NIST Seeks Project Proposals For 1998 Precision Measurement Grants

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking project proposals for two research grants for fiscal year 1998 in the field of precision measurement and fundamental constants.

Each Precision Measurement Grant of $50,000 for one year may be renewed by NIST for up to two additional years for a total of $150,000. Prospective candidates must submit summaries of their proposed projects and biographical information to NIST by Feb. 3, 1997. The current grants will run from October 1997 through September 1998. NIST Precision Measurement Grants are awarded each year to faculty members of U.S. universities and colleges for work in determining values for fundamental constants, investigating related physical phenomena or developing new fundamental measurement methods.

The grants were instituted in 1970 to augment research programs of the then-National Bureau of Standards in physical constants and fundamental measurements, and to encourage research in these fields at universities and colleges. To date, 58 grants have been awarded in such areas as precision spectroscopy, the determination of mass ratios between atomic particles, atomic collision processes at extremely low temperatures, the precise timing of millisecond pulsars and the redetermination of various constants (such as the gas constant and Rydberg constant).

Proposals are evaluated according to the importance of the proposed research; the relation of the project to the improvement of basic measurement methodologies, measurement units or physical standards; the feasibility of the research; and past accomplishments of the applicant.

By the Feb. 3 deadline, applicants should submit a pre-proposal summary of not more than five double-spaced pages outlining the objective, motivation and technical approach of the research, and the amount and source of current funding for the research, together with a concise biographical sketch of the applicant and a list of the applicant's most important publications. At least three copies of this material should be sent to Barry N. Taylor, NIST Precision Measurement Grants Committee, C229 Radiation Physics Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001.

Four to eight candidates will be chosen by March 24, 1997, on the basis of this material, and they will be asked to submit more complete proposals. The final selection will be made by Aug. 15, 1997. For further information, contact Taylor at (301) 975-4220 or send e-mail to: barry.taylor [at] nist.gov (barry[dot]taylor[at]nist[dot]gov). Prospective applicants should contact Taylor before preparing their pre-proposals.

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.