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The H-bomb, the Moon, and Beyond: History of the NBS Cryogenic Division
No full textCryogenics, the science of extremely cold temperatures, has been a part of the National Bureau of Standards/National Institute of Standards and Technology (NBS/NIST) research portfolio ever since NBS purchased the hydrogen liquefier exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. This NIST history lecture begins with some of the early NBS cryogenic "firsts" on the Washington, DC campus. It brings in significant events on the international scene that led President Truman to announce in 1950 that the U.S. would develop the thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb. Dr. Radebaugh will cover the fascinating story behind the selection of NBS and Boulder to assist in this crash R&D program involving cryogenics. The first thermonuclear test in 1952 was very successful, but by 1954, Los Alamos scientists had perfected a "dry" version using lithium deuteride, eliminating the need for cryogenics in H-bombs. Weapons funding for the NBS Cryogenics Division quickly evaporated. But, ensuing NASA space missions and classified work for the Air Force kept the Cryogenics Division active for years. In the lecture, we learn about the many national needs met by the research activities of the Cryogenics Division from 1952 until its split in 1978. The last part of the presentation follows the research and impact of the significant pieces of the split. Speaker: Ray Radebaugh, Scientist Emeritus, Advanced Chemicals and Materials Division, Material Measurement Laboratory. Recorded at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD on Friday, January 9, 2015
List of Names Mentioned in Oral history interview of J. William (Bill) Gadzuk, January 27, 2015/ [persons present]: Cedric Powell, Jack Russ, Joseph Stroscio, Kristen Frederick-Frost, David Lide, John Yates (by telephone)
No full textOral history interview of J. William (Bill) Gadzuk, conducted on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Gadzuk worked at NIST and its predecessor, National Bureau of Standards, for 45 years, first doing research in surface science, surface physics and chronic molecular physics and chemical physics, mainly to do with surface phenomena
Long-Term Stability of One-Inch Condenser Microphones Calibrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
No full textThe devices calibrated most frequently by the acoustical measurement services at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) over the 50-year period from 1963 to 2012 were one-inch condenser microphones of three specific standard types: LS1Pn, LS1Po, and WS1P. Due to its long history of providing calibrations of such microphones to customers, NIST is in a unique position to analyze data concerning the long-term stability of these devices. This long history has enabled NIST to acquire and aggregate a substantial amount of repeat calibration data for a large number of microphones that belong to various other standards and calibration laboratories. In addition to determining microphone sensitivities at the time of calibration, it is important to have confidence that the microphones do not typically undergo significant drift as compared to the calibration uncertainty during the periods between calibrations. For each of the three microphone types, an average drift rate and approximate 95 % confidence interval were computed by two different statistical methods, and the results from the two methods were found to differ insignificantly in each case. These results apply to typical microphones of these types that are used in a suitable environment and handled with care. The average drift rate for Type LS1Pn microphones was -0.004 dB/year to 0.003 dB/year. The average drift rate for Type LS1Po microphones was -0.016 dB/year to 0.008 dB/year. The average drift rate for Type WS1P microphones was -0.004 dB/year to 0.018 dB/year. For each of these microphone types, the average drift rate is not significantly different from zero. This result is consistent with the performance expected of condenser microphones designed for use as transfer standards. In addition, the values that bound the confidence intervals are well within the limits specified for long-term stability in international standards. Even though these results show very good long-term stability historically for these microphone types, it is expected that periodic calibrations will always be done to track the calibration history of individual microphones and check for anomalies indicative of shifts in sensitivity
Report on Pairing-based Cryptography
No full textThis report summarizes study results on pairing-based cryptography. The main purpose of the study is to form NIST's position on standardizing and recommending pairing-based cryptography schemes currently published in research literature and standardized in other standard bodies. The report reviews the mathematical background of pairings. This includes topics such as pairing-friendly elliptic curves and how to compute various pairings. It includes a brief introduction to existing identity-based encryption (IBE) schemes and other cryptographic schemes using pairing technology. The report provides a complete study of the current status of standard activities on pairing-based cryptographic schemes. It explores different application scenarios for pairing-based cryptography schemes. As an important aspect of adopting pairing-based schemes, the report also considers the challenges inherent in validation testing of cryptographic algorithms and modules. Based on the study, the report suggests
An Implementation of the Fundamental Parameters Approach for Analysis of X-ray Powder Diffraction Line Profiles
No full textThis work presents an open implementation of the Fundamental Parameters Approach (FPA) models for analysis of X-ray powder diffraction line profiles. The original literature describing these models was examined and code was developed to allow for their use within a Python based least squares refinement algorithm. The NIST interest in the FPA method is specific to its ability to account for the optical aberrations of the powder diffraction experiment allowing for an accurate assessment of lattice parameter values. Lattice parameters are one of the primary certified measurands of NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for powder diffraction. Lattice parameter values obtained from analysis of data from SRMs 640e and 660c using both the NIST FPA Python code and the proprietary, commercial code Topas, that constitutes the only other actively supported, complete implementation of FPA models within a least-squares data analysis environment, agreed to within 2 fm. This level of agreement demonstrates that both the NIST code and Topas constitute an accurate implementation of published FPA model
Barbara C. Lippiatt
No full textBARBARA C. LIPPIATT
NBS/NIST: 1977-2013
INDUCTED: 2015
B: 1957, Baltimore, Maryland
EDUCATION:
Hood College, BA (Economics), 1979
American University, MA (Economics), 1982
CITATION:
For innovation and leadership in conceiving, developing, and implementing metrics and tools for sustainable buildings.
POSITIONS HELD AT NBS/NIST:
Economist, Building Economics Section, Center for Building Technology, 1977-1980
Economist, Applied Economics Group, Center for Applied Mathematics, 1981-1994
Economist, Office of Applied Economics, Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL), 1995-2002
Program Analyst, Program Office, 2003
Senior Program Analyst, Program Office, 2004
Economist, Office of Applied Economics, BFRL, 2005-2010
Economist, Applied Economics Office, Engineering Laboratory, 2011-2013
HONORS:
BFRL Communication Award (1998)
U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal (2003)
U.S. Department of Energy & U.S. Department of Commerce Energy Champion Award/Innovator Category (2006)
Presidential Award/Green Innovation Category, White House (2010)
Lifetime Achievement Award, American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (2011)
William P. Slichter Award (2012)
Lead author, measurement science chapter, National Science and Technology Council’s “Federal R&D Agenda for Net-Zero Energy, High-Performance Green Buildings”
Represented NIST Director on Federal Biomass Research R&D Committee
MEMBERSHIPS:
American Center for Life Cycle Assessment
Vice Chair, American Society of Civil Engineer’s initiative on Practices, Education, and Research for Sustainable Infrastructure
PUBLICATIONS:
More than 40 publications and eight software products including:
Lippiatt, B., “BEES: Balancing Environmental and Economic Performance,” The Construction Specifier, Vol. 51, No. 4, 35-42 (April 1998)
Lippiatt, B., and Boyles, A., “Using BEES to Select Cost-Effective Green Products,” The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 76-80 (March 2001)
Gloria, T., Lippiatt, B., and Cooper, J., “Life Cycle Impact Assessment Weights to Support Environmentally Preferable Purchasing in the United States,” Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 41, No 21, 7551-7557 (October 2007)
Lippiatt, B., et al., Metrics to Support Informed Decision Making for Consumers of Biobased Products, USDA Agricultural Economics Report series, Washington, D.C. (2008)
Lippiatt, B., Greig, A., and Lavappa, P., BEES Online: Life Cycle Analysis for Building Products, accessible at http://ws680.nist.gov/bees/, National Institute of Standards and Technology (September 2010)
Lippiatt, B., “Science-Based Metrics for Product Sustainability Assessment,” Treatise on Sustainability Science and Engineering, New York, NY: Springer, 127-138 (2013
Francis J. Lovas
No full textFRANCIS J. LOVAS
NBS/NIST: 1970-2000
INDUCTED: 2015
B: 1941, Cleveland, Ohio
EDUCATION:
University of Detroit, BS (Professional Chemistry), 1963
University of California, Berkeley, PhD (Physical Chemistry), 1967
NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, 1968- 1969
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Fellowship, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, 1969-1970
CITATION:
For outstanding contributions to microwave molecular spectroscopy and data and their application to molecular structure, inter and intramolecular forces, and interstellar chemistry.
POSITIONS HELD AT NBS/NIST:
National Research Council Postdoctoral Associate, NBS, 1970-1972
Research Chemist, Molecular Spectroscopy Section, Optical Physics Division, Institute for Basic Standards 1972-1977
Research Chemist, Molecular Spectroscopy Division, Center for Thermodynamics and Molecular Sciences, 1978-1989
Research Chemist, Molecular Physics Division, Physics Laboratory, 1990-1996
Research Chemist, Optical Technology Division, Physics Laboratory, 1996-2000
Scientist Emeritus and Guest Researcher, Sensor Science Division, Physical Measurement Laboratory, 2000-Present
HONORS:
U.S. Department of Commerce Gold Medal (1977)
NBS Special Act Award (1985)
Fellow, American Physical Society (1983)
George van Biesbroeck Prize from the American Astronomical Society (1998)
MEMBERSHIPS:
International Astronomical Union
American Physical Society
Sigma Xi
PUBLICATIONS:
More than 260 publications including:
Suenram, R.D., and Lovas, F.J., “Millimeter Wave Spectrum of Glycine,” Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy 72, 372-382 (1978)
Lovas, F.J., and Suenram, R.D., “Pulsed-beam Fourier-transform Microwave Measurements on OCS and Rare-gas Complexes of OCS with Ne, Ar, and Kr,” Journal of Chemical Physics 87, 2010-2020 (1987)
Coudert, L.H., Lovas, F.J., Suenram, R.D., and Hougen, J.T., “New Measurements of Microwave Transitions in the Water Dimer,” Journal of Chemical Physics 87, 6290-6299 (1987)
Hollis, J.M., Lovas, F.J., and Jewell, P.R., “Interstellar Glycolaldehyde: The First Sugar,” Astrophysical Journal 540, L107-L110 (2000)
Lovas, F.J., “NIST Recommended Rest Frequencies for Observed Interstellar Molecular Microwave Transitions - 2002 Revision,” Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data 33, 177-365 (2004)
Lovas, F.J., Lide, Jr., D.R., Suenram, R.D., and Johnson, D.R., “Evolution of Microwave Spectroscopy at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),” J. Res. NIST 117, 268-296 (2012
(Transcript) Oral history interview of J. William (Bill) Gadzuk, January 27, 2015/ [persons present]: Cedric Powell, Jack Russ, Joseph Stroscio, Kristen Frederick-Frost, David Lide, John Yates (by telephone)
No full textOral history interview of J. William (Bill) Gadzuk, conducted on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Gadzuk worked at NIST and its predecessor, National Bureau of Standards, for 45 years, first doing research in surface science, surface physics and chronic molecular physics and chemical physics, mainly to do with surface phenomena
Design and Operation of an Optically-Accessible Modular Reactor for Diagnostics of Thermal Thin Film Deposition Processes
No full textThe design and operation of a simple, optically-accessible modular reactor for probing thermal thin film deposition processes, such as atomic layer deposition processes (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), is described. This reactor has a nominal footprint of 225 cm and a mass of approximately 6.6 kg, making it small enough to conveniently function as a modular component of an optical train. The design is simple, making fabrication straightforward and relatively inexpensive. Reactor operation is characterized using two infrared absorption measurements to determine exhaust times for tetrakis(dimethylamino)titanium and water, proto-typical ALD precursors, in a pressure and flow regime commonly used for ALD
Donna K. Harman
No full textDONNA K. HARMAN
NBS/NIST: 1988-2005
INDUCTED: 2015
B: 1944, Santa Maria, California
EDUCATION:
Cornell University, BS (Electrical Engineering), 1966
Cornell University, MEE (Electrical Engineering), 1967
CITATION:
For vision, outstanding leadership, and technical excellence in establishing an innovative evaluation infrastructure leading to very significant advancement in the state-of-the-art in information retrieval and natural language processing.
POSITIONS HELD AT NBS/NIST:
Computer Scientist, Information Technology Laboratory (ITL), 1988-1994
Supervisory Computer Scientist, Information Access and User Interfaces Division, ITL, 1994-1995
Group Leader, Retrieval Group, Information Access Division, ITL, 1995-2005
Scientist Emeritus, ITL, 2005-2015
HONORS:
R&D 100 Award (1990)
Tony Kent Strix Award, U.K. Institute of Information Scientists (1999)
NIST Bronze Medal Award (1999)
Conférence en Recherche d’Information et Applications (CORIA 2013) -- proceedings dedicated to Donna Harman (2013)
MEMBERSHIPS:
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and ACM's Special Interest Group on Information Retrieval Association for Computational Linguistics
PUBLICATIONS:
More than 50 publications including:
Harman, D., and Candela, G., “Retrieving Records from a Gigabyte of Text on a Minicomputer using Statistical Ranking,” Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 41(8), 581-589 (1990)
Harman, Donna, “Relevance Feedback Revisited,” Proceedings of the 15th Annual International ACM SIGIR Conference on Research and Development in Information Retrieval, 1-10 (1992)
Harman, Donna, “Overview of the Second Text Retrieval Conference (TREC-2),” Proceedings of the Workshop on Human Language Technology, 351-357 (1994)
Voorhees, E., and Harman, D.K., (editors), TREC: Experiment and Evaluation in Information Retrieval, MIT Press (2005)
Harman, D.K., “Information Retrieval Evaluation,” Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services Series, Morgan & Claypool Publishers (2011