THE NATIONAL STANDARD REFERENCE DATA SYS TEM.... International Data Activities. Data Project Activity – – Nuclear Data. Atomic and Molecular Data. Solid State Composition. Structure. Standard Reference Materials_ Data on the Properties of Materials. Mechanical Properties and Strength of Materials. Reactivity and Corrosion. Thermodynamics and Kinetic Data. Electric, Magnetic, and Optical Properties. Technical Assistance to Others Advisory and Consulting Services. Conferences and Symposia. NBS Reactor. INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY. Technological Measurements and Standards. Building Technology – . Automatic Data Processing Electronics Technology- 95 Systems Analysis _ 98 Motor Vehicle Safety 99 Engineering Materials 100 Industrial and Consumer Products_ 102 Transfer of Technology. Textile and Apparel Center. 104 106 Invention and Innovation 106 The Clearinghouse. 106 107 109 109 115 115 116 Publications. Publications in the Bureau's Series Publications in Outside Journals Patents... Technical Advisory Panels. Awards and Honors _ _ Education, Training, and University Liaison.. INTRODUCTION MOVE TO GAITHERSBURG SITE Most of the Washington, D.C., staff of the National Bureau of Standards completed their move to new facilities in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This new laboratory complex, the culmination of more than a decade of planning, constructing, and transporting, provides NBS staff the opportunity to meet the challenge of the Nation's modern burgeoning industry and science. The ultra-modern installation contains many new tools as well as an environment vastly improved over the old one. Several of the major new tools such as the linear electron accelerator and a millionpound deadweight testing machine are in use, and a major nuclear reactor is due for operation during the coming year. Both the special and general purpose laboratories incorporate modern equipment and are designed to permit staff flexibility in meeting the national demands for new and improved calibration services, standard reference materials, measurement standards, measurement methodology, evaluated data on the properties of materials, systems studies and advisory and consulting services to the other governmental agencies, industry, commerce and education, particularly in science and engineering. The move into the new laboratories was commemorated with a dedication of international scope. DEDICATION OF NEW FACILITIES Secretary of Commerce John T. Connor presided at the formal dedication of the new NBS facilities on November 15, 1966. In an address to about 3,000 distinguished guests from science, industry and Government from this country and abroad, Secretary Connor referred to the new facilities as ". a blue chip investment-a national investment in progress, an investment made by all the people (which) will pay untold dividends to American science, industry, and commerce...". A highlight of the dedication was a message from the President of the United States in which Mr. Johnson observed that, "This eminent institution now has the resources for even greater service to America and the world. Throughout its 65 years, the National Bureau of Standards has advanced the frontiers of measurement in pace with the increasing demands of science and industry." Dr. A. V. Astin, Director of the National Bureau of Standards, speaks at the dedication of the Bureau's new laboratory complex at Gaithersburg, Md., on Tuesday, November 15, 1966. Left to right: Lewis L. Strauss, former Secretary of Commerce; Rev. Edward G. Latch, Chaplain of the House of Repre sentatives; Dr. Donald F. Hornig, Director of the Office of Science and Technology; Secretary of Commerce John T. Connor; Dr. Astin; Congressman B. B. Conable, Jr., of New York; Associate NBS Director Robert S. Walleigh; Dr. Edward U. Condon (partially hidden), former Director of NBS; and Dr. J. Herbert Hollomon, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology. Symposium on Technology and World Trade Immediately following, and in a real sense as part of the dedication ceremonies, NBS was host to a Department of Commerce sponsored symposium where over 500 internationally known dignitaries, leaders in the fields of industry, education, and commerce discussed technology and world trade. The purposes were: To examine and forecast the impact of technology upon the • To explore prospects for evolving policies and institutions that promote economic development through technology and trade. This week of dedication was climaxed with an open house in which approximately 20,000 guests toured the facilities and visited the laboratories in a day-long event. NBS Publishes History In keeping with the spirit of the Dedication, NBS released Measures for Progress, a history of the first 50 years of NBS. The book recounts and documents the critical role played by the Bureau and in particular the major contributions of individual scientists of the staff in the explosive growth of America's science and industry over the first half of the twentieth century. LEGISLATION AFFECTING NBS Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966 NBS has been assigned important responsibility in the Department of Commerce's activities under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act passed by the Congress in 1966. NBS is responsible for identifying undue proliferation in the weights, measures, or quantities in which any consumer commodity is being distributed for retail sale. The Bureau must also determine whether this proliferation impairs the consumers' ability to make value comparisons. When NBS determines that proliferation does exist, it will invite the manufacturers, packagers, and distributors of the commodity to participate in the development of a voluntary industry packaging standard. If, one year after this request is made, it becomes apparent that no standard is going to be published, or if a published standard is not being observed, the Secretary of Commerce must report the situation to the Congress. He must state what efforts have been made to arrive at a voluntary standard and then recommend whether the Congress should enact legislation providing regulatory authority to deal with the situation. Pending Legislation At the end of the fiscal year, there were five bills under consideration by the Congress which, if passed, would affect the National Bureau of Standards: • The Fire Research and Safety Act of 1967 • Amendments to the Flammable Fabrics Act Standard Reference Data • International Standards • Metric System Study The proposed Fire Research and Safety Act of 1967 would amend the Organic Act of the National Bureau of Standards to authorize a comprehensive fire research and safety program. In the program, NBS would gather comprehensive fire data, conduct intensive laboratory and field research on the nature of fire, educate and train fire pro tection and firefighting personnel, and support demonstrations of improved and experimental fire protection and safety techniques. The proposed amendments to the existing Flammable Fabrics Act would provide a mechanism for continued evaluation and revision, when necessary, of the flammability requirements under the Act. Revision would keep the requirements up-to-date and give to the consumer the most effective protection against clothing fires that the state of technology in any time period could offer. The amendments would also provide for extension of the Act to cover flammable interior furnishings, and authorize investigation and research to extend knowledge and strengthen ability to combat flammable fabrics problems. The Standard Reference Data legislation would give to the Secretary of Commerce (and thence to NBS) the responsibility of extracting from the scientific literature important data on the properties of materials, important physical constants, and so forth. The Act would provide for critical evaluation of the data, to identify the "best values." Such evaluation would compress the amount of material a researcher has to wade through, saving American science and industry much time and money, and also give the researcher more confidence in the numbers he uses. The proposed International Standards Act is designed to promote and support U.S. participation in international standards development. If it is passed, the Department of Commerce, and NBS in particular, would seek to increase the participation of American industry, technical and trade societies, and private standards making bodies in the international standards making procedure. This participation would insure that the U.S. point of view is not overlooked in the writing of international standards, and thus prevent the U.S. from being frozen out of world markets because of restrictive standards. The Metric System legislation would authorize a study of the effect upon the U.S. of increased use of the Metric System throughout the world and development of recommendations for an action program to deal with the problem. EXPANSION OF THE RESEARCH ASSOCIATE PROGRAM The NBS Research Associate Program is an important vehicle for cooperation with industry. Under this program, a company can send one or more of its scientists to NBS to work with Bureau people on problems of mutual interest. The problems must be non-proprietary in nature, and broad enough to be of interest to a broad segment of American industry. Both the Bureau and the sponsoring company benefit from this cooperation. Because the company pays the salary of the Associates, the Bureau's resources are multiplied at little cost |