NIST Advisory Committee 2013 Annual Report Highlights Cybersecurity and Manufacturing

The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has sent its 2013 annual report to Congress. The committee focused its primary attention on NIST's role and programs in two key administration priorities—advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity.

The committee report supports NIST's ongoing and planned work in cybersecurity and recognizes the level of effort and planning NIST puts into its outreach and partnership mechanisms for cybersecurity. The report applauds the success of NIST's execution of Executive Order 13636—Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity and other collaborative efforts. The committee recommends NIST continue its involvement in the framework's future.

The report addresses NIST's broad portfolio of programs in advanced manufacturing and notes that "NIST's measurement science mission, its unique and longstanding relationship with industry, and its broad portfolio of programs make it a critical element of the Administration's efforts to strengthen manufacturing in America." It also acknowledges NIST's diverse mechanisms for partnering with other organizations, including the NIST user facilities and new Centers of Excellence, and calls them critical to NIST's success.

The VCAT was established by Congress in 1988 to review and make recommendations on NIST's policies, organization, budget and programs to support the agency in its mission to promote and support U.S. technological innovation and industrial competitiveness. For the full text of the VCAT 2013 annual report, see www.nist.gov/director/vcat/upload/FINAL-2013-VCAT-Annual-Report.pdf.

The next NIST VCAT meeting will be held in June 2014 in Gaithersburg, Md. VCAT meetings are open to the public. For more information, see www.nist.gov/director/vcat/.