Announcement of Requirements and Registration for National Institute of Standards and Technology Prize Competition-Reusable Abstractions of Manufacturing Processes (RAMP) Challenge, 91912-91917 [2016-30437]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 243 (Monday, December 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 91912-91917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30437]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket Number: [161207999-6999-01]


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for National 
Institute of Standards and Technology Prize Competition--Reusable 
Abstractions of Manufacturing Processes (RAMP) Challenge

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In March 2016, National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST) and ASTM International announced a new international standard 
that can ``map'' the critically important environmental aspects of 
manufacturing processes, leading to significant improvements in 
sustainability while keeping a product's life cycle low cost and 
efficient. Sustainability for manufacturing is beginning to be 
addressed through the recently approved ASTM Standard Guide for 
Characterizing Environmental Aspects of Manufacturing Processes (ASTM 
E60.13 E3012-16). The standard provides a science-based, systematic 
approach to capture and describe information about the environmental 
aspects for any manufacturing production process or group of processes, 
and then use that data to make informed decisions on improvements.
    NIST is announcing the Reusable Abstractions of Manufacturing 
Processes (RAMP) Challenge, with support from ASTM International, the 
National Science Foundation (NSF), and the American Society of 
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Manufacturing Science and Engineering 
Conference (MSEC) Organizing Committee, to familiarize the community 
with a recent standard for modeling manufacturing processes that was 
developed under the ASTM's E60.13 Subcommittee on Sustainable 
Manufacturing. The RAMP Challenge calls on participants (either as an 
individual or as a team) to model any manufacturing process and 
demonstrate application of the ASTM E3012-16 Unit Manufacturing Process 
(UMP) representation for purposes of information sharing and 
sustainability assessment. The RAMP Challenge will provide an 
opportunity for participants to put this standard into practice in 
modeling a process of their own interest, and to share experiences in 
applying the standard across a variety of processes. Formal methods for 
acquiring and exchanging information about manufacturing processes will 
lead to consistent characterizations and help establish a collection 
for reuse of these models. Standard methods will ensure effective 
communication of computational analytics and sharing of sustainability 
performance data. Results of the competition will assist in 
demonstrating the use of a reusable standard format leading to models 
suitable for automated inclusion in a system analysis, such as a system 
simulation model or an optimization program.

DATES: Submission Period: December 19, 2016 to March 20, 2017
    Announcement of Finalists: April 17, 2017
    Announcement of Winners: June 8, 2017
    The Submission Period begins December 19, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern 
Time (ET) and ends March 20, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Prize competition 
dates are subject to change at the discretion of NIST. Entries 
submitted before or after the Submission Period will not be reviewed or 
considered for award.
    ADDRESSES:Changes or updates to the prize competition rules will be 
posted and can be viewed at the Event Web site: https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/ramp-reusable-abstractions-of-manufacturing-processes/
    Results of the prize competition will be announced on the Event Web 
site and on the NIST Web site, www.nist.gov. Additional information is 
located at: https://www.nist.gov/el/systems-integration-division/astm-sustainable-manufacturing-standards.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the prize competition 
can be directed to NIST via the Event

[[Page 91913]]

Web site or by email to Swee Leong, swee.leong@nist.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

RAMP Challenge Sponsor

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; 
www.nist.gov) is a non-regulatory Federal agency within the United 
States Department of Commerce. Founded in 1901, NIST's mission is to 
promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing 
measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance 
economic security and improve our quality of life. NIST carries out its 
mission through its programs, which include: The NIST Laboratories, 
conducting world-class research, often in close collaboration with 
industry, that advances the Nation's technology infrastructure and 
helps U.S. companies continually improve products and services; the 
Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a nation-wide 
network of local centers offering technical and business assistance to 
smaller manufacturers to help them create and retain jobs, increase 
profits, and save time and money; and the Baldrige Performance 
Excellence Program, which promotes performance excellence among U.S. 
manufacturers, service companies, educational institutions, health care 
providers, and nonprofit organizations, conducts outreach programs, and 
manages the annual Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which 
recognizes performance excellence and quality achievement.

RAMP Challenge Supporting Organizations

    ASTM International is a globally recognized leader in the 
development and delivery of voluntary consensus standards. Today, over 
12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product 
quality, enhance health and safety, strengthen market access and trade, 
and build consumer confidence.
    The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency 
created by Congress in 1950 ``to promote the progress of science; to 
advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the 
national defense. . .'' NSF's goals--discovery, learning, research 
infrastructure and stewardship--provide an integrated strategy to 
advance the frontiers of knowledge, cultivate a world-class, broadly 
inclusive science and engineering workforce and expand the scientific 
literacy of all citizens, build the nation's research capability 
through investments in advanced instrumentation and facilities, and 
support excellence in science and engineering research and education 
through a capable and responsive organization.
    The ASME MSEC is held annually and will take place this year at the 
University of Southern California, June 4-8, 2017. The conference, 
sponsored by the Manufacturing Engineering Division (MED) of ASME, 
provides a forum to highlight and disseminate the most recent and 
cutting edge manufacturing research through both technical 
presentations, papers, posters, and panel sessions. The ASME is a not-
for-profit membership organization that enables collaboration, 
knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all 
engineering disciplines, toward a goal of helping the global 
engineering community develop solutions to benefit lives and 
livelihoods.

Eligibility Rules for Participating in the RAMP Challenge

    At the time of Entry, participants must meet the following 
Eligibility Rules:
    To be eligible for a cash prize, the Official Representative 
(individual or team lead, in the case of a group project) must be age 
18 at the time of entry and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the 
United States. In the case of a private entity, the business shall be 
incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United 
States or its territories. Participants may not be a Federal entity or 
Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment. 
Eligibility excludes NIST employees and NIST Researcher Associates as 
well as direct recipients of NIST funding awards to collaborate on the 
development of the ASTM standard E3012-16. Non-NIST Federal employees 
acting in their personal capacities should consult with their 
respective agency ethics officials to determine whether their 
participation in this Competition is permissible. Employees of the NSF, 
the ASTM, and the ASME Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference 
(MSEC) Conference Organizers are excluded from participating but 
members of these organizations are eligible to enter. Any other 
individuals or legal entities involved with the design, production, 
execution, distribution or evaluation of the RAMP Challenge are not 
eligible to participate.
    To be eligible to win a prize, a Participant (whether an individual 
or legal entity) must register to participate and must comply with all 
requirements under section 3719 of title 15, United States Code 
(``Prize competitions'').
    A Participant shall not be deemed ineligible because the 
Participant consulted with Federal employees or used Federal facilities 
in preparing its submission to the RAMP Challenge if the employees and 
facilities are made available to all Participants on an equitable 
basis. Multiple entries are permitted. Each entry will be reviewed 
independently. Multiple individuals and/or legal entities may 
collaborate as a group to submit a single entry, in which case a single 
individual from the group must be designated as the Official 
Representative and must satisfy all of the eligibility requirements. 
That designated individual will be responsible for determining 
eligibility and for meeting all entry and evaluation requirements. 
Participation is subject to all U.S. federal, state and local laws and 
regulations. Individuals entering on behalf of or representing a 
company, institution or other legal entity are responsible for 
confirming that their entry does not violate any policies of that 
company, institution or legal entity.

Entry Process for Participants

    As stated earlier, the RAMP Challenge calls on participants to 
model any manufacturing process for purposes of information sharing and 
sustainability assessment. The modeled process can be one that the 
submitter has uniquely studied, or from open literature or other 3rd 
party sources. Any size scale and manufacturing process type (batch, 
continuous, and discrete event) is acceptable. Entry processes can span 
sizes from traditional scale down to nanoscale and be based on 
mechanical, electrical, chemical, biochemical, and bio technologies. 
Note that sustainability is a balance of competing objectives, 
including cost and time as well as environmental considerations, so 
many different types of process performance metrics may be considered. 
In addition, the use of the models for system-level sustainability 
performance is encouraged.
    To enter, the participant must create an account at challenge.gov 
and visit the Event Web site, https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/ramp-reusable-abstractions-of-manufacturing-processes/. Each entry must 
characterize one process yet participants can submit more than one 
entry. The participant must submit an analysis of a Unit Manufacturing 
Process that uses the ASTM E60.13 E3012-16 Standard Guide for 
Characterizing Environmental Aspects of Manufacturing Processes, and 
that meets the criteria described herein.

[[Page 91914]]

    A complete Entry must be in pdf format and include your analysis 
(including any figures, tables, and references), the name and email 
address of the Participant who is officially representing the Entry, 
names of any additional team members and a team name (if applicable) 
that is chosen by the team members, and confirmation that you have read 
and agree to the Competition Rules contained in this Notice. 
Participants may provide submissions beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on 
December 19, 2016, to the Event Web site. Submissions can be made no 
later than 5:00 p.m. ET on March 20, 2017, to the Event Web site.
    Entries submitted before the start date and time, or after the end 
date and time, will not be evaluated or considered for award. Entries 
sent to NIST in any manner other than through the Event Web site will 
not be evaluated or considered for award. Entries that do not comply 
with the formatting requirements set forth in this Notice will not be 
evaluated or considered for award. Entries must be complete, must not 
contain any confidential information and must be in English.
    In general, each Entry must:
    (a) affirmatively represent that the Participant (and each 
Participant if more than one) has read and consents to be governed by 
the Competition rules and that the Official Representative satisfies 
all of the eligibility requirements to win a prize under 15 U.S.C. 
3719;
    (b) include an original model of the manufacturing process by 
application of ASTM E60.13 E3012-16 Standard Guide for Characterizing 
Environmental Aspects of Manufacturing Processes. Specifically, the 
Entry must include:
    1. A project title page including project name, the name(s) of 
Participant(s), and the email address and phone number of the 
Participant who is officially representing the Entry,
    2. a Unit Manufacturing Process (UMP) information model. A UMP is 
defined as the smallest element or sub-process in manufacturing that 
adds value through the modification or transformation of shape, 
structure, or property of input material or workpiece. Examples of a 
UMP are injection molding, die-casting and machining. A die-casting UMP 
can have individual operations such as die-preparation, clamping, 
injection, cooling, and ejection. A machining UMP can have multiple 
operations such as drilling, milling, or grinding.
    3. a written narrative (fewer than 1500 words) describing how the 
Entry meets the Review Criteria described below in the Review Criteria 
section, and
    4. an optional brief description of relevant case studies (fewer 
than 750 words) and/or a weblink (YouTube or Vimeo) to an original 
short (fewer than five minutes) video that describes the Entry. 
Participants must have permission to use all content in the video, 
including footage, music and images.

Guidelines for UMP Representation to be Provided in the Entry

    Participants should choose any manufacturing process to demonstrate 
the application of a UMP representation using ASTM E60.13 E3012-16. 
ASTM is providing access to this standard free of charge for the 
purpose of the RAMP Challenge. To obtain a copy of the standard for use 
in the RAMP Challenge, Participants should email a request to Stephen 
Mawn (smawn@astm.org). The standard is further described in a Journal 
of Manufacturing Science and Engineering paper titled ``Standard 
representations for sustainability characterization of industrial 
processes.'' The paper may be downloaded from the NIST Web site: 
https://www.nist.gov/node/1090636). Examples of typical representations 
will be posted at the Event Web site.
    For the identified UMP information model described in Section b-2 
above, include:
    (a) Graphical Representation: The four elements shown in the E3012-
16 standard must be clearly identified in the graphical representation:
    a. Inputs: Identify inputs. Create an example of inputs represented 
in a structured form such as JSON or XML.
    b. Outputs: Identify outputs. Output must include 1 or more 
metrics, such as energy, cost, tear and wear, and CO2 emissions. Create 
an example of output represented in a structured form such as JSON or 
XML.
    c. Product and Process Information: Identify the necessary product 
and process information that would be required to instantiate the 
transformation functions, such as CAD files, CAM files, technical 
drawings, and specifications sheets.
    d. Resources: Identify specific manufacturing assets, such as 
machines, tools, and operators, that would be required to instantiate 
the transformation functions.
    (b) Transformation Function: Describe a series of equations that 
compute the output from the input. The transformation function can be 
expressed in any readable mathematical format, such as using MS Word, 
LaTeX, ASCII text, or more formally in a language such as JSONiq or 
Matlab.
    (c) Nomenclature: Describe the nomenclature of the inputs/outputs 
represented in the structured form as well as the computed values in 
the transformation functions. This should include information such as 
names of the computed values, its meaning, type of the input variable, 
and the unit in which the data is represented in the model.
    (d) Validation: Explain how the model is validated. An example of 
validation includes procuring the data (i.e., inputs and outputs) from 
a physical (or virtual) manufacturing setting and validate this output 
against the computed output from the transformation function that is 
run with inputs from the real manufacturing setting. Compute the degree 
of error between the outputs from the model and the real manufacturing 
setting. Other approaches may be taken.
    (e) Novelty of UMP analysis: The main category is listed in bold 
type with various examples included for clarity.
    a. Advancements to knowledge and understanding of UMP modeling 
through innovative and expressive representations and methodologies, 
novel formal representations, more accurate or specialized metric, 
metric representations that support cascading to higher production 
levels, or exploration of variations for families of UMP models.
    b. Advancements to standards supporting reuse models. This may 
include automated methods that allow linking of UMP models into 
systems, facilitating system composition through naming conventions or 
other methods, generalization that unifies a collection of processes, 
or standards-based methods for integration with applications.
    c. Advancement of techniques for development and validation of UMP 
models. This may include demonstration of validation techniques for the 
effectiveness and accuracy of the UMP models or techniques for 
producing useful derivatives of UMP models or creative methods for 
mining documentary model descriptions into formal representations.
    (f) Information sources: Source of the information used to define 
the UMP models, such as existing literature, industry case studies, and 
textbooks.
    (g) Multiple files may be submitted, but should be uploaded as a 
single file submission (.zip or .pdf.) A template formatted to capture 
entry requirements is provided on the Event Web site for the 
submission.

[[Page 91915]]

RAMP Challenge Award(s)

    The Prize Purse for the RAMP Challenge is a total of $3,250. The 
Prize Purse may increase, but will not decrease. Any increases in the 
Prize Purse will be posted on the Event Web site and published in the 
Federal Register. The Prize Purse will be used to fund one or more 
awards.
    NIST will announce via the Event Web site any Entry(ies) the 
finalists and those entries to which the Judges have made a cash award 
(each, an ``Award''). The anticipated number and amount of the Awards 
that will be awarded for this Competition is set forth in this Federal 
Register Notice; however, the Judges are not obligated to make all or 
any Awards, and reserve the right to award fewer than the anticipated 
number of Awards in the event an insufficient number of eligible 
Entries meet any one or more of the Judging Criteria for this 
Competition, based on the Judges' evaluation of the quality of Entries 
and in their sole discretion. Awards will be made based on the Judges' 
evaluation of an Entry's compliance with the Judging Criteria for this 
Competition.
    The designated Official Representative of all finalist entries will 
be notified in an email from NIST to the email address provided in the 
submission document that they have been selected as a finalist. 
Finalists will be required to respond affirmatively and complete 
further documentation within 5 business days that they meet the 
eligibility criteria set forth in this notice and they (in the case of 
a team, one designated representative) are able to participate in 
person at the 2017 ASME International Manufacturing Science and 
Engineering Conference (MSEC) June 4-8, 2017, at the University of 
Southern California. Travel supplements to defray costs of travel and 
conference participation may be made available as needed. Return of any 
notification as ``undeliverable'' will result in disqualification. If a 
finalist indicates they are unable to participate in the conference or 
does not respond within 5 business days, NIST reserves the right to 
invite the next highest ranked entrant (who is not already a finalist), 
as determined by the subject matter experts, to participate as a 
finalist.
    To win an Award, finalists must give a brief in-person presentation 
to the Judges during the MSEC conference in a special session dedicated 
to the RAMP Challenge. Winners will be determined by the Judging Panel 
at the MSEC Conference, and further verified by NIST. The winner 
verification process with NIST includes providing the full legal name, 
tax identification number or social security number, routing number and 
banking account to which the prize money can be deposited directly. 
Return of any notification as ``undeliverable'' will result in 
disqualification. After verification of eligibility, Awards will be 
distributed in the form of electronic funds transfer addressed to the 
Official Representative specified in the winning Entry. That Official 
Representative will have sole responsibility for further distribution 
of any Award among Participants in a group Entry or within a company or 
institution that has submitted an Entry through that representative. 
Each list of Entries receiving Awards for the Competition will be made 
public according to the timeline outlined on the Event Web site. 
Winners are responsible for all taxes and reporting related to any 
Award received as part of the Competition.
    All costs incurred in the preparation of Competition Entries are to 
be borne by Participants.

Evaluation, Judging, and Selection of Winner(s)

Submission Evaluation Criteria

    This section discusses how Participant submissions will be 
evaluated.

Entry Submission and Review

    The requirements for submission of a complete Entry are detailed in 
the section ``Entry Process for Participants.'' Each Entry will be 
reviewed by subject matter experts, who will assess how well the Entry 
addressed each of the following evaluation criteria. For each Entry, 
subject matter experts will generate a numerical rating from 0 to 100 
based on the five (5) equally weighted review criteria listed below. 
This rating will be supported by a brief narrative (fewer than 500 
words) of the technical merits of the submission in terms of the review 
criteria. Subject matter experts will provide their individual 
assessments to the NIST Challenge Manager. The NIST Challenge Manager 
will identify the top eight submissions (``finalist entries''). The 
finalist entries and the accompanying subject matter expert 
evaluations, both the rating and narrative, will be provided to the 
Judging Panel for their deliberation.

Review Criteria

    Subject matter experts will consider five equally weighted review 
criteria when evaluating submissions:
    1. Completeness: Submission follows the guidelines and includes all 
necessary components. All submissions must describe the approach taken 
to validate the work and provide both a graphical and formal 
representation of the UMP information model. An example will be posted 
on the competition Web site.
    2. Complexity: Model reflects the complexities of the manufacturing 
process, especially those which influence sustainability indicators 
such as energy and material consumption.
    3. Clarity: Model is clear in describing the process and the 
process-related information.
    4. Accuracy: Submission accurately models the process as shown 
through validation.
    5. Novelty: Approach taken develops new techniques to advance model 
reusability or reliability.

Judging Criteria

    Eight finalist entries will be evaluated by the Judges in advance 
of and during the Finalist Presentations to take place at the 2017 ASME 
International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference. NIST 
reserves the right to name fewer than eight finalists. A panel of three 
(3) to five (5) judges will then be convened to rank the finalist 
entries and determine the winners. Judges will review each of the 
Entries and any corresponding technical assessments provided by subject 
matter experts. Judges will participate in a session at the 2017 ASME 
International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference where 
the finalists will give a 10-15 minute in-person presentation 
describing their submission and how well it meets the judging criteria. 
Time permitting, this will include a question and answer session after 
each presentation. Judges will deliberate and then rank the finalist 
entries using the weighted Judging Criteria (percentage in 
parentheses):
    1. Complexity: Model reflects the complexities of the manufacturing 
process, especially those which influence sustainability indicators 
such as energy and material consumption. (10%)
    2. Clarity: Model is clear in describing the process and the 
process-related information. (10%)
    3. Accuracy: Submission accurately models the process as shown 
through validation. (35%)
    4. Novelty: Approach taken develops new techniques to advance model 
reusability or reliability. (35%)
    5. Presentation: Quality and content conveyed in a brief in-person 
presentation at the 2017 MESC Conference. (10%)

[[Page 91916]]

Awards

    First, Second, and Third Place Prizes, and up to five runners-up, 
will be selected by the Judges.
     First Place Prize is $1,000
     Second Place Prize is $750
     Third Place Prize is $500
     Runners Up Prize is $200

Subject Matter Experts and Judging Panel

    Subject Matter Experts, to be selected by the NIST with assistance 
from Challenge supporters, will, as a body, represent a high degree of 
experience with manufacturing processes, process modeling, and 
sustainability assessment of manufacturing processes, and a balance of 
perspectives from relevant manufacturing sectors. Subject Matter 
Experts may consist of NIST Federal Employees, NIST Associates, 
employees of RAMP Challenge supporters, or their representatives. 
Subject Matter Experts will not select winners of any awards.
    The NIST Director will appoint a panel of highly qualified Judges. 
The Judging Panel will consist of individuals who are experts in the 
field of sustainability of manufacturing processes. Judges will 
deliberate and rank finalist entries according to the Judging Criteria 
described above. The top (up to eight) Entries ranked by the Judges 
will be selected to receive an Award. Judges may not have personal or 
financial interests in, or be an employee, officer, director, or agent 
of, any entity that is a registered Participant in this Competition and 
may not have a familial or financial relationship with an individual 
who is a registered Participant. In the event of such a conflict, a 
Judge must recuse himself or herself. Should this occur, a new Judge 
may be appointed to the panel.

Intellectual Property Rights

    Other than as set forth herein, NIST does not make any claim to 
ownership of your Entry or any of your intellectual property or third 
party intellectual property that it may contain. By participating in 
the Competition, you are not granting any rights in any patents or 
pending patent applications related to your Entry; provided that by 
submitting an Entry, you are granting NIST certain limited rights as 
set forth herein.
    By submitting an Entry, you grant to NIST the right to review your 
Entry as described above in the section ``Entry Submission and 
Review,'' to describe your Entry in connection with any materials 
created in connection with the Competition and to have the Subject 
Matter Experts, Judges, Competition administrators, and the designees 
of any of them, review your Entry.
    By submitting an Entry, you grant a non-exclusive, irrevocable, 
paid up right and license to NIST to use your name, likeness, 
biographical information, image, any other personal data submitted with 
your Entry and the contents in your Entry, in connection with the RAMP 
Challenge for any purpose, including promotion and advertisement of the 
Challenge and future challenges.
    You agree that nothing in this Notice grants you a right or license 
to use any names or logos of NIST or the Department of Commerce or any 
supporting agency or entity, or any other intellectual property or 
proprietary rights of NIST or the Department of Commerce or any 
supporting agency or entity or their employees or contractors. You 
grant to NIST the right to include your name and your company or 
institution name and logo (if your Entry is from a company or 
institution) as a Participant on the Event Web site and in materials 
from NIST announcing winners of or Participants in the Competition. 
Other than these uses or as otherwise set forth herein, you are not 
granting NIST any rights to your trademarks.
    Entries containing any matter, including team names, which, in the 
sole discretion of NIST, is indecent, defamatory, in obvious bad taste, 
which demonstrates a lack of respect for public morals or conduct, 
which promotes discrimination in any form, which shows unlawful acts 
being performed, which is slanderous or libelous, or which adversely 
affects the reputation of NIST, will not be accepted. If NIST, in its 
sole discretion, finds any Entry to be unacceptable, then such Entry 
shall be deemed disqualified and will not be evaluated or considered 
for award. NIST shall have the right to remove any content from the 
Event Web site in its sole discretion at any time and for any reason, 
including, but not limited to, any online comment or posting related to 
the Competition.

Confidential Information

    By making a submission to the RAMP Challenge, you agree that no 
part of your submission includes any confidential or proprietary 
information, ideas or products, including but not limited to 
information, ideas or products within the scope of the Trade Secrets 
Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905. Because NIST will not receive or hold any 
submitted materials ``in confidence,'' it is agreed that, with respect 
to your Entry, no confidential or fiduciary relationship or obligation 
of secrecy is established between NIST and you, your Entry team, the 
company or institution you represent when submitting an Entry, or any 
other person or entity associated with any part of your Entry.

Warranties

    By submitting an Entry, you represent and warrant that all 
information you submit is true and complete to the best of your 
knowledge, that you have the right and authority to submit the Entry on 
your own behalf or on behalf of the persons and entities that you 
specify within the Entry, and that your Entry (both the information and 
software submitted in the Entry and the underlying technologies or 
concepts described in the Entry):
    (a) is your own original work, or is submitted by permission with 
full and proper credit given within your Entry;
    (b) does not contain confidential information or trade secrets 
(yours or anyone else's);
    (c) does not knowingly violate or infringe upon the patent rights, 
industrial design rights, copyrights, trademarks, rights in technical 
data, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or 
other rights of any person or entity;
    (d) does not contain malicious code, such as viruses, malware, 
timebombs, cancelbots, worms, Trojan horses or other potentially 
harmful programs or other material or information;
    (e) does not and will not violate any applicable law, statute, 
ordinance, rule or regulation, including, without limitation, United 
States export laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the 
International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Department of 
Commerce Export Administration Regulations; and
    (f) does not trigger any reporting or royalty or other obligation 
to any third party; and
    (g) does not contain any statement that is abusive, defamatory, 
libelous, obscene, fraudulent, or is in any other way unlawful or in 
violation of applicable laws.

Limitation of Liability

    By participating in the RAMP Challenge, you agree to assume any and 
all risks and to release, indemnify and hold harmless NIST or any 
supporting agency or entity from and against any injuries, losses, 
damages, claims, actions and any liability of any kind (including 
attorneys' fees) resulting from or arising out of your participation 
in, association with or submission to the RAMP Challenge (including any 
claims alleging that your Entry infringes, misappropriates or violates 
any third

[[Page 91917]]

party's intellectual property rights). In addition, you agree to waive 
claims against the Federal Government and its related entities, except 
in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or 
loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or 
consequential, arising from your participation in the RAMP Challenge, 
whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or 
otherwise.
    NIST is not responsible for any miscommunications such as technical 
failures related to computer, telephone, cable, and unavailable network 
or server connections, related technical failures, or other failures 
related to hardware, software or virus, or incomplete or late Entries. 
Any compromise to the fair and proper conduct of the RAMP Challenge may 
result in the disqualification of an Entry or Participant, termination 
of the RAMP Challenge, or other remedial action, at the sole discretion 
of NIST. NIST reserves the right in its sole discretion to extend or 
modify the dates of the RAMP Challenge, and to change the terms set 
forth herein governing any phases taking place after the effective date 
of any such change. By entering, you agree to the terms set forth 
herein and to all decisions of NIST and/or all of their respective 
agents, which are final and binding in all respects.
    NIST is not responsible for: (1) Any incorrect or inaccurate 
information, whether caused by a Participant, printing errors, or by 
any of the equipment or programming associated with or used in the RAMP 
Challenge; (2) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Entry 
Process for the RAMP Challenge; (3) technical or human error that may 
occur in the administration of the RAMP Challenge or the processing of 
Entries; or (4) any injury or damage to persons or property that may be 
caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from a 
Participant's participation in the RAMP Challenge or receipt or use or 
misuse of an Award. If for any reason an Entry is confirmed to have 
been deleted erroneously, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, 
the Participant's sole remedy is to submit another Entry in the RAMP 
Challenge.

Termination and Disqualification

    NIST reserves the authority to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the 
RAMP Challenge, or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, or 
any other factor beyond NIST's reasonable control impairs the integrity 
or proper functioning of the RAMP Challenge, as determined by NIST in 
its sole discretion.
    NIST reserves the right to disqualify any Participant or 
Participant team it believes to be tampering with the Entry process or 
the operation of the RAMP Challenge or to be acting in violation of any 
applicable rule or condition.
    Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of 
the RAMP Challenge may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, 
should such an attempt be made, NIST reserves the authority to seek 
damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Verification of Potential Winner(s)

    All potential winners are subject to verification by NIST, whose 
decisions are final and binding in all matters related to the RAMP 
Challenge.
    Potential winner(s) must continue to comply with all terms and 
conditions of the RAMP Challenge Rules described in this notice, and 
winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. In the event 
that a potential winner, or an announced winner, is found to be 
ineligible or is disqualified for any reason, NIST may make an award, 
instead, to another Participant.

Privacy and Disclosure under FOIA

    Except as provided herein, information submitted throughout the 
RAMP Challenge will be used only to communicate with Participants 
regarding Entries and/or the RAMP Challenge. Participant Entries and 
submissions to the RAMP Challenge may be subject to disclosure under 
the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA'').

    Authority:  15 U.S.C. 3719.

Kevin Kimball,
NIST Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2016-30437 Filed 12-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P