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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 6-23979

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."

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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 Representatives; 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
patterns and conduct of international trade and investment,
To consider the international environment needed for the wider
generation and utilization of technology,

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.

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