NBS offers a broad range of services and opportunities for cooperative activity with Federal, State, and local governments, industry, universities, technical societies, voluntary standards groups, trade associations, international organizations, and the general public. Supplementing an informal, long-standing tradition of consultation with the public and private sectors, these efforts are designed to foster the transfer of science and technology from the Bureau to NBS users. Listed below are some of these services and programs, along with information about how to obtain additional details.

Calibration Services

By facilitating the calibration of instruments and devices, NBS helps accomplish a critical portion of its total mission: to provide the basis for a complete and consistent national system of physical measurements. The Bureau's calibration services cover: mass and dimensional metrology; mechanics and acoustics; electrical and magnetic measurements (dc and low frequency); electromagnetic measurements at radio, microwave, millimeter wave, and laser frequencies; time and frequency; thermodynamic quantities; optical measurements; and ionizing radiation. A complete description of these and related measurement services, several of which are also described below, is provided in Calibration and Related Measurement Services of the National Bureau of Standards. (Order information can be found on page 71.)

Engineer Jim Hill describes NBS solar energy research to a group of high school students as part of the Bureau's Science and Technology Enrichment Program, a community outreach effort in which NBS scientific and technical staff work with Washington-area public schools.

National Standard Reference Data
System (NSRDS)

NSRDS was established in 1963 as a nationwide program designed to give scientists and engineers easy access to critically evaluated, reliable data. The program is coordinated by NBS, but involves many groups in universities, industry. NSRDS now has more than government laboratories, and private

50 data centers located at NBS and throughout the country which pull together the results from many diverse research activities around the world and organize these data into a more dependable and useful form. Further information, including lists of data centers, is available from the NBS Office of Standard Reference Data, Physics Building, Room A323, (301) 921-2467.

Standard Reference Materials (SRM's) SRM's are well-characterized, homogeneous, stable materials or artifacts with specific properties measured and certified by NBS. They are widely used throughout the world in a variety of measurement applications, including the evaluation of the accuracy of test methods, improvement of measurement compatibility among different laboratories, and establishment of measurement traceability to NBS. Since the first SRM was issued in 1906, the Bureau has made available over 1,000 different SRM's. During FY 1978, NBS sold 37,000 SRM units to more than 10,000 users around the world. The program is operated by the NBS Office of Standard Reference Materials, Chemistry Building, Room B311, (301) 921-2045.

Measurement Assurance Programs (MAP's)

Over the past decade, NBS has developed a series of Measurement Assurance Programs (MAP's) to assist laboratories that wish to improve or verify their capabilities for making accurate measurements. Measurement assurance services provided by NBS allow public or private laboratories to test their entire measurement system, from people to equipment to basic methodologies, for accuracy and traceability to NBS. At present, NBS offers MAP's in areas including voltage, mass, resistance, laser power and energy, and several others. For more information, contact the NBS Office of Measurement Services, Physics Building, Room B362, (301) 921-2805. Standards Information Service

The NBS Standards Information Service (NBS-SIS), operated by the Bureau's Office of Engineering Standards, maintains a comprehensive reference collection of engineering and related standards. The NBS-SIS collection includes over 240,000 standards, specifications, test methods, codes, and recommended practices issued by U.S. technical societies, professional organizations, trade associations, State purchasing offices, Federal agencies, and foreign national and international standards organizations. The collection also contains reference books, articles, reports, newsletters, and microfilm files. Free lists of standards compiled by NBS-SIS, together with names of organizations where copies of the standards can be obtained, are available. Requests

should be as specific as possible and addressed to the Standards Information Service, Technology Building, Room B162. Requests can also be made by telephone at (301) 921-2587 or by Telex 89-8493.

Energy-Related Inventions Evaluation To ensure that all promising energyrelated inventions receive a thorough and objective review-particularly inventions from individual inventors and small firms-the NBS Office of Energy-Related Inventions offers free evaluations. Established by the Federal Nonnuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 1974, the NBS program provides a way for anyone with a nonnuclear, energy-related invention to have a technical review of the device, material, process, and/or procedure. If the evaluation by NBS shows that an invention has significant promise for either saving or producing energy, NBS recommends it to the Department of Energy, which will consider providing the inventor with assistance to help develop the invention.

Last year, NBS received 3,437 requests for evaluations and recommended 35 inventions to DOE as especially promising. From mid-1975 when NBS opened its inventions evaluation office through September 30, 1978, the Bureau received a total of 9,697 requests for evaluations and recommended a total of 81 inventions to DOE. For more information and an evaluation request form, write to the NBS Office of Energy-Related Inventions, Polymers Building, Room A346, (301) 921-3694.

Research Associate Program

This program enables scientists and engineers from industrial, professional, trade, and other organizations to work at NBS for specified periods under the opportunity for cooperative research

The NBS Research Associate Program enables technical specialists in U.S. firms and professional organizations to work at the Bureau temporarily to carry out projects of mutual interest. Chemist Marlene Morris of the International Centre for Diffraction Data is that group's liaison with NBS.

sponsorship of their employers on projects of clear mutual interest to the sponsor and NBS. The Research Associate Program offers industry an under the supervision of and in consultation with NBS professionals and makes available the use of the Bureau's extensive laboratories and related facilities. The program provides a means of communicating directly to NBS the views of industry on needs and problems requiring attention.

During FY 1978, more than 100 Research Associates worked with NBS on 30 different projects. Of these programs, 60 percent were sponsored by trade and professional organizations, with most of the remainder sponsored by private industrial companies. Since the program began in 1920, more than 400 organizations and 1,000 individuals have participated. For additional information, write or phone the Industrial Liaison Officer, Administration Building, Room A402, (301) 921-3591. State and Local Liaison

An important portion of NBS research activities addresses matters of substantial interest to State and local

governments. Prime examples of this segment of the Bureau's efforts include equipment standards, weights and measures, and Standard Reference Materials. NBS seeks to make the results of its research readily available to State and local jurisdictions by maintaining contacts with national organizations and by a program of outreach to individual jurisdictions. These governments are also encouraged to contact NBS directly for information about areas of interest in which the Bureau is now working or may have been working in the past.

As part of its efforts to stay in close touch with the needs of States and localities, NBS participates in the Intergovernmental Personnel Exchange (IPE) program. IPE is a mechanism to bring employees from these jurisdictions and from universities to the Bureau in order to work with NBS staff on particular areas of joint interest. It also enables NBS employees to work for State and local governments. For more information about IPE or about any Bureau activity, State and local representatives should contact the NBS State and Local Government Liaison Officer, Administration Building, Room A402, (301) 921-3814. Other Exchange Programs

In addition to the Research Associate and IPE programs, NBS offers several other opportunities for personnel exchange in order to bring researchers to the Bureau to work on specific projects and to provide better dissemination of NBS research directly into user communities. These include a Guest Worker program which permits specialists to work with NBS staff on projects of mutual interest for periods of several months to 2 years. Foreign institutions and governments, international organizations, or U.S. groups sponsoring the guest worker provide

NBS guests. support for the Researchers from abroad seeking more information about this program should contact the NBS Office of International Relations, Administration Building, Room A511, (301) 921-2463. U.S. researchers should contact individual NBS divisions or centers directly.

The NBS Postdoctoral Research Associate Program provides opportunities to postdoctoral scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability to conduct research on problems that are compatible with Bureau interests and thereby contribute to the overall NBS research effort. Operated in cooperation with the National Research Council, this program is intended to be analogous to fellowships, associateships, and similar temporary

Richard Custer of the Center for Fire Research explains the Bureau's extensive fire testing facilities to a group of radio and television broadcasters touring NBS. Several thousand visitors are conducted on special tours each year.

programs at the doctoral level in universities and other organizations. Further details about this program may be obtained from the Coordinator, Postdoctoral Research Associate Program, Materials Building, Room A355, (301) 921-2901.

Conferences, Tours, Exhibits, Films

As one of the world's crossroads for science and technology, NBS is a meeting place for the exchange of information and ideas. During FY 1978, the Bureau sponsored or cosponsored 70 major conferences with more than 18,000 participants. These meetings help channel the details of Bureau research to those who need this information. They also provide a forum for NBS professionals and other attendees

to keep pace with the latest advances and needs in a wide range of science and technology areas.

Each year, the Bureau receives several thousand visitors who are conducted on special tours of NBS facilities. Last year, scientists, engineers, and other researchers, as well as government officials from the Soviet Union, South Korea, Venezuela, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and West Germany, were among the many international visitors to the Bureau. NBS also offers a general guided tour of its Gaithersburg, Maryland, facilities on a regular basis, and of its Boulder, Colorado, facilities by special arrangement. For tour information, write or call the Public Information Division, Administration Building, Room A633 (301) 921-2721 in Gaithersburg, or Program Information Office, Radio Building, Room 4001, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303, (303) 499-1000, ext. 3244.

Contact with Bureau activities and services is also provided through exhibits and films. During FY 1978, special exhibits explaining a variety of NBS activities were shown at 45 conferences, workshops, and other events, where they were viewed by more than 2 million people.

A variety of films describing specific activities are available to the public for free loan. During FY 1978, two new films were added to the Bureau's film library: "The Marketplace," which describes the role and importance of local weights and measures officials, and "Flashover: Point of No Return," which provides instructions about fire safety for health care personnel. For a film catalogue, write the NBS Technical Information and Publications Division, Administration Building, Room A617, or call (301) 921-2318.