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Due to scheduling conflicts, the Measurement Needs for Nanotechnology Environmental Health and Safety Workshop, originally scheduled on April 3-4, 2008 in Boulder, CO, has been incorporated into the Environmental Health & Safety Issues in Nanomaterials Workshop on June 9-10, 2008, in Crystal City, VA. New Workshop! Environmental, Health and Safety Issues in Nanomaterials Crystal City, Virginia This June workshop will be a key component in a continuing assessment of measurement needs and solutions for nanotechnology environmental health and safety (Nano EHS). You are invited to attend to:
We look forward to working with you for your benefit and the benefit of the US Measurement System as a whole. Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding the June workshop or the USMS in general. We also encourage you to submit Measurement Needs prior to the workshop. Completed templates may be e-mailed to Clare Allocca. Measurement Needs received by Tuesday, May 27, 2008 will be examined prior to the workshop. We will also develop Measurement Needs during the actual workshop. Please click here to download the measurements needs template (Microsoft Word format), » For more information, and to register... The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been engaged in a continuing needs-based assessment of the state of the United States Measurement System (USMS), which encompasses the entire set of measurement solution providers and users. NIST established a permanent office in August 2007 to institutionalize and expand upon the assessment with the objective of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the USMS. By enabling easy access to relevant information, expertise, and potential customers and partners, it is anticipated that the USMS will be better positioned to meet the demands of continually accelerating innovation cycles.
An Assessment of the United States Measurement System: Addressing Measurement Barriers to Accelerate Innovation (NIST Special Publication 1048)Across the innovation spectrum — from laboratory to marketplace — measurements are a necessary means to important ends. Businesses, universities, and government laboratories need access to ever-improving measurement capabilities if the United States is to remain a technology leader and reap the resulting economic benefits. But will these essential tools be available when they are needed? A new report based on an analysis of more than 700 scientific and technical measurement challenges facing U.S. industry today, calls on the public and private sectors to address those challenges by crafting a “strategic, long-term approach” designed to sustain U.S. innovation at a world-leading pace. The call for collaboration is one of several key messages contained in An Assessment of the United States Measurement System: Addressing Measurement Barriers to Accelerate Innovation, a new report from the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The report is the product of a NIST-led survey and analysis of measurement-related needs for supporting innovation across a sample of 11 industrial sectors and technology areas. These ranged from materials to software and from building and construction to nanotechnology. In all, more than 1,000 people in industry, academia and government were involved in the study. Examples of the measurement challenges identified included the need for versatile, high-accuracy methods to measure the three-dimensional geometry of manufactured products and the need for tools for measuring the properties of nanodevices and materials. “The 21st century will be defined by new technologies that fundamentally change the products available, the way they are manufactured and the impact on our quality of life,” says NIST Director William Jeffrey. “But before these technologies can be realized—and commercialized—new measurement techniques will be needed. Ensuring the health of the nation’s measurement infrastructure is vital to enable U.S. industry to maintain and enhance our global economic competitiveness.” Measurement challenges distilled in the report were identified in 15 specially convened workshops, reviews of more than 160 technology “roadmaps” produced by public and private sector organizations, and interviews. The assessment of the nation’s measurement infrastructure was unique in its focus on technological innovation and in its system-wide scope, encompassing a varied sample of private and public sector organizations ranging from university laboratories to commercial testing services to regulators. It resulted in 14 conclusions regarding the structure and function of the U.S. measurement system (USMS), challenges posed by progress in science and technology, and potential actions to ensure that anticipated measurement capabilities are available to U.S. industry when needed. The emphasis on innovation reflects growing recognition that the nation’s future prosperity and security will depend increasingly on how well the United States performs in conceiving, developing and applying new technology and in introducing it into the marketplace. This year, for example, the U.S. semiconductor industry alone will spend a projected $9 billion on measurement equipment. Studies and industry forecasts cite measurement-related challenges as major barriers to continued miniaturization of the circuits that are at the heart of today’s vast offerings of electronic gear. Successful development and introduction of important next-generation products will hinge on progress on several measurement-related fronts. For example, realization of the promise of quantum computing, nanoscale devices and other frontier technologies will require advances in the science of measurement. With regard to nanotechnology, the report says, “Industry is limited not only in its ability to measure key parameters but also in its ability to identify which key parameters must be measured to meet anticipated regulations.” In addition, breakthroughs in measurement capabilities may be necessary to clear a path to market. “Innovation has in some cases been stalled,” the study explains, “due to lack of measurement technology to assure and verify compliance or to resolve questions regarding potential risks and hazards that emerging technologies may pose.” The study defines the USMS as the “complex network of all private and public organizations that develop, supply, use, and ensure the validity of measurements.” This network extends well beyond NIST and the calibration laboratories, accreditation services, weights and measures regulations, and other organizational elements focused primarily on ensuring fairness in domestic and international trade. Most previous studies on the economics of measurement, carried out in the United States and other nations, have been confined to this more limited perspective, and have not focused on the role of measurement in accelerating innovation. For its part, the report says, NIST will use this assessment to focus its own work in support of U.S. innovation and competitiveness. The report’s results and findings, along with input gathered in follow-up activities, will inform NIST's strategic planning decisions. NIST also plans to work with other organizations in both the private and public sectors to raise awareness of the important role that advances in measurement science and technology play in boosting innovation. |
The International Systems of Units (SIs) has seven base units (length, time, mass, etc.) Accurate traceability to the SI definition of length is critical for precision dimensional measurements.
A number of discrete areas requiring intensive measurement support such as semiconductor fabrication technology will be assessed.
Measurement needs will also be determined for several "wide-scope" technologies such as biomedical imaging.
The USMS assessment will focus first on three economically important industries--semiconductors, automobiles, and software. |
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