National Institute of Standards and Technology 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is publishing this notice on behalf of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to announce the availability of and request comments on the technical reports that will be presented at NFPA's 2012 Annual Revision Cycle.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites interested parties to attend a pre-consortium meeting on June 2-3, 2011 to be held on the NIST campus. The goal of the one-day meeting is to evaluate industry interest in creating a NIST/industry consortium focused on advanced neutron-based probes for soft materials. The goals of such a consortium would include the development of neutron-based measurements that would address critical needs for manufacturers of soft materials such as polymers, complex fluids, and protein-based materials. Advances in neutron-based measurement science are anticipated through the development of sample environments that closely mimic manufacturing processes, measurement methods to probe and analyze complex mixtures, and data analysis models that support routine measurements with high information content. The consortium would be administered by NIST. Consortium research and development would be conducted by NIST staff members along with at least one technical representative from each participating member company. CRADA contributions for participation in the consortium would be on the order of Twenty Thousand ($20,000) per year. The initial term of the consortium is intended to be three years.

The Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee), will hold a meeting via teleconference on Monday, April 25, 2011 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The primary purpose of this meeting is to review the Committee's draft annual report to the NIST Director. The draft report will be posted on the NEHRP Web site at https://nehrp.gov/. Interested members of the public will be able to participate in the meeting from remote locations by calling into a central phone number.

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce, requests comments on a proposed amendment to regulations pertaining to the operation of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). NIST proposes to revise the description of how NVLAP establishes laboratory accreditation programs (LAPs). The amendment is needed to clarify the original intent of this section and to improve the readability and understanding of the agency's regulations.

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.

NIST announces the Cloud Computing Forum & Workshop III to be held on April 7 and 8, 2011. The event will include keynotes from the U.S. Chief Information Officer, NIST Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, and other key federal officials. This workshop will provide information on the NIST strategic and tactical Cloud Computing program, including progress on the NIST efforts to advance open standards in interoperability, portability and security in cloud computing. The goals of this workshop are to present updates on: The NIST U.S. Government (USG) Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap; a series of high-value target U.S. Government Agency Cloud Computing Business Use Cases; a first version of a neutral cloud computing reference architecture and taxonomy; the NIST Standards Roadmap and the Standards Acceleration to Jumpstart the Adoption of Cloud Computing (SAJACC) process; and progress by the NIST Cloud Computing Security working group. The event will also include panels focusing on Cloud Computing across the Federal landscape as well as broad private sector topics.

The Smart Grid Advisory Committee (SGAC or Committee), will hold a meeting on Thursday, March 24, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to review the early findings and observations of each Subcommittee, strategize the Table of Contents for the Committee report to NIST, agree on the page limit for each subcommittee, and look for any common overarching themes. There will also be breakouts for each subcommittee to meet individually. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the Smart Grid Web site at https:// www.nist.gov/smartgrid.

This notice announces the Draft Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 180-4, Secure Hash Standard (SHS), for public review and comment. The draft standard, designated ``Draft FIPS 180-4'' is proposed to supersede FIPS 180-3.

On October 29, 2010, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on Proposed Voluntary Product Standard PS 2-10. The title of the notice incorrectly gave the title of Proposed Voluntary Product Standard PS 2-10 as ``Structural Plywood.'' The correct title of the proposed standard is ``Performance Standard for Wood-Based Structural-Use Panels,'' and appears in the body of the notice. NIST is issuing this notice to inform the public of the correct title of the October 29 notice and to reopen the comment period to encourage the public to submit comments on the proposed standard.

NIST invites stakeholders (e.g., industry, standards setting organizations, academia, trade associations, professional societies, and Federal, State and local government agencies, etc.) involved in standardization (standards setting and the use of standards) to attend a public meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Federal government's role in standards development and use to address national priorities. Registration for attending the event is strongly encouraged. The roundtable will also be webcast live.

NIST invites stakeholders (manufacturers, law enforcement, corrections, academia, military, test instrument manufacturers, etc.) of electroshock weapons that provide stand-off delivery of an electric shock to attend a public meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the need for standardized methods of testing the proper operation and performance of ESWs as well as other issues important to the stakeholder community. Attendance is limited to 45 and registration will be conducted on a first-come first-served basis. Teleconferencing will also be available and also requires pre-registration.

The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) 2011 Interim Meeting will be held January 23 to 26, 2011. Publication of this notice on the NCWM's behalf is undertaken as a public service. The meetings are open to the public but a paid registration is required. Please see registration information in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.