROVIDNG A PROPER BALANCE BETWEEN SOLVING IMMEDIATE
PROBLEMS AND MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF TECHNICAL COMPETENCE
AS A BROAD-BASED RESOURCE, INCREASING STAFF MOBILITY BETWEEN
THE LABORATORY AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, INCREASING THE EFFECTIVE
UTILIZATION OF SPECIAL SKILLS, AND FOSTERING PRODUCTIVE
COLLABORATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR, ANY PROPOSED REORGANIZATION
DEPENDS UPON REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY THE DEPARTMENT AND BY THE
PRESIDENT'S REORGANIZATION PROJECT STAFF. WHILE DISCUSSION
OF THE FULL DETAILS OF THIS REORGANIZATION SHOULD AWAIT THAT REVIEW
AND APPROVAL, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF MY THINKING.
As I SAID EARLIER, THERE ARE TWO MAJOR PARTS TO THE BUREAU'S
MISSION. FIRST, WE ARE THE NATION'S CENTRAL REFERENCE LABORATORY.
IN THIS ROLE, WE DEVELOP AND PROVIDE MEASUREMENT METHODOLOGY,
STANDARDS, AND EVALUATED DATA THAT FORM THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR
ECONOMY AND ARE USED BY A BROAD CONSTITUENCY OF SCIENTISTS AND
ENGINEERS IN INDUSTRY, COMMERCE, GOVERNMENT AND UNIVERSITIES.
THIS FUNCTION NECESSARILY INVOLVES WORK AT THE VERY FOREFRONT
OF MODERN SCIENCE, AND MUST, IF IT IS TO REMAIN VIABLE, INCLUDE
SOME INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE RESEARCH AT THE FRONTIERS OF
THE OTHER PART OF OUR MISSION INVOLVES APPLYING OUR TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW TO ASSIST OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES AND OTHER SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY, THAT IS, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, INDUSTRY AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THIS SECOND ROLE HAS BEEN
PRESENT OVER THE YEARS IN VARYING DEGREES.
NBS HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN COOPERATIVE TECHNOLOGY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING,
AND THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF NOTABLE SUCCESSES. IN WORLD WAR I,
WHEN OUR EUROPEAN SUPPLY OF OPTICAL GLASS WAS CUT OFF, NBS HELPED
ESTABLISH A MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY IN THIS COUNTRY, DURING WORLD
WAR II, WE PROVIDED MUCH OF THE TECHNICAL BASE NEEDED FOR THE
GROWTH OF A DOMESTIC SYNTHETIC RUBBER INDUSTRY. MORE RECENTLY,
WE WORKED WITH INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP AN EXTREMELY STABLE MATERIAL
FOR USE IN MANUFACTURING GAGE BLOCKS OF HIGH PERMANENCE. THE
GAGE BLOCKS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE ECONOMIC MANUFACTURE OF
PRECISION ASSEMBLIES, AND THE MATERIAL ITSELF HAS FOUND APPLICATION
IN GYROSCOPES AND OTHER PRECISION INSTRUMENTS.
WE HAVE ALSO WORKED CLOSELY WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES IN TECHNOLOGY
DEVELOPMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR PIONEERING WORK ON DEFENSE PROJECTS
DURING WORLD WAR II LED TO SUCH ADVANCES AS PRINTED CIRCUITS AND
MINIATURIZATION OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS. MORE RECENTLY, WE CREATED
A MAJOR LABORATORY FOR TESTING THE SAFETY OF SEAT BELTS, BRAKING SYSTEMS,
AND AUTO BODY DESIGN. ONCE FULLY ESTABLISHED, THIS ENTIRE OPERATION
WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH CARE, NBS HAS WORKED WITH THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION FOR OVER 50 YEARS. PRACTICALLY EVERY DENTAL FILLING MATERIAL ON THE MARKET TODAY WAS DEVELOPED OR IMPROVED THROUGH THESE JOINT EFFORTS. THE HIGH SPEED TURBINE DRILL, NOW USED BY ALMOST EVERY AMERICAN DENTIST, WAS DEVELOPED AT NBS, AS WAS THE PANORAMIC X-RAY MACHINE. OBVIOUSLY, THE ULTIMATE BENEFICIARIES OF THIS WORK ARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
IN RESPONDING TO NEW LEGISLATIVE MANDATES WE HAVE CONTINUED TO OPERATE
IN A COOPERATIVE MODE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ENERGY POLICY AND
CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975 REQUIRES US TO DEVELOP TEST PROCEDURES
FOR DETERMINING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF REREFINED OIL. IN
ATTACKING THIS PROBLEM ONE OF OUR FIRST MOVES WAS TO INTEREST
THE ASSOCIATION OF PETROLEUM RE-REFINERS IN PLACING AN OIL-
MEASUREMENT EXPERT WITH US FOR A YEAR OR TWO. THEY DID SO, AND
WE ARE BENEFITTING GREATLY FROM HIS EXPERTISE. INCIDENTALLY,
WE HAVE 72 SUCH PEOPLE NOW AT NBS FROM VARIOUS INDUSTRIES, TRADE
ASSOCIATIONS, AND TECHNICAL ORGANIZATIONS, WORKING WITH US ON
PROBLEMS OF MUTUAL CONCERN.
THESE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF THE HISTORY OF THE BUREAU'S WORK
IN DIVERSE AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, THE ADMINISTRATION
IS CONSIDERING PROPOSALS INVOLVING NBS WHICH WOULD ATTEMPT TO
ENHANCE THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN ECONOMIC GROWTH.
A MAJOR QUESTION EXISTS AS TO THE PROPER BALANCE BETWEEN SOLVING IMMEDIATE
PROBLEMS AND MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF TECHNICAL COMPETENCE
AS A RESOURCE FOR PROBLEM SOLVING. PERHAPS THE ANSWER IS UNKNOWABLE
IN OBJECTIVE TERMS, BUT MY OWN JUDGMENT, AND THE ADVICE OF THE NBS
STATUTORY VISITING COMMITTEE AND THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
EVALUATION PANELS, IS THAT THE PRESENT BALANCE HAS SHIFTED TOO FAR IN
THE DIRECTION OF IMMEDIATE PROBLEM SOLVING. THIS IS NOT TO IMPLY
THAT WE SHOULD HOLD BACK FROM APPLYING OUR EXPERTISE TO THE SOLUTION
OF IMMEDIATE NATIONAL PROBLEMS. RATHER, IT IS A CONCERN FOR MAIN-
TAINING A PROPER BALANCE BETWEEN THAT AND THE BULIDING OF SCIENTIFIC
MUSCLE NECESSARY FOR THE LONG RANGE VIABILITY OF NBS AS A FIRST-RANK
TECHNICAL INSTITUTION. WE HAVE A LONG RANGE GOAL OF REBUILDING STAFF
COMPETENCE. AS DR. BARUCH HAS TESTIFIED WE HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING
REORGANIZING NBS. WE ARE DEVELOPING A PROPOSAL WHICH REFLECTS GOALS
OF PROVIDING FOR A PROPER BALANCE, PROVIDING FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY,
AND PROVIDING FOR MORE EFFECTIVE APPLICATION OF RESOURCES TO OUR
MISSION. I MUST STRESS, HOWEVER, THAT THIS PROPOSAL HAS NOT YET
BEEN REVIEWED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND THE PRESIDENT'S REORGANIZATION
PROJECT STAFF. UNTIL THAT REVIEW IS COMPLETED, DETAILED DISCUSSION
OF AN ACTUAL REORGANIZATION WOULD BE ONLY SPECULATIVE. CONSISTENT
WITH THE POLICIES OF THE PRESIDENT, WE HAVE SOUGHT THE VIEWS OF THE
ENTIRE NBS STAFF AND SEEK THE VIEWS OF THE CONGRESS AND ALL OTHER
CONCERNED PARTIES.
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