Contact: Anne Enright Shepherd, aeshep@nist.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NIST 97-07
March 20, 1997
Contact: Anne Enright Shepherd COMMERCE'S NIST TO HOST
(301) 975-4858 YEAR 2000 INTERNATIONAL
anne.shepherd@nist.gov SYMPOSIUM
To highlight the urgency of fixing a potentially disastrous problem
in many of the nation's computer systems, the Commerce Department's
National Institute of Standards and Technology is hosting the
International Symposium on the Year 2000 on June 9-10, 1997, at the
agency's headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md. Rep. Constance A. Morella
(R-Md.), chair of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Technology, will
present the keynote address.
"We are all right now competing in a race against time to avert an
impending computer catastrophe and, unless something is done, millions
of computers, billions of dollars, and just about every human on the
planet may be affected," said Morella. "This NIST conference will be
invaluable to us, in Congress, the federal government and private
industry to discuss the global implications of this problem and to
search for international solutions."
The year 2000 computer glitch, often called the "millennium bug,"
refers to computer programs on some large computer systems that use
two-digit date designations to denote the year (such as "95" to mean
"1995"). When processing information containing dates in 2000 and after,
many of these systems will produce wildly illogical errors, such as
refusing a 70-year-old's retirement benefits because he's underage.
Other systems simply will shut down, unable to recognize "00" as a date.
The potential reach of this problem has personal, professional and
global implications. Dates are critical on systems processing such
information as life insurance, home mortgages, driver's licenses and
business leases, but they also play an important part in air traffic
control systems, health care records, weapons systems and global
telecommunications systems.
In addition to Morella's keynote, the symposium will feature experts
from industry associations, companies, consulting firms and government
agencies in the United States and abroad, who will raise awareness,
analyze the extent of the problem and present practical solutions.
The symposium is co-sponsored by NIST, the Data Administration
Management Association-National Capitol Region, the Chief Information
Officer Council's Year 2000 Subcommittee, the Office of Management and
Budget, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of
Defense.
For a copy of the agenda or additional information, visit the
symposium's web site at http://www.nist.gov/y2k. To register, contact
Lori Phillips, B116 Administration Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md.
20899-0001, (301) 975-3881, fax: (301) 948-2067, e-mail:
lori.phillips@nist.gov.
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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News and information on the National Institute of Standards and
Technology are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.nist.gov.