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In This Issue:
Eight New Competitions Start Out FY 1998
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ATP
Eight New Competions Start Out FY 1998
The first round of fiscal year 1998 competitions to support innovative, cost-shared industrial research and development under the Advanced Technology Program has been announced.
The round includes one general competition (open to proposals from all areas of technology) and seven focused program competitions covering three existing ATP program areas--Catalysis and Biocatalysis Technology, Digital Video in Information Networks, and Tools for DNA Diagnostics--and four new programs--Microelectronics Manufacturing Infrastructure, Selective-Membrane Platforms, Photonics Manufacturing and Premium Power. Approximately $82 million is available for first-year funding of new projects.
The FY 1998 competitions also are the first to incorporate recently adopted changes to the rules that govern the ATP. One change defines a "large company" as one with $2,578 million in annual corporate revenues. Another states that large companies or their subsidiaries, competing for an ATP award as a single company, must provide cost-share funding of at least 60 percent of the total project costs for each calendar quarter of the project.
Further information on the ATP, including copies of the new proposal preparation kit (dated December 1997), Federal Register notices and the competition announcements are available from the ATP World Wide Web site at http://www.atp.nist.gov, by sending email to atp@nist.gov, by calling (800) ATP-FUND (287-3863), or by faxing a request to (301) 926-9524 or (301) 590-3053.
Media Contact:
Michael Baum (301) 975-2763
Time
Power Doubling for WWVB Could Help Keep You on Schedule
For everyone who made a New Year's resolution to be more on time for meetings and events in 1998, there's good news from NIST.
WWVB, the low-frequency standard time and frequency radio station operated by NIST's Time and Frequency Division, has doubled its broadcasting power to 23 kilowatts, increasing the range of the extremely accurate time signal that can be used to automatically set the correct time in clocks, watches, VCRs, cars and electronic gear of all kinds.
Controlled by the NIST atomic clock in Boulder, Colo., WWVB had previously operated at 10 kilowatts for more than three decades. WWVB transmits its time signal on a frequency of 60 kilohertz from a site near Fort Collins, Colo. It is not audible and requires special receivers to decode.
The power upgrade improves WWVB's signal strength over the entire continental United States. This permits the use of less expensive receivers and antennas. Even radio-controlled wristwatches can now maintain accurate time. And now, manufacturers of various appliances, instrumentation and electronic devices can consider installing miniature receiver-clocks in their products.
Over the next year, a second high-powered transmitter and antenna will be brought online to double WWVB's total power once again (to between 40 and 50 kilowatts) and provide additional reliability. When both transmitters and antennas are in operation, they can operate at less than maximum rated power. This greatly extends their life and reduces the chances of outages due to equipment failure.
Media Contact:
Collier Smith (Boulder) (303) 497-3198
Quality
Baldrige Guide to Performance Excellence Is Updated for 1998
While it doesn't have a fancy cover or a "sexy" title, one of the nation's most popular business publications does have an endorsement that's hard to beat: "The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which highlights customer satisfaction, workforce empowerment and increased productivity, has come to symbolize America's commitment to excellence," says William J. Clinton.
By defining the key factors that comprise a world-class organization, "Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award--Criteria for Performance Excellence," has become accepted around the world as the business standard for performance excellence. Thousands of companies assess their performance against the criteria, but even more benefit can be gained by applying for the award. All applicants receive a detailed report on their company's strengths and opportunities to improve.
For the 1998 update of the "Criteria for Performance Excellence," call (301) 975-2036, fax a request to (301) 948-3716, or send e-mail to nqp@nist.gov. Single copies are free. The criteria also can be downloaded from the National Quality Program website at http://www.quality.nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Jan Kosko (301) 975-2767
Chemistry
NIST Models Thermodynamics of Replacement Refrigerants
Blends of hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants are the leading candidates to replace hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22, which is being phased out because it contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer. The mixtures most likely to take over for HCFC-22 are composed of refrigerants R-32, R-125 and/or R-134a. Working with the International Energy Agency and scientists from Japan, Germany and the United States, researchers in NIST's Physical and Chemical Properties Division have evaluated five thermodynamic property models for these mixtures. Their objective is to provide users with the information that allows them to select the model best suited to their needs.
The researchers found that all of the models are capable of predicting mixture properties with uncertainties on the order of 0.2 percent in density, 1 percent in isochoric heat capacity, and 0.5 percent in saturated pressures (with the exception that one model should be used with caution above 5 millipascals).
For a copy of the report detailing this research, contact Sarabeth Harris, MC 104, NIST, Boulder, Colo. 80303-3328, (303) 497-3237. Ask for paper no. 53-97.
Media Contact:
Fred McGehan (Boulder) (303) 497-3246
Standards
First Step Taken Toward Mutal Recognition for U.S., Pacific Nations
A new cooperative effort by laboratory accreditation organizations in the United States and in five Asian Pacific nations has taken the first step toward saving American companies millions of dollars in reduced market entry costs for exports.
The effort, defined by a mutual recognition arrangement signed in Tokyo in November, may lead to a binding Mutual Recognition Agreement (known as an MRA) between the nations in which the laboratory accreditation organizations reside. Under the current arrangement, the organizations themselves recognize the technical equivalence of test reports and calibration certificates issued by any of their accredited laboratories. Mutual recognition significantly lowers costs for U.S. companies because products need only be tested once, in the United States, to meet standards set by other countries.
The organizations signing the arrangement are members of the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation from Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and the United States. All of the signatory organizations reside in nations which are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
The arrangement supports the World Trade Organization obligations of the United States and other members to simplify conformity assessment procedures, such as testing and accreditation, and to prevent them from becoming barriers to trade. It is hoped that other APEC accreditation bodies will qualify to sign the APLAC arrangement and a subsequent MRA in the near future.
Media Contact:
Michael Newman (301) 975-3025
Environment
Experts Report on Search for 21st Century Refrigerants
As the twentieth century closes, two major environmental concerns--ozone depletion and global warming--are matters of international debate and controversy. Some experts worry that alternative refrigerants adopted as substitutes for ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons are themselves "greenhouse" gases and will contribute toward global warming. An October 1997 international conference, sponsored by NIST and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, took a look at this issue. Approximately 200 participants from industry, government and academia attending "Refrigerants for the 21st Century" addressed the merits of different refrigerants and technologies. The proceedings from the conference are now available.
Several alternative refrigerants and options are examined by the 16 papers in the proceedings. Detailed in these papers are each refrigerant's ozone-depletion potential, direct global warming potential, system efficiency, safety (such as flammability and toxicity) and cost.
Conference chair Piotr Domanski, a group leader in NIST's Building Environment Division, called the conference a "dialogue among professionals." He said, "The conference presented the options for the next century and determined that there is no perfect refrigerant. Trade-offs between different refrigerants and technologies are unavoidable."
Anyone interested in ordering a copy of the conference proceedings should contact ASHRAE by phone at (800) 5-ASHRAE (527-4723), by fax at (404) 321-5478 or by e-mail at orders@ashrae.org.
Media Contact:
John Blair (301) 975-4261
Electromagnetic Fields
Three Documents Chronicle Nearly 30 Years of Research
Persons interested in the electronics and electromagnetic research programs of the NIST Boulder, Colo., laboratories will want copies of the three comprehensive listings of nearly three decades of the agency's papers in this discipline.
First, "A Bibliography of the NIST Electromagnetic Fields Division Publications" (NISTIR 5063), edited by Ruth Marie Lyons, lists published research from the division between January 1970 and July 1997. Subject areas discussed include antennas, dielectric measurements, electromagnetic interference, microwave metrology and near-field antenna measurements.
The second volume is "Metrology for Electromagnetic Technology: A Bibliography of NIST Publications" (NISTIR 5064), edited by Ann G. Bradford. It lists the publications of the NIST Electromagnetic Technology Division from 1970-1997. Topics covered include cryoelectronic metrology, and superconductor and magnetic measurements.
The third publication is "A Bibliography of the NIST Optoelectronics Division" (NISTIR 5065), edited by Annie J. Smith. Subject areas covered include high speed measurements, laser radiometry, fiber optic measurements, integrated optic measurements, optical fiber sensors, fiber and discrete components, dielectric materials and devices, and semiconductor materials and devices.
Copies of all three bibliographies are available at no charge from Sarabeth Harris, MC104, NIST, Boulder, Colo., 80303-3328, (303) 497-3237.
Media Contact:
Fred McGehan (Boulder) (303) 497-3246
U.S.
Department of Commerce
Technology Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Editor: Michael Newman
HTML conversion: Crissy Wines
Last Updated: February 18, 1998
