Anthony "Tony" Downs (Fed)

Anthony “Tony” Downs is a Project Leader and Acting Group Leader in the Intelligent Systems Division (ISD) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He leads the Agility Performance of Robotic Systems (APRS) Project and the Cognition and Collaboration Systems (CCS) Group, and serves as the Division Safety Representative. His work includes determining core project priorities and managing external collaborations to successfully transition test metrics through the Simulation-Based Agile Robotics for Industrial Automation Competition into the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society Standards Association Working Groups for international standardization. As a Mechanical Engineer at NIST, he has provided technical expertise in the design, creation, and testing of specialized robotics test apparatuses, and contributes to high-stakes performance testing and evaluation for external partners—including Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) robotics, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) testing, and numerous DARPA projects.

Mr. Downs holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is a graduate of both the NIST Foundations of Leadership Program and the NIST Project Management Leadership Program (PMLP). He is the recipient of the Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award, the highest honor for rare, distinguished achievement, for outstanding research, as well as the DOC Silver Medal Award, the NIST Bronze Medal Award, and the Edward Rosa Award for Outstanding Applied Research. Additionally, he has been recognized with the NIST Safety Award for Outstanding Effort as a Division Safety Representative.