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Administration
IBM's Brown Named New
NIST Deputy Director
NIST Director Ray Kammer has announced the
appointment of Karen H. Brown as the agency’s new deputy director. Brown, who most
recently was a Distinguished Engineer at IBM
Microelectronics in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., also served (on assignment from IBM) from
1994-1998 as director of lithography for SEMATECH.
Brown’s 22-year career at IBM concentrated on solving problems in semiconductor
lithography and microelectronics. She brings to NIST a proven track record in management,
having successfully met the challenges of moving ideas from the laboratory into
manufacturing. Brown also has a keen awareness of the impact of national and international
standards on U.S. industry and the economy, having held a variety of standards leadership
positions in Semiconductor Equipment and Materials
International and having
helped to bring a semiconductor fabrication line on-board in France.
Brown’s service as a review panel member for the annual National Research Council
assessment of the NIST Measurement
and Standards Laboratories has given her a solid understanding of the agency’s
mission and operations.
Brown holds a B.A. in chemistry and history, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the
University of Rochester. She takes over her new position at NIST from acting deputy
director Robert Hebner, who will return to the Electronics
and Electrical Engineering Laboratory as director.
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301)
975-3025 
Laboratories
Two Long-Time and
Time-Honored Lab Directors to Retire
Two of NIST’s most respected and
influential researchers, Judson French and Richard Wright, have announced their
retirements early this year as directors of the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory and the Building and Fire Research Laboratory,
respectively.
French (who will serve as EEEL Director Emeritus while completing a number of
activities) is the dean of the NIST staff, having served longer than any other active
employee. He started at the National Bureau of Standards (as NIST was known prior to 1988)
in 1948. NIST Director Ray Kammer said, “Jud’s tenure has coincided with the
most extraordinary developments in electronics. Among other things, he witnessed—and
helped to promote—the era of the integrated circuit by developing and managing our
semiconductor and electronics programs.”
Outside the agency, French helped launch the National Electronics Manufacturing
Initiative; served as an active member of ASTM standards committees; fostered the
development of one of the first semiconductor industry roadmaps; co-chaired the management
committee for the U.S.-Japan Joint Optoelectronics Project; and has been a recognized
leader in numerous professional organizations, including the Electronics Industry
Association and the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association.
Among the honors French has received in his 50 years of government service are the
Silver and Gold Medals of the Department of Commerce, the rank of Distinguished Executive
in the Senior Executive Service, selection into the National Academy of Engineering and
being named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Wright, who will retire on Jan. 31, 1999, has been in charge of the NBS/NIST
buildings-related research for 25 years. He came to NBS in 1971 after serving 17 years at
the University of Illinois at Urbana as a professor of civil engineering. For the former
Center for Building Technology and the current BFRL into which it evolved, Wright has been
chief of the structures division, technical deputy director and director (since 1974).
“Our building and fire research is among NIST’s oldest areas of eminence, but
it has grown and matured during Dick’s tenure,” said NIST Director Ray Kammer.
“Dick has shown us just how important the built environment is to our economy and has
shaped BFRL’s work to more closely align with U.S. industry’s needs and
opportunities both here and abroad.”
Wright has published more than 100 technical papers and has served as chairman or
president of several federal and international committees. He is a fellow of both the
American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. His honors include the Commerce Department’s Gold Medal, selection for the
rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service and being named Federal
Engineer of the Year in 1988.
BFRL Deputy Director Jack Snell will serve as acting director until a permanent
replacement is named.
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301)
975-3025
Information Technology
Three Times DES Is
Formula for Info Security Success
NIST has published a proposed revision of
the Data Encryption Standard, which federal agencies (and many other organizations) use to
scramble sensitive information. Public comments currently are being sought on the
proposal—using the DES algorithm in three successive operations, a technique known as
Triple DES.
The revised DES applies to federal agencies that use encryption to safeguard sensitive,
unclassified information. The original version of the DES standard was first approved in
1977 and has since been revised several times.
Triple DES offers a higher level of security than single DES. This change will require
federal agencies that are purchasing encryption systems to buy products that use Triple
DES. NIST advises agencies that currently employ single DES to make a transition to Triple
DES. NIST first recommended Triple DES to federal agencies in an Information
Technology Laboratory Bulletin issued in September 1997.
Both DES and Triple DES are used widely in the private sector, particularly in the
financial services industry. In fact, the proposed revised standard points directly to a
Triple DES standard recently approved by the banking standards community.
Triple DES is intended to bridge the gap between DES and the future Advanced Encryption
Standard, which currently is under development by NIST’s Information Technology
Laboratory. The AES is designed to provide strong cryptographic security well into the
21st century.
NIST, in a recent Federal Register notice, asked for public comments on the
revised standard, which is formally known as Federal Information Processing Standard 46-3,
Data Encryption Standard. The public may send comments to the Information Technology
Laboratory, Attn: Review of Draft FIPS 46-3, NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 8970,
Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-9870. Comments also may be sent via electronic mail to
desreview@nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661
Quality
1999 Baldrige
Criteria Get a New Look, Format
While you won’t find it at your local
bookstore or on a bestseller list, the Baldrige Criteria for
Performance Excellence is one of the nation’s most popular organizational
improvement publications. Gordon Black, chairman and chief executive officer of
Harris/Black International Ltd., recently said the Baldrige Criteria for Performance
Excellence is “probably the single most influential document in the modern
history of American business.”
The 1999 criteria sport a new, easier-to-use format, which includes a series of
questions covering seven key areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market
focus, information and analysis, human resource focus, process management, and business
results. Over the years, NIST has revised and streamlined the criteria to focus more
sharply on overall performance excellence and business results as integral parts of
today’s management practice.
Thousands of U.S. organizations, for-profit businesses as well as others use the
criteria to assess and improve their overall performance. Since 1988, more than a million
and a half copies of the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence have been
distributed, and wide-scale reproduction by companies and electronic access add to that
number significantly.
The criteria have been tailored for three different audiences: for-profit businesses,
health care providers and educational organizations. Single copies of the Baldrige
Criteria for Performance Excellence are available free of charge from NIST by calling
(301) 975-2036, faxing a request to (301) 948-3716, sending e-mail to nqp@nist.gov or accessing the World Wide Web at address http://www.quality.nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Jan Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Fire Safety
NIST Division
Reorganizes to Meet Changing R&D Needs
To better respond to the nation’s
changing needs for fire safety research and development, the Fire Safety Engineering
Division in NIST’s Building and Fire Research
Laboratory has laid down a new, solid foundation of three groups concentrating on fire
dynamics, large fire measurements and systems integration.
Advancing the understanding and simulation of dynamic fire phenomena, such as the heat
and mass transfer that occurs in fires, is the mission of the new Fire Dynamics Group.
Research by this group will improve predictions of the growth, spread, suppression and
emissions from fire. Staff members will study the dynamics of a variety of fire
situations, ranging from single room fires to urban conflagrations.
The existing Large Fire Research Group will continue to build upon its metrology
expertise gained in laboratories and in field experiments, often conducted in cooperation
with local fire departments. This group develops key measurements applicable to fire
growth and control, fire fighter safety and fire investigations.
Rounding out the reorganization is the new Fire Safety Systems Group. This section
advances fire safety systems by developing fire prediction methods that use sensor
information for improved fire detection reliability and enhanced information for building
and fire service response.
For more information, contact Dave Evans, NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 8640,
Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8640, (301) 975-6863, dave.evans@nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661
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