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

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks comments on a preliminary set of smart grid interoperability standards and specifications identified for inclusion in the Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Framework, Release 1.0.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is establishing a financial assistance program to award research grants and cooperative agreements to support measurement science and engineering research proposals in the following six focus areas: Energy; environment and climate change; information technology/ cybersecurity; biosciences/healthcare; manufacturing; and physical infrastructure, as part of NIST's activities implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or Recovery Act).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that it will hold a NIST Construction Grant Program competition under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is soliciting proposals for financial assistance.

On March 31, 2009, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the solicitation of proposals for a single fiscal year 2009 Technology Innovation Program (TIP) competition. NIST is issuing this notice to clarify the eligibility criteria in that notice.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Tuesday, June 9, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, June 10, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.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.

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[reg], which hold 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.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that there will be a meeting of the Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award on June 17, 2009. The Board of Overseers is composed of eleven members prominent in the fields of quality, innovation, and performance excellence 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 with the members of the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The agenda will include: Baldrige Program Strategic Plan, Initiation of Two Contracts, and Baldrige Collaborative and ``Trifecta'' (Baldrige Program, Baldrige Foundation, and the Alliance for Performance Excellence) Activities.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is soliciting applications for financial assistance from accredited colleges and universities to enable those institutions to provide laboratory experiences and financial assistance to undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral associates at the NIST, Boulder Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado.

The inventions listed below are owned in whole or in part by the U.S. Government, as represented by the Secretary of Commerce. The U.S. Government's interest in these inventions is available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development.

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.

This notice advises the public that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking comments for the proposed revision of Voluntary Product Standard (PS) 20-05, ``American Softwood Lumber Standard.'' This standard, prepared by the American Lumber Standard Committee, serves the procurement and regulatory needs of numerous federal, state, and local government agencies by providing for uniform, industry-wide grade-marking and inspection requirements for softwood lumber. The implementation of the standard also allows for uniform labeling and auditing of treated wood and, through a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, labeling and auditing of wood packaging materials for international trade. As part of a five-year review process, NIST is seeking public comment and invites interested parties to review the revised standard and submit comments.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app., notice is hereby given that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Advisory Board, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Sunday, April 19, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This meeting is being held in conjunction with MEP's National Conference in Orlando, Florida. The MEP Advisory Board is composed of ten members appointed by the Director of NIST who were selected for their expertise in the area of industrial extension and their work on behalf of smaller manufacturers. The Board was established to fill a need for advice and assessment on MEP's plans, strategies and performance. MEP is a unique program consisting of centers across the United States and Puerto Rico, with partnerships at the State, Federal, and local levels. The Board provides input and advice on MEP's programs, plans, and policies. At this meeting, the

The inventions listed below are owned in whole or in part by the U.S. Government, as represented by the Secretary of Commerce. The U.S. Government's interest in these inventions is available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of Federally funded research and development.

The Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee), will hold a meeting on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The primary purpose of this meeting is to review and finalize the Committee's draft reauthorization letter to the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC). The draft letter 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 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 inventions listed below are owned in whole or in part by the U.S. Government, as represented by the Secretary of Commerce. The U.S. Government's interest in these inventions is available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR Part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces that the following programs are soliciting applications for financial assistance for FY 2009: (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.

The Interim Meeting of the 94th National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held January 11 to 14, 2009. Publication of this notice on the NCWM's behalf is undertaken as a public service; NIST does not endorse, approve, or recommend any of the proposals contained in this notice or in the publications of the NCWM mentioned below. The meetings are open to the public but registration is required. Registration information is stated in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Innovation Program (TIP) announces that it is seeking white papers from any interested party, including academia; federal, state, and local governments; industry; national laboratories; and professional organizations/societies. White papers will be used to identify and select areas of critical national need to be addressed in future TIP competitions.

The Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR or Committee), will meet Wednesday, December 17, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday, December 18, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to have an overview of the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) Center and have roundtable discussions on social sciences and lifelines. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NEHRP Web site at https://nehrp.gov/.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., notice is hereby given that the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, December 3, 2008 from 8:30 p.m. until 5 p.m., Thursday, December 4, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Friday, December 5, 2008 from 8 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. All sessions will be open to the public. The Advisory Board was established by the Computer Security Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-235) and amended by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107- 347) to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of NIST on security and privacy issues pertaining to federal computer systems. Details regarding the Board's activities are available at https:// csrc.nist.gov/groups/SMA/ispab//.

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 that takes 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 Annual Meeting; 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 270 documents, are administered by more than 225 Technical Committees comprised of approximately 7,000 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 that 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 Annual Meeting; and finally, the Standards Council Consideration and Issuance of documents.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Tuesday, October 28, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, October 29, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 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 purpose of this meeting is to review and make recommendations regarding general policy for the Institute, its organization, its budget, and its programs within the framework of applicable national policies as set forth by the President and the Congress. The theme for the meeting is ``NIST's Roles in Innovation and NIST's Strategic Plan.'' The agenda will include an update on NIST, presentations on Safety at NIST, a review of NIST's roles in innovation, a review of NIST's external relationships, and an overview of NIST's Strategic Plan, followed by an update on the Biosciences Strategic Plan, the status of the Nanotechnology Strategic Plan, and a presentation on the NIST Facilities Strategic Plan. Guest speakers have been invited to address the benefits and potential benefits of selected NIST partnerships. Other agenda items include laboratory tours and a VCAT feedback session on draft recommendations for the 2008 Annual Report. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NIST Web site at https://www.nist.gov/ director/vcat/agenda.htm.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the NIST Blue Ribbon Commission on Management and Safety, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will meet Wednesday, September 17, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD. This notice is in follow-up to the preliminary notice of a public meeting by the Commission on August 15, 2008, (Ref. Federal Register Notice: August 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 159, pages 47882-47883). The Blue Ribbon Commission on Management and Safety is composed of 7 members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce who are eminent in one or more of the following areas: Management and organizational structure; Training and human resources operations; Laboratory management and safety; Hazardous materials safety; Emergency medical response; Environmental safety; Environmental remediation; and Security for hazardous materials. The purpose of this meeting is to review and ultimately provide advice to the Department of Commerce on whether (a) The training, safety, security, and response protocols, (b) the implementation of those protocols and internal controls, and (c) the management structure at NIST are appropriate to ensure safe operations of all NIST programs. The agenda for this meeting will focus on NIST safety and management structure as well as a discussion of the findings from recent safety audits and investigations. The agenda may change to accommodate Commission business.