FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             NIST 94-11
March 21, 1994

Contact:  Michael Baum             COMMERCE DEPARTMENT'S ADVANCED
          (301) 975-2763           TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM SEEKS
                                   PROPOSALS

     The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards
and Technology today announced a new competition to support
innovative industrial research projects under the Advanced
Technology Program.

     An estimated $20 million to $25 million in first-year
funding will be available for ATP awards under this competition.
All areas of technology are eligible in this competition.

     In a departure from previous ATP competitions, interested
companies may submit "abbreviated proposals" to NIST for
consideration before submitting a fully detailed proposal.  NIST
will evaluate the abbreviated proposal to determine if it appears
sufficiently promising to warrant the expense of preparing a full
proposal and will send a "yes/no" recommendation to the
applicant.

     Individual U.S. businesses may apply for up to $2 million in
ATP funding for projects over at most three years.  Industry-led
joint R&D ventures may apply for ATP support for up to five
years, provided that the ATP share is less than half of the
project cost.

     The deadline for submitting abbreviated proposals is 3 p.m.
EDT Wednesday, April 20, 1994.  The deadline for full proposals
is 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday, June 22, 1994. Full details necessary to
prepare abbreviated and full proposals are found in the formal
announcements published today in the Federal Register and in the
February 1994 edition of the ATP Proposal Preparation Kit.

     NIST will host a public meeting at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday,
April 6, 1994, at the agency's headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md.,
to provide general information on the competition and selection
process to potential applicants who may be unfamiliar with the
ATP.  Applicants are not required to attend this meeting.

     Further information and application packages may be obtained
by calling the Advanced Technology Program at (800) ATP-FUND
(800-287-3863), sending facsimile transmittals to (301) 926-9524,
electronic mail to atp@micf.nist.gov, or writing to the Advanced
Technology Program, A430 Administration Building, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-
0001.

     The Advanced Technology Program works with U.S. industry to
advance the nation's competitiveness and economy by helping to
fund the development of high-risk but powerful new technologies
that underlie a broad spectrum of potential new applications,
commercial products and services.

     Through cooperative agreements with individual companies
or groups of companies, large and small, the ATP invests in
industrial projects to develop technologies with high-payoff
potential for the nation.  The ATP accelerates technologies that,
because they are risky, are unlikely to be developed in time to
compete in rapidly changing world markets without such a
partnership of industry and government.  By sharing the cost of
such projects, the ATP catalyzes industry to pursue promising
technologies.

     In addition to this general competition, the ATP also plans
to announce several program competitions this year, which will
focus on specific, well-defined technological and business goals. 
These program competitions will be restricted to technologies
relevant to the particular program.

     As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements and standards.

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