AGENDA
VISITING COMMITTEE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (VCAT)
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD

June 14, 2005
Employees Lounge

THEME: Science and Technology in the Federal Government: The Context for NIST

9:30 a.m. Open Meeting Begins: Introduction and Announcements
Dr. April Schweighart, VCAT Chair

9:40 a.m. NIST Update and VCAT Agenda Review
Dr. Hratch Semerjian, NIST Acting Director

Update on significant developments in NIST's policies and programs, budget, safety, and recent technical accomplishments.

10:35 a.m. Break

10:50 a.m. Update on the U.S. Measurement System (USMS) Initiative
Dr. Richard Kayser, NIST Acting Deputy Director

Current status of NIST-led effort to document the measurement and standards needs of the United States system-wide and to coordinate actions by NIST and others to address those needs.

11:20 a.m. Setting Priorities in the Federal R&D Portfolio
Dr. Michael Holland, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

When setting priorities for the Federal R&D portfolio, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and OSTP use the R&D Investment Criteria to analyze the research agencies and their programs. Advice from the research community, coming through advisory committees and the National Academies, is a significant
input to that process. Dr. Holland will describe the investment criteria and explain how external advice figures into priority setting.

12:05 p.m. Lunch - Dining Room C


12:50 p.m. Laboratory Tours - Advanced Manufacturing

NIST Dimensional Metrology: Ultra-High Accuracy Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), MEL (AML, Building 219, Room G024)
Dr. Ted Doiron, Leader, Engineering Metrology Group
Mr. John R. Stoup, Mechanical Engineer, Precision Engineering Division

Mechanics, Adhesion and Friction at Nanoscale, MSEL (AML, Metrology East, Building 218, Room D006)
Dr. Douglas T. Smith, Physicist, Ceramics Division

2:45 p.m. Break

3:00 p.m. R&D Spending Trends in the Federal Government
Kei Koizumi, Director, R&D Budget and Policy Program
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Analysis of R&D spending trends in the FY 2006 federal budget and NIST's S&T role within the context of the overall federal investment.

3:45 p.m. VCAT Panel on Best Practices for Organizational Development
Moderator: Dr. April Schweighart, VCAT Chair
VCAT Members: Dr. Donald Keck, Mr. Gary Floss, Mr. Thomas Saponas,
Dr. David Spong, and Mr. Wyatt Starnes

A panel of VCAT members will share best practices for developing organizations that facilitate alignment of programs with external drivers.

5:00 p.m. Adjourn

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