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

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 U.S. Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Law Enforcement Standards Office (OLES), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC), will hold a public meeting on May 13, 2011, via teleconference. The purpose of the meeting is to gather input for the development of conformance and interoperability tests for select Project 25 (P25) conventional mode features and functionalities. These tests are developed for the DHS/OIC P25 Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) Governing Board (GB) and will be incorporated into P25 CAP Compliance Assessment Bulletins (CABs).

On April 1, 2011, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing an open meeting for the Technology Innovation Program Advisory Board. NIST is issuing this notice to correct the day of the meeting as stated in the Summary section. NIST erroneously stated the day as Tuesday, May 18, 2011. The correct day is Wednesday, May 18, 2011. The rest of the notice remains the same and is published here for the public's convenience.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app., notice is hereby given that there will be a meeting of the Panel of Judges of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award on June 14, 2011. The Panel of Judges is composed of twelve members prominent in the fields of quality, innovation, and performance management and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, assembled to advise the Secretary of Commerce on the conduct of the Baldrige Award. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and from the Chair of the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The agenda will include: Overview of the Role of the Judges and Scoring Data Reviewed at the September 2010 Meeting, 2011 Baldrige Award Cycle, Conflict of Interest, Judges' Survey of Applicants, Judging Process Improvement Discussion and Judges' Mentoring Program.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is publishing this notice on behalf of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to announce the NFPA's proposal to revise some of its fire safety codes and standards and requests proposals from the public to amend existing or begin the process of developing new NFPA fire safety codes and standards. The purpose of this request is to increase public participation in the system used by NFPA to develop its codes and standards.

The Technology Innovation Program Advisory Board, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will meet in open session on Tuesday, May 18, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern daylight savings time.

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 American Petroleum Institute (API), with the assistance of other interested parties, continues to develop standards, both national and international, in several areas. This notice lists the standardization efforts currently being conducted by API committees. The publication of this notice by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of API is being undertaken as a public service. NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend the standards referenced.

The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) will hold a public workshop on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at the Marriott Hotel, Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center, located at 9751 Washingtonian Boulevard, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. The purpose of the workshop is the exchange of information among NVLAP, the NIST Information Technology Laboratory, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), laboratories interested in seeking NVLAP accreditation to perform Testing of Health Information Technology (HIT) electronic health record technology under the permanent certification program administered under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, HHS. There is no charge for the workshop; however, advanced registration is necessary. There will be no on-site, same-day registration. The deadline is Wednesday, April 20, 2011.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) publishes this notice to request comments on Draft Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 201-2, ``Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors Standard.'' Draft FIPS 201-2 amends FIPS 201-1 and includes clarifications of existing text, removal of conflicting requirements, additional text to improve clarity, adaptation to changes in the environment since the publication of FIPS 201-1, and specific changes requested by Federal agencies and implementers. NIST has received numerous change requests, some of which, after analysis and coordination with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and United States Government (USG) stakeholders, are incorporated in the Draft FIPS 201-2. Before recommending FIPS 201-2 to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval, NIST invites comments from the public concerning the proposed changes. NIST will hold a public workshop at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD to present the Draft FIPS 201-2. Please see admittance instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

The Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee), will meet Thursday, March 10, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday, March 11, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to gather information for the Committee's 2011 Annual Report of the Effectiveness of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NEHRP Web site at https://nehrp.gov/.

The Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, March 2, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., Thursday, March 3, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., and Friday, March 4, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. All sessions will be open to the public.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, on behalf of the National Science and Technology Council's Sub-Committee on Standards, announces the extension of the period for submission of comments responsive to the December 8, 2010 Request for Information on the effectiveness of Federal agencies' participation in the development and implementation of standards and conformity assessment activities and programs. The new comment period deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 7, 2011.

The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Tuesday, February 1, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, February 2, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology is composed of fifteen members appointed by the Director of NIST who are eminent in such fields as business, research, new product development, engineering, labor, education, management consulting, environment, and international relations.

This notice announces changes to existing provisions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Alternative Personnel Management System (APMS), primarily to expedite hiring and align APMS Direct-Hire procedures with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR part 337 and 69 FR 114). NIST will pilot direct-hire authority under 5 CFR part 337, subpart B, for a period of one year from the issuance date of this notice, for all positions within NIST in the Scientific and Engineering (ZP) career path at the Pay Band III and above, for Nuclear Reactor Operator positions in the Scientific and Engineering Technician (ZT) career path at Pay Band III and above, and for all occupations for which there is a special rate under the General Schedule pay system.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the following programs are soliciting applications for financial assistance for FY 2011: (1) The NIST Gaithersburg Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Programs, and (2) the NIST Boulder Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Programs. Each program will only consider applications that are within the scientific scope of the program as described in this notice and in the detailed program descriptions found in the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement for these programs. Please note that due to a change in Department of Commerce policy, in future years these programs will be announced only on https://www.grants.gov; they will not be announced in the Federal Register.

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 Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee), will hold a meeting via conference call on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The primary purpose of this meeting is to develop recommendations for public release on the upcoming New Madrid Bicentennial events. Interested members of the public will be able to participate in the meeting from remote locations by calling into a central phone number.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Innovation Program (TIP) announces that it is seeking comments on white papers prepared by TIP staff from any interested party, including academia; Federal, State, and local governments; industry; national laboratories; and professional organizations/ societies; and others. Comments will assist in the further refinement of areas of critical national need and the associated technical challenges that could be addressed in future TIP competitions.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) proposes to revise some of its safety codes and standards and requests proposals from the public to amend existing or begin the process of developing new NFPA safety codes and standards. The purpose of this request is to increase public participation in the system used by NFPA to develop its codes and standards. The publication of this notice of request for proposals by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of NFPA is being undertaken as a public service; NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend any of the standards referenced in the notice. The NFPA process provides ample opportunity for public participation in the development of its codes and standards. All NFPA codes and standards are revised and updated every three to five years in Revision Cycles that begin twice each year and take approximately two years to complete. Each Revision Cycle proceeds according to a published schedule that includes final dates for all major events in the process. The code revision Process contains five basic steps that are followed for developing new documents as well as revising existing documents: Call for Proposals; Publishing the Report on Proposals (ROP); Call for Comments on the Committee's disposition of the Proposals and publication of these Comments in the Report on Comments (ROC); the Association Technical Meeting at the NFPA Conference & Expo; and finally, the Standards Council Consideration and Issuance of documents.

Since 1896, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has accomplished its mission by advocating scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research, and education for safety related issues. NFPA's National Fire Codes [supreg], which holds over 290 documents, are administered by more than 238 Technical Committees comprised of approximately 7,200 volunteers and are adopted and used throughout the world. NFPA is a nonprofit membership organization with approximately 80,000 members from over 70 nations, all working together to fulfill the Association's mission. The NFPA process provides ample opportunity for public participation in the development of its codes and standards. All NFPA codes and standards are revised and updated every three to five years in Revision Cycles that begin twice each year and take approximately two years to complete. Each Revision Cycle proceeds according to a published schedule that includes final dates for all major events in the process. The process contains five basic steps that are followed both for developing new documents as well as revising existing documents. These steps are: Calling for Proposals; Publishing the Proposals in the Report on Proposals; Calling for Comments on the Committee's disposition of the Proposals and these Comments are published in the Report on Comments; having a Technical Report Session at the NFPA Conference and Expo; and finally, the Standards Council Consideration and Issuance of documents.

This is a notice in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i) that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (``NIST''), U.S. Department of Commerce, is contemplating the grant of an exclusive license in the United States of America, its territories, possessions and commonwealths, to NIST's interest in the invention embodied in U.S. Patent Application No. 12/820,218, titled ``Magnetic Connectors For Microfluidic Applications,'' NIST Docket No. 09-020 to SFC Fluidics, LLC, having a place of business at 534 W. Research Center Blvd. Suite 260, Fayetteville, AR 72701. The grant of the license would be for the field of use: Magnetic Connectors For Microfluidic Applications.

The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Wednesday, October 13, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday, October 14, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology is composed of fifteen members appointed by the Director of NIST who are eminent in such fields as business, research, new product development, engineering, labor, education, management consulting, environment, and international relations.

The Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, November 3, 2010, from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Thursday, November 4, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Friday, November 5, 2010 from 8 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. All sessions will be open to the public.

The Smart Grid Advisory Committee (SGAC or Committee), will hold a meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to provide an orientation for Committee members and provide an update on NIST's Smart Grid program. 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.