Phillip Singerman is the Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He has appointed to this position in January 2011, after a 35-year career in tech based economic development. In this capacity he is responsible for the NIST suite of technology partnership, quality, and advanced manufacturing programs, including the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the Office of Advanced Manufacturing, the Technology Partnership Program and other extramural activities.
The Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership — MEP — is the premier federal-state, private-public technical assistance program, a $250 million annual program, working through 51 State-based Centers serving the nation’s 300,000 small manufacturing enterprises. In 2016 MEP achieved long sought legislative reforms under the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act.
The Office of Advanced Manufacturing has the responsibility of convening the Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute network, a $1 billion federal investment in 14 national centers of manufacturing technology, formally created by the Revitalizing American Manufacturing Innovation Act of 2014.
The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program is internationally recognized for setting the standards for quality performance of organizations and selecting recipients of an annual Presidential award.
The Technology Partnership Office is responsible for NIST technology transfer activities, small business innovation awards, and economic analysis. Currently the office is leading NIST’s interagency efforts on “Return on Investment,” a comprehensive review the federal government’s technology transfer practices, policies, regulations and statutes.
Mr. Singerman currently serves as the U. S. Co-Chair of the Israel–U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development “BIRD” Foundation, the widely emulated 40-year-old program that promotes innovate R&D activities, and on the recently established U.S.–India Science & Technology Endowment Board. He also served on the Stakeholders Council of the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, one of the 14 Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes.
Prior to joining NIST, Mr. Singerman was a Senior Vice President at B&D Consulting, a DC-based firm providing strategic advice and technical assistance on federal funding. Previously he was a managing director of a$120 million seed stage venture fund that invested in early stage biotechnology.
Mr. Singerman is a public-sector entrepreneur, specializing in start-ups and turnarounds. He was the founding chief executive of two of the best known and longest lasting private-public partnerships; the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania, recently celebrating its 35th anniversary, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, celebrating its 20th. During the Clinton Administration he served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, a Presidential appointment requiring Senate confirmation, overseeing the Economic Development Administration, a $400 million annual program assisting distressed communities. Under his leadership, EDA was stabilized with its first Congressional reauthorization in two decades.
Mr. Singerman has participated on scores of local, state, and national advisory boards and associations, including the State Science and Technology Institute, the Technology Council of Maryland, the International Economic Development Council, National Governors Association Advisory Committee on Entrepreneurial Policy, and National Science Foundation’s Small Business Advisory Committee. He was the 2011 recipient of the Federal Leadership in Economic Development Award, and the 2002 Baltimore Extraordinary Technology Advocate.
Mr. Singerman received his B.A. from Oberlin College and holds a Ph.D. from Yale University. He has taught at Yale College, Barnard College (Columbia University), and the Fels Institute of Government (University of Pennsylvania). After graduating from college, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia, South America, working in rural community development.