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Purpose of the Standards Alumni Association

The Standards Alumni Association (SAA) was founded in 1985 in order to provide a vital link among past and present NBS/NIST staff. The goal is to keep alumni informed about current NIST activities and the challenges that face NIST in the context of the overall government and its programs. This link provides members an opportunity to actively network with colleagues. A further aim is to support the NIST mission by collaborating on projects and activities of mutual benefit and interest to NIST and the SAA. One other aim is to help inform SAA members and the NIST staff about the richness of the NBS/NIST history, culture, and research traditions.

Membership in the SAA is open to all former and current NBS/NIST employees, Research Associates, Guest Researchers, and their spouses. The SAA publishes a quarterly newsletter and holds quarterly meetings, including an annual dinner meeting, in order for members to keep abreast of NIST and SAA programs and activities. At such meetings, prominent speakers discuss the issues important for NIST to remain a major player in measurement science, standards and industrial technology.

The SAA maintains the Gallery of Distinguished Scientists, Engineers and Administrators, located along the corridor adjacent to the Cafeteria, and annually proposes new candidates for consideration by the NIST Director. The SAA played a significant role in preparations for celebrating the NBS/NIST Centennial in 2001. Association members contributed to the compilation of A Century of Excellence in Measurements, Standards, and Technology 1901-2000 and to J. F. Schooley's Responding to National Needs: The National Bureau of Standards Becomes the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 1969-1993. The Schooley report is the third volume of the compendium on NBS/NIST history that started with R. G. Cochran's Measures for Progress and was followed by E. Passaglia's A Unique Institution: The History of NBS, 1950-1969. The SAA prepares and maintains written accounts of oral histories and remembrances of NBS/NIST staff. It conducts a lecture series on institutional history that culminates with an end-of-the-year NBS/NIST History Lecture. SAA distributes a quarterly series of articles that consist of featured articles highlighting outstanding events, such as acclaimed scientific accomplishments, in the organization's history. At the meetings of the NIST Employees Orientation program, SAA participates with a lecture presentation that focuses on "NBS/NIST in the Public Eye", emphasizing the unique mission of the institution and how it is perceived in the press and by the public.

 

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Created on:  2/1/00
Last modified on:  11/14/05