FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             NIST 94-31
July 27, 1994

Contact:  Anne Enright Shepherd    NEW OFFICE CHAMPIONS NIST
          (301) 975-4858           SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRY IN NII
                                   APPLICATIONS

     The Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards
and Technology announced today the creation of a new office to
coordinate the agency's technical support for large and small
companies developing applications to use on the National
Information Infrastructure.

     The Office of Enterprise Integration serves as a focal point
for efforts throughout the NIST laboratories that provide the
technical underpinnings for applications of information
technology in areas such as manufacturing, construction, health
care and government services.

     "We want to help NIST's customers in industry to make better
use of information technology, in order to increase their
capability for efficient production of high-quality, lower cost,
adaptive products," NIST Director Arati Prabhakar said.

     Researchers in NIST's laboratories work with companies from
many sectors of the U.S. economy.  To streamline service, the
Office of Enterprise Integration provides an initial point of
contact for policy makers and researchers in industry, academia
and government interested in learning more about NIST activities
related to information infrastructure development, enterprise
integration and electronic commerce.

     Working with other federal agencies, the new office also
supports NIST's participation in the Clinton Administration's
effort to advance the National Information Infrastructure.  The
Information Infrastructure Task Force, led by Commerce Secretary
Ronald H. Brown, charged the Committee on Applications and
Technology, chaired by Prabhakar, with coordinating efforts to
develop and demonstrate applications of information technology in
areas such as manufacturing, education and health care.

     Cita M. Furlani has been named to head the Office of
Enterprise Integration, which is part of NIST's Computer Systems
Laboratory.  In her previous role as senior program analyst,
Furlani coordinated NIST's participation in the Committee on
Applications and Technology.  Furlani also managed research and
development programs within the NIST Manufacturing Engineering
Laboratory for applying information technology to manufacturing.
She holds a master of science degree in electronics and computer
engineering from George Mason University and a bachelor of arts
degree in physics and mathematics from Texas Christian
University.

     As part of a larger NIST effort to support the information
technology industry, the OEI is expected to become part of the
planned Information Technology Laboratory, a combination and
enhancement of the functions of two existing NIST labs, the
Computer Systems Laboratory and the Computing and Applied
Mathematics Laboratory.  Details of the proposed lab have not
been finalized.

     To reach the new office, contact the Office of Enterprise
Integration, Computer Systems Laboratory, Room 102 Building 415,
NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4529, fax: 
(301) 948-7242, e-mail: jbrooks@nist.gov (via Internet).

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