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Technology Partnerships
'ATP a Success' States
Report on First Projects
A merger of tissue-engineering and
textile-weaving technologies to help regenerate lost or damaged tissue in the body, an
application of high-temperature superconductors to improve cellular phone service, and a
suite of process-monitoring and control technologies that are cutting costs and improving
quality throughout much of the U.S. auto industry these--are some of the technological
innovations developed by industry/government partnerships under the NIST Advanced Technology Program, according to a new study
providing the first comprehensive catalog of the program's early results.
Calling it "a portrait of a
program that works," Commerce Secretary William M. Daley said, "This new report
fills in the details behind the previous statistical analyses of the ATP and demonstrates
the overall success of the program." The study, by analyst William R. Long of
Business Performance Research Associates Inc., notes that the projected benefits to the
nation's economy from just three of the early ATP projects would pay for every ATP project
funded to date. For 24 of the 38 completed projects, according to Long, a new product or
service already is on the market, or a new process is being used to improve the quality or
reduce the cost of an existing product or service.
The report, Advanced Technology Program Performance of
Completed Projects, Status Report Number 1, reviews the outcomes of the 38 ATP
projects completed by the end of March 1997 and lists 12 other projects that were
terminated early. Documented in the report are research accomplishments, subsequent work
by the companies to commercialize the results and near-term outlooks for the successful
technologies.
Copies of the new study, NIST
Special Publication 950-1, may be obtained from the ATP Economic Assessment Office, (301)
975-2064, or by e-mail to atp@nist.gov. The report is
available on the World Wide Web at www.atp.nist.gov/.
Media Contact:
Michael Baum, (301) 975-2763 
Physics
Atoms Mimic Laser
Light in First-Ever Matter Wave Mixing Experiment
NIST physicists have opened a new field of
physics with experiments demonstrating for the first time that atoms can display some
unusual properties previously seen only with high intensity laser light waves. They report
their findings in the March 18, 1999, issue of Nature.
Using sodium atoms cooled to very
near absolute zero, the NIST team demonstrated that three atom waves can be mixed to
produce a fourth wave, in exactly the same manner as optical laser beams can be combined
to form a new laser light beam. These experiments, conducted in a vacuum, show that under
very specific conditions, matter waves can mimic the way high-intensity laser light waves
behave in certain materials.
"We are at the threshold of
a new area of research: non-linear atom optics," says Nobel Laureate William D.
Phillips, leader of the NIST
Laser Cooling and Trapping Group.
Scientists expect that this new
field of non-linear atom optics will parallel the development of non-linear optics, which
emerged as scientists discovered many of the strange, unique and unexpected abilities of
laser light following the demonstration of the first laser in 1960.
For more information and to see
pictures of matter wave mixing, go to http://physics.nist.gov/atomoptics
on the World Wide Web.
Media Contact:
Linda Joy, (301) 975-4403
Y2K
Get a Jump on the
Bug with New NIST Kit
With everything from a self-assessment
checklist to upgraded software, a new "Y2K Jumpstart Kit"
now is available to help small businesses better deal with the year 2000 computer problem.The main component of the kit is software
known as "Conversion 2000: Y2K Self-Help Tool." Developed last year by NIST's Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the
software has been upgraded and now is available in both Microsoft Access™ and
Excel™ versions.
The kit and software can help
small manufacturers and other small businesses conduct an inventory of equipment; identify
core business systems and rate their importance to the survival of the business; develop
contingency plans; and plan and manage remediation projects.
The Y2K Jumpstart Kit can be
downloaded for free from the MEP website at y2khelp.nist.gov.
The kit also is available from MEP centers by calling (800) MEP-4MFG (800-637-4634) or by
contacting offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration or the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Media Contact:
Jan Kosko, (301) 975-2767
Fire
Safety
Sprinkler Testing
Without the High Cost, Mess ... or the Flames
NIST is creating a way to engineer the
performance of fire sprinkler systems, a development that could make fire safety systems
of the future better and more economical.
The Industrial Fire Simulator
combines computer technology, the latest advances in mathematical modeling techniques and
measurements from controlled fire experiments conducted at NIST and elsewhere.
Researchers in NIST's Building and Fire Research Laboratory are
developing the computer program and bench-scale measurement techniques to determine the
burning properties of different fuels and spray properties of fire sprinklers.
The computer model will simulate
fire spread and the response of a given sprinkler system. Engineers, building owners and
local authorities will be able to specify input for the facility size and shape; its
contents; and a proposed fire protection system, including sprinklers. The IFS produces
video simulations of possible fire scenarios that can be viewed and quantified to evaluate
the likely effectiveness of the proposed fire protection system.
NIST is partnering with the
insurance and sprinkler industries to further develop this technology. Initially, this
technology will be used in planning large-scale fire experiments with fire sprinklers.
Ultimately, the program will help
fire protection engineers design more effective fire safety systems tailored to individual
buildings.
NIST expects to make the first
version of the Industrial Fire Simulator for fire sprinklers available by the end of the
year.
For more information, contact Kevin McGrattan, NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop
8640, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8640; (301) 975-2712.
Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661
Electromagnetic Technology
Antenna
Measurements Fortified by OATS
Electronic equipment manufacturers, antenna
manufacturers and calibration laboratories will be interested in a new NIST publication on
electromagnetic compatibility testing and calibration. The document, Uncertainty
Assessment for Standard Antenna Measurements on the Open Area Test Site (NIST
Technical Note 1507), exhaustively analyses and quantifies the uncertainties of the
standard (dipole) antenna method used on an open area test site, also known as OATS.
Testing on the OATS at NIST is
conducted at frequencies between 30 megahertz and one gigahertz and involves measuring the
electric field using a standard antenna. The antenna under test is then substituted, and
its response to the same field is measured. The uncertainties that can find their way into
such a procedure are identified, explained and quantified, and the proper method for
calculating the total uncertainty of the calibration is presented.
Copies of TN 1507 are available
from Dennis Camell, MC 813.02, NIST, Boulder,
Colo. 80303-3337; (303) 497-3214.
Media Contact:
Collier Smith (Boulder), (303)
497-3198
Thermophysics
New Primer for
'Steam Tables Hot Off the Presses
Water, whether as a liquid or steam, is an
important part of many chemical engineering processes. Representations of water's
thermodynamic properties (known as "steam tables") are, therefore, vital tools
for process engineers.
While the properties of water do
not change over time, the state of the art for measuring and representing those properties
does evolve. Unfortunately, many engineers are using steam tables developed in the 1960s
or even as far back as the 1930s. Properties from these and other obsolete tables differ
somewhat from those calculated from the current standards. The differences could introduce
significant errors in research.
A new paper from NIST discusses
current standards and where the differences in formulation might have significant effects.
It also directs readers where to get further information on the properties of water and
steam.
For a copy of paper no. 5-99,
Keep Your "Steam Tables" Up to Date, contact Sarabeth Harris, MC 104, NIST,
Boulder, Colo. 80303-3337; (303) 497-3237; sarabeth@boulder.nist.gov.
Media Contact:
Fred McGehan (Boulder), (303)
497-3246
Administration
Four Named to NIST
Visiting Committee
NIST Director Ray Kammer
has tapped four distinguished technology experts from
industry and academia to serve on the Visiting Committee
on Advanced Technology, the agency's primary private-sector
policy adviser. The new VCAT members--all of whom will
serve three-year terms--bring the body's number to 14
(one more slot remains to be filled).
Starting their service on the
VCAT are: Conilee G. Kirkpatrick, vice president, HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif.;
Thomas A. Manuel, president, Council for Chemical Research, and retired vice president of
technology, Chemicals Group, Air Products and Chemicals Inc.; James W. Mitchell, director,
Materials, Reliability and Ecology Research Laboratory, Bell Laboratories, Lucent
Technologies, Murray Hill, N.J.; and F. Raymond Salemme, founder, president and chief
scientific officer, 3-Dimensional Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The VCAT was established by
Congress in 1988 to review and make recommendations on NIST's policies, organization,
budget and programs. Its membership was increased from nine to 15 by the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995.
Media Contact:
Michael E. Newman, (301)
975-3025
Materials
Paper Highlights
History, Importance of Impact Testing
A recent paper from NIST's Materials Reliability Division, Boulder,
Colo., points out that one of the agency's most successful service programs--Charpy
impact testing--has a long history in the field of testing and materials.
In 1905, French scientist Georges
Charpy proposed a pendulum machine for measuring impact energy that is remarkably similar
to present designs. In 1933, the American Society for Testing and Materials first
published a standard test method for pendulum impact testing--named for Charpy--that,
after numerous revisions and updates, is still in use today.
The need for impact testing was
given a boost during World War II when fracture problems developed in merchant ships
produced for the war effort. NIST's predecessor, the National Bureau of Standards, played
a key role in understanding the failures when the agency's Charpy impact test was able to
determine which hull plates were most subject to fracture. In the years that followed, the
Charpy impact test was added to standards for the construction of bridges and pressure
vessels.
Today, NIST's Standard Reference Materials
Program sells over 12,000 Charpy impact specimens annually, while NIST's Charpy impact
testing program serves 800 to 1,000 customers a year.
For a copy of paper no. 10-99 on
impact testing history, contact Sarabeth Harris,
MC 104, NIST, Boulder, Colo. 80303-3337; (303) 497-3237. For more information on the
Charpy impact testing program, contact Daniel
Vigliotti, MC 853, NIST, Boulder, Colo. 80303-3337; (303) 497-3351.
Media Contact:
Fred McGehan (Boulder), (303)
497-3246
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