use of scarce scientific talent. In the ten years following the Seminar, guest scientists came to NBS from 43 countries. Since then that program has expanded. Today, about one fifth of the NIST technical staff are guest workers, many of them from IE countries, sharing the commitment to accuracy, reliability, and quiet confidence in service to the United States and to their home institutions.

Even before the Seminar [1], in 1967, President Lyndon Johnson, on a visit to Korea and Taiwan, called for NBS to send an advisory team on measurement and standardization. A small team under Forest K. Harris responded by brief visits to both countries. On consideration of the reports by the team, AID wondered whether similar studies, that is surveys of standardization and measurement services, were potentially helpful to a wide range of IEs, while also in the interests of NBS and the United States. That possibility came up again during the Seminar [1] and found a strong affirmative response. Eventually, 10 countries were so "surveyed" (one per year until 1980) with respect to their individual standardization and measurement service needs. In sequential order, these countries were: Korea, Ecuador, Turkey, Bolivia, The Philippines, Thailand, Guyana, Indonesia, Pakistan, and The Sudan. The survey events followed a general pattern set at NBS' request: The government of the target country requested the survey and committed itself to all in-country expenses for the NBS team and its own counterpart team. The targetcountry team leader also became committed to be available, on request by NBS, for one or more similar future surveys of other countries in a different part of the world. An NBS team member then visited the country to meet with the counterpart team leader. Jointly they identified the most important needs and outlined a team itinerary. The NBS team leader identified the most suitable team members from NBS or other agencies and representatives from other target countries. The entire multi-country team assembled at NBS for a week's workshop to examine critically and debate NBS measurement and standardization services, with emphasis on voluntary standards, calibration programs, certified reference materials, standard reference data management, and NBS relations in support of industry. The team was then ready to spend two weeks in the country with a full program of visits and discussions. With target country approval, a detailed final report was issued on the results achieved. In subsequent years, evaluation and follow-up programs were commonly requested and executed. Literature references exist for the 10 survey reports, the respective preliminary workshops, and any follow-up seminars.

It was a special feature of the original Seminar [1] that, at the invitation of the Scientific Apparatus Makers Association, the delegates from abroad were given the opportunity to remain at NBS for an additional week when the IE visitors could observe NBS operations and visit a number of scientific instrument manufacturers. These workshops have been so well appreciated by AID and the IEs themselves that they have become with little change, but with suitably updated content, a regular, continuing feature at NIST.

Whereas most of the above projects are essentially bilateral, a significant portion of continuing AID/NBS assistance to IEs is aimed at multilateral collaboration. An early example is the Seminar in Bolivia on “A System of Standardization and Metrology for Latin America" with advisors from Turkey, Thailand, and Korea. [8]. From this modest beginning the Interamerican Metrology System (SIM) evolved with 34 member countries. It celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1999. A regional seminar that focused on a more specific problem was that in Singapore on "Testing and Certification for Export Products in Industrializing Countries" [9]. South-East Asia is another region which has since instituted strong contact with NIST. Being unable to maintain active bilateral relations with the many countries of Africa, NIST has started regional mechanisms in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt.

NBS collaboration in the Middle East has a long history that precedes the original Seminar [1] to the time when the Congressional PL 480 Program was established. It freed certain non-convertible local currency assets for use in science research of interest to U.S. federal agencies. During the 1970s, NBS received such funds in Israel, Yugoslavia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, and Tunisia [10]. This NBS program had 67 research projects and was particularly successful in Israel, where it led to a continuing binational agreement for industrial research cooperation. After about 1979, most of the remaining PL 480 projects naturally melted into the regional IE cooperations. With India, for example, projects are continued under the U.S.-India Forum in Science and Technology and received strong support from an initially independent effort by Peter Heydemann of NBS/NIST.

Heydemann had been a member of the NBS/AID team survey of Pakistan's standardization and measurement services (see above). Subsequently he arranged seminars and training courses in Pakistan and India. His many contacts in India prompted the Department of State to appoint him as Science Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in India (1988-1993), resulting in expanded collaborations between U.S. and Indian

technical organizations. At the same time, Heydemann had the opportunity to collaborate with U.S. companies trading with India, with a focus on standards and measurement problems. After Heydemann's return to NIST as Director of Technology Services, he established a Standards in Trade Program to assist U.S. companies to overcome technical barriers in foreign countries. From this program's initial activities in Saudi Arabia, it expanded to countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. Five NIST standards experts placed in foreign markets, together with the staff of the Global Standards Program in the Office of Standards Services, have been credited with adding almost one billion dollars per year in U.S. exports. Very recently, the Secretary of Commerce confirmed the policy of NIST's support for international trade by making a special award to the NBS Director for International and Academic Affairs, B. Stephen Carpenter, “... an ambassador of goodwill for U.S. measurement capabilities all around the globe."

66

Among other projects that NBS carried out with AID support was a successful 3-year interlaboratory collaboration across national boundaries with Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnólogicas of São Paulo, Brazil. Although relevant notes exist, this NBS/IPT program is not well documented, partly because Brady hoped after retirement to write a small book on that experience. The time was no longer given to him.

Generally, since 1971, NBS/NIST has been the only technical institution in the U.S. government that IEs could look to for guidance on technology-based development strategies. Not only the directors, but virtually all senior staff members of NBS/NIST have actively participated in these IE projects. It is an unheralded but highly significant role with the result that NBS/NIST is much better known in foreign capitals than in our own.

Edward L. Brady (1919-1987) received a BA and an MA from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the guidance of Martin Deutsch. His thesis on angular correlations between successive nuclear gamma rays is still regarded as an important contribution. In 1942 he joined the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago. Later he was assigned to the Clinton Laboratories in Oak Ridge and the GE Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Schenectady. Brady enjoyed work in international relations, where, in addition to his scientific knowledge and experience, his human qualities and tact made him outstanding. He

served as U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Representative to the United Kingdom and as Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. He came to NBS in 1963 as the first Director of the Standard Reference Data program and later became NBS Associate Director for Information Programs. Brady was a man of compassion, dignity, culture, and grace. His life's early end occurred after a struggle with cancer which his wife, Evelyn, associated with exposures to radiation during his work on atomic-energy projects.

Prepared by Lewis M. Branscomb.

References

[1] H. L. Mason and H. S. Peiser (eds., with Foreword by L. M. Branscomb), Metrology and Standardization in Less-Developed Countries: The Role of a National Capability for Industrializing Economies, Proceedings of a Seminar Held at Airlie House, Warrenton, VA, February 1-4, 1971; NBS Special Publication 359, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1971). [2] H. Steffen Peiser and John A. Birch (eds.), Standardization in Support of Development, NBS Special Publication 507, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1978).

[3] Marian F. McCurley (ed.), NIST International and Academic Activities for FY 1997/1998, NIST Special Publication 940, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (1999).

[4] Chester H. Page and Paul Vigoureux (eds.), The International Bureau of Weights and Measures, 1875-1975: Translation of the BIPM Centennial Volume, NBS Special Publication 420, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1975). [5] H. Steffen Peiser, Raymond C. Sangster, and Wun Jung, Metrology in Industry and Government: How to Find out Who Needs What Services, Proceedings of a Regional Seminar held at the Korea Standards Research Institute, Dae Jeon, Korea, 1978, NBS Special Publication 539, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1979).

[6] Raymond C. Sangster (ed.), The Technological Knowledge Base for Industrializing Countries, NBS Special Publication 543, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1979).

[7] G. K. Burgess, Research Associates at the Bureau of Standards, NBS Circular 296, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1925).

[8] H. Steffen Peiser and Robert S. Marvin (eds.), Regional Seminar on a System of Standardization and Metrology for Latin America, NBS Interagency Report 76-988, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1976).

[9] H. Steffen Peiser and Robert S. Marvin, Testing and Certification for Export Products in Industrializing Countries, NBS Special Publication 438, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1976).

[10] H. S. Peiser, Recalling the PL-480 Program at NBS, NBS/NIST SAA Newsletter, 13-14 December, 1998.

For almost its entire existence, NBS/NIST has been interested and directly involved in America's bumpy and prolonged transition to the metric system of measurement. This involvement has had and continues to have many facets. On the technical front, NIST works with scientists from around the world to achieve continually improving precision in metric system measurements and unit definitions, and NIST policy specifies metric units in all staff reports. On a public policy front, the Bureau has for many years striven to increase the American public's understanding and acceptance of metric measurement units.

One prime example of an informative and easily read metric publication which effectively reaches out to a non-traditional NBS/NIST audience is the Metric Style Guide for the News Media [1]. Originally published in 1976 with revisions and updates in 1992 and 1997, the publication serves as a compact and accurate "metric literacy" reference document, giving the reader an overview of the units and the grammar of the metric system. Size approximations are provided to help readers visualize common metric units, and easy-to-use tables of common metric prefixes and conversions are also included. The Style Guide makes the point that Americans will compete more successfully in the global marketplace when they understand and speak the international language of measurement.

The news media have an important role in assisting the American public as we make the transition to the international language of measurement. Correct and positive use of metric terms and symbols by the media helps to smooth this transition. For almost 25 years, the Style Guide has continued to be extremely popular, not only with the news media, but also with school teachers and the general public. Teachers, especially, have praised the pamphlet for its ability to aid in the teaching of metric literacy. Approximately 200,000 copies of the Style Guide have been printed and distributed.

Two other NBS/NIST publications, The Chart of the Modern Metric System [2] and A Brief History of Measurement Systems with a Chart of the Modern Metric System [3], also serve as important tools in the effort to promote metric literacy. These publications are especially notable for their long-lived popularity and widespread dissemination. The first of these [2] is a full-color wall chart (ISO A1-sized poster) which highlights, graphically illustrates, and explains the seven

base units of the SI metric system. The chart's usefulness in helping students learn and understand the metric system is enhanced by the inclusion of three welldesigned and easy-to-use tables: metric system prefixes, common conversions, and SI names and symbols for units that are derived from the base units.

A sister publication to the large wall chart is the equally-popular 1/4-sized (ISO A3 size) small wall chart [3]. On the reverse side of the small wall chart, a well-written article explains the importance of weights and measures to all societies and traces the history and development of both the English and the metric systems of measurement.

After more than three decades of life, the two charts and the measurement history article remain among the Metric Program's most requested items. Several hundred thousand of these colorful and informative wall charts have been produced, and they can be found hanging everywhere from elementary school classrooms to the offices of physicists. Originally designed and printed in 1968, both of the charts have been revised and reprinted several times, with major changes made in 1986 and 1997.

The Bureau's involvement in the national debate over metrication reached a critical pitch in the late 1960s. In a project that would later be described by Lewis Branscomb as the biggest NBS project of his directorship, the Bureau embarked on the U.S. Metric Study. In the Metric Study Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-472), Congress directed the Secretary of Commerce to conduct an extensive study to determine the advantages and disadvantages of increased metric use in the United States and to submit a full report to Congress within three years. The Secretary of Commerce delegated responsibility for the study to NBS.

The Metric Study Group was directed by Daniel De Simone with a team of over 40 NBS program managers and supporting staff. Also heavily involved in the study were 50 private-sector members of a Metric System Study Advisory Panel. The panel members were appointed by the Secretary of Commerce from organizations representing a wide spectrum of interests. The chairman of the panel was Louis Polk, a director of the Bendix Corporation.

Following a detailed blueprint, the study sought facts and opinions from over 700 major groups representing every sector of society-including labor unions, trade

In addition to the main summary report, 12 supporting volumes were produced as part of the project-for a grand total of over 2300 pages of published text. These supporting volumes were entitled:

International Standards (NBS SP 345-1)
Federal Government: Civilian Agencies (345-2)
Commercial Weights and Measures (345-3)
The Manufacturing Industry (345-4)
Nonmanufacturing Business (345-5)
Education (345-6)

The Consumer (345-7)

International Trade (345-8)
Department of Defense (345-9)

A History of the Metric System Controversy in the
United States (345-10)
Engineering Standards (345-11)
Testimony of Nationally Representative Groups
(345-12).

Because of its importance as the summary document of the most significant study on national metrication issues ever conducted by the United States government, the Metric America publication has been (and continues to be) cited as a reference in hundreds of books, magazines, and newspaper articles-the current edition of Encyclopedia Britannica being one example.

The report was cited heavily when the 92nd and the 93rd Congresses debated legislative proposals and national conversion issues. Finally, four years after the report was first published, the Metric Conversion Act was passed by the 94th Congress in 1975 and signed into law by President Ford. The Act was an important milestone, yet disappointing to many of the U.S. Metric Study contributors because several of the report's

recommendations-such as the importance of a care fully planned transition, target dates, and a coordinated national program-were not implemented in the final language of the legislation.

In 1988, amendments to the Metric Conversion Act, Congress gave a significant boost to the metric effort by declaring the metric system to be the preferred system of measurement for U.S. trade and commerce. Unfortunately, even today, many of the issues and debates surrounding national metrication still linger.

As America enters the new millennium and NBS/ NIST enters its second century, there is an increased desire by Americans to work, communicate, and live as part of the larger, global community-and the metric system is the global community's language of measurement. Increased public understanding and acceptance of metric measures is an on-going effort which NIST continues to support through several excellent publications and many other outreach activities.

Prepared by Ralph A. Richter.

Bibliography

[1] Metric Style Guide for the News Media, NBS Letter Circular 1137, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC, December 1976. [2] Chart of the Modernized Metric System, NBS Special Publication 304, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1968). [3] Brief History and Use of the English and Metric Systems of Measurement with a Chart of the Modernized Metric System, NBS Special Publication 304A, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC (1968).

[4] A Metric America: A Decision Whose Time Has Come, NBS Special Publication 345, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC, July 1971.