FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             NIST 94-37
Oct. 4, 1994

Contact:  Michael E. Newman        URRUTIA NAMED AS NIST
          (301) 975-3025           DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION
          newman@micf.nist.gov

     The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards
and Technology has announced the appointment of Jorge R. Urrutia
as the agency's new director of administration.  Urrutia returns
to NIST's Gaithersburg, Md., headquarters where he previously
served as chief of the Plant Division from 1987 until 1991.
Since 1991, Urrutia has been director, Division of Engineering
Services, for the National Institutes of Health, an appointment
that made him the first Hispanic at NIH in the Senior Executive
Service (the federal government's highest executive rank).

     As NIST's director of administration, Urrutia is responsible
for an organization with a budget of approximately $60 million
and a staff of nearly 600 support personnel.  He directs and
manages a broad range of administrative functions, including
financial management, facilities management, facilities support,
health and safety, procurement and management systems, and public
affairs.

     Urrutia's previous experience includes serving as
engineering director (and before that head of the Civil
Engineering Section) for the Naval Research Laboratory; program
manager for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command; various
Navy engineering positions (including details to Spain, Italy,
Greece, Bahrain and the British Indian Ocean Territory); and as a
highway engineer for the Federal Highway Administration.

     Urrutia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil
engineering from the University of Maryland and an associate
degree from Montgomery College.  He is licensed as a Professional
Engineer and is a past recipient of the Commerce Department's
Bronze Medal (the highest award presented by NIST), the Surgeon
General's Award, the Public Health Service Merit Award and the
NIH Director's Award.

     Urrutia succeeds Guy W. Chamberlin, who retired as director
of administration in July.

     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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