National Institute of Standards and Technology – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requests comments on proposed revisions to regulations that would further the Return on Investment (ROI) Initiative for Unleashing American Innovation. The proposed revisions to ``Rights to Inventions Made by Nonprofit Organizations and Small Business Firms under Government Grants, Contracts, and Cooperative Agreements'' and ``Licensing of Government-Owned Inventions'' make technical corrections; reorganize certain subsections; remove outdated and/or unnecessary sections; institute a reporting requirement on Federal agencies; and provide clarifications on definitions, communications, scope of march-in rights, filing of provisional patent applications, electronic filing, the purpose of royalties on government licenses, and the processes for granting exclusive, co-exclusive and partially exclusive licenses and for appeals. NIST intends to hold a webinar regarding the proposed changes and information on that webinar will be available to the public at https://www.nist.gov/tpo/bayh-dole.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT or Committee) will meet on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The combined 105th Annual and 2021 Interim Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held using a virtual meeting platform and in-person at the Sirata Beach Hotel & Conference Center, St. Pete Beach, Florida, from Sunday, January 10, 2021, through Friday, January 15, 2021. This notice contains information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

The Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Board) will meet in open session on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. The purpose of this meeting is to review and discuss the work of the private sector contractor, which assists the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in administering the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Award), and information received from NIST and from the Chair of the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in order to make such suggestions for the improvement of the Award process as the Board deems necessary. Details on the agenda are noted in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for the Zero Trust Cybersecurity: Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture project. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Zero Trust Cybersecurity: Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture project. Participation in the building block is open to all interested organizations.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, in support of efforts to develop standards for regenerative medicine and advanced therapies, is establishing the Flow Cytometry Standards Consortium (``Consortium''). The Consortium will bring together stakeholders to identify and address measurement and standards needs related to flow cytometry used in the characterization and testing of cell and gene therapies. The Consortium efforts are intended to develop measurement solutions and standards to improve measurement confidence, establish measurement traceability, and enable comparability in flow cytometry measurements. Participation fees will be at least $25,000 annually or in-kind contributions of equivalent value. Participants will be required to sign a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), announces the establishment of the Civilian Innovation Advisory Board (The Board) in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), as amended, and the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), a discretionary advisory committee. The Board shall provide independent advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce and, upon request, to the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) on issues relevant to the Federal Government's engagement and support of technological innovation, and the incorporation and adoption of emerging technologies and innovative means to address critical technological challenges facing the Federal Government in its provision of services to the public, within the framework of applicable national policies. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST or Institute) through the Department of Commerce (DoC) invites and requests nominations of individuals for appointment to the Board. NIST will consider nominations received in response to this notice for appointment to the Board, in addition to nominations already received. Registered Federal lobbyists may not serve on NIST Federal Advisory Committees in an individual capacity.

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is issuing a final rule amending the regulations pertaining to the operation of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and the operation of its accreditation programs. The regulations are being revised to include recognition of proficiency testing as an accreditation activity, add or revise terms, and update NVLAP mailing information, in accordance with the applicable international standard. These changes will not impact the public directly, and will only result in minor changes to NIST's internal practices.

The Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, October 14, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and Thursday, October 15, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. All sessions will be open to the public.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Advisory Board will hold an open meeting on Tuesday, September 22, 2020.

The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Judges Panel) will meet in closed session on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time. The purpose of this meeting is to review the results of examiners' scoring of written applications. Panel members will vote on which applicants merit site visits by examiners to verify the accuracy of quality improvements claimed by applicants. The meeting is closed to the public in order to protect the proprietary data to be examined and discussed.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee) will hold a virtual meeting via web conference on Monday, November 9, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time and Tuesday, November 10, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary purpose of this meeting is for the Committee to review the activities of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and work on their 2021 biennial Report on the Effectiveness of NEHRP. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda and any meeting materials will be posted on the NEHRP website at http:// nehrp.gov/.

The Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Judges Panel) will meet on Wednesday, June 10, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review the role and responsibilities of the Judges Panel and information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in order to ensure the integrity of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Award) selection process. The agenda will include: Judges Panel roles and processes; Baldrige Program updates; new business/public comment; lessons learned from the 2019 judging process; and the 2020 Award process. A portion of this meeting is closed to the public in order to protect the proprietary data to be examined and discussed.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking information about public and private sector use of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, and standards, practices, and technologies used to manage cybersecurity risks, to systems, networks, and assets dependent on PNT services. Executive Order 13905, Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services, was issued on February 12, 2020 and seeks to protect the national and economic security of the United States from disruptions to PNT services that are vital to the functioning of technology and infrastructure, including the electrical power grid, communications infrastructure and mobile devices, all modes of transportation, precision agriculture, weather forecasting, and emergency response. Under Executive Order 13905, the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the heads of the Sector Specific Agencies and in consultation, as appropriate, with the private sector, is directed to develop and make available, to at least the appropriate agencies and private sector users, PNT profiles. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will inform NIST's development of a PNT profile, using the NIST Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (NIST Cybersecurity Framework), that will enable the public and private sectors to identify systems, networks, and assets dependent on PNT services; identify appropriate PNT services; detect the disruption and manipulation of PNT services; and manage the associated cybersecurity risks to the systems, networks, and assets dependent on PNT services.

The Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, June 24, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, and Thursday, June 25, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time. All sessions will be open to the public. NIST previously published a notice for this meeting on May 14, 2020, at 85 FR 28932, which contained incorrect links to several websites. This notice repeats the same information contained in the previous notice but contains corrected links.

The National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee (Committee) will hold a virtual meeting via web conference on Tuesday, June 30, 2020, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. Eastern Time and Wednesday, July 1, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The primary purpose of this meeting is to update the Committee on the status of the NCST investigation focused on the impacts of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, and the implementation of recommendations from previous NCST investigations, including the Joplin tornado investigation. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NIST website at https:// www.nist.gov/topics/disaster-failure-studies/national-constru ction- safety-team-ncst/advisory-committee-meetings.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT or Committee) will meet on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and Wednesday, June 10, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for the Validating the Integrity of Computing Devices project. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Validating the Integrity of Computing Devices project. Participation in the building block is open to all interested organizations.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Advisory Board will hold an open meeting on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for Protecting Information and System Integrity in Industrial Control System Environments for the Manufacturing sector. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Manufacturing sector program. Participation in the use case is open to all interested organizations.

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT or Committee) will meet on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and Thursday, February 13, 2020, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.