An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Measurement and Standards Laboratories Fiscal Year 2000 (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory
Pages 151-182
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6 Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory 151
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Winterbottom, AEMP Corporation Submitted for the panel by its Chair, James Economy, this assessment of the fiscal year 2000 activities of the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory is based on site visits by individual panel members, a formal meeting of the panel on March 16-17, 2000, in Gaithersburg, Md., and documents provided by the laboratory.
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From page 153... ...
For example, the Synchrotron Radiation Characterization Program develops, maintains, and applies measurement methods using synchrotron radiation for a variety of materials science problems. This program is carried out by scientists of outstanding abilities, who have great enthusiasm for their work and have made possible unparalleled materials characterization capabilities.
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As of January 2000, staffing for the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory included 178 full-time permanent positions, of which 151 were for technical professionals. There were also 34 nonpermanent and supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and part-time workers.
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The value of postdoctoral positions as a recruitment tool is demonstrated by the fact that four of the five current division chiefs came to MSEL through the postdoctoral program. The panel applauds a fiscal year 2001 proposal for increased funding for the postdoctoral program at NIST and hopes for the proposal's success, because more postdoctoral fellows would be a boon to MSEL.
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The division has been diligent in evolving its program mix to meet the needs of the modern ceramic materials field. The primary focus of the Ceramic Coatings Program has been ceramic thermal barrier coatings, with specific attention paid to coatings produced by plasma spray techniques.
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Results from the Ceramic Thin Film Measurement and Standards Program continue to be published in the most highly regarded journals in the field. The Magnetic Materials Program contributes through the development of techniques for nanotribology.
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Similarly, for the Phase Equilibria for Ceramics and Metals Program, the sales of output data compilations give ample quantitative evidence of the positive impact. Finally, the willingness of the members of the industrial review panel that provides guidance to the Ceramic Thin Film Measurements and Standards Program to donate their time and expertise is concrete evidence of the importance of this program to the industries it serves.
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The panel suggests that the Ceramics Processing and Characterization Council continue to be relied on for communication and that the Ceramics Division take a stronger role in leveraging its in-house expertise and experience in project selection. The impact of the Ceramic Coatings Program can be assessed by looking at industry's needs.
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Finally, the panel commends the Ceramics Division staff for their high-quality work and the division chief, in particular, for his skilled guidance of ceramic programs and responsiveness to the changing needs of the nation in the field of ceramic materials. Materials Reliability Division Division Mission According to division documentation, the mission of the Materials Reliability Division is to develop measurement technologies that enable the producers and users of materials to improve the quality and reliability of their products.
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Each group in the division has ties to appropriate industries. Technical Merit and Appropriateness of Work The Materials Reliability Division underwent substantial changes in fiscal year 1999.
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As of January 2000, staffing in the Materials Reliability Division included 19 full-time permanent positions, of which 17 were for technical professionals. There were also three nonpermanent and supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and part-time workers.
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Polymers Division Division Mission According to division documentation, the Polymers Division mission is to provide standards, measurement methods, and fundamental concepts in support of the measurement infrastructure for U.S. industries that produce or use polymers in essential parts of their business.
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The Polymers Division is organized into five groups: Electronic Applications, Polymer Blends and Processing, Polymer Composites, Polymer Characterization, and Dental and Medical Materials.3 In addition, there is a division-wide effort in theory and modeling that is coordinated with MSEL's Center for Theoretical and Computational Materials Science. This effort is now well integrated into many programs in the division.
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A major new project on mass spectroscopy of polyolefins aims at providing measurement methods and standards needed by industry to characterize important properties of these polymers. Since the previous assessment, the group has worked on preparing, calibrating, and supplying SRMs to U.S.
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polymer industry, as well as supporting other projects within the division. The Dental and Medical Materials Group has continued to serve the dental materials industry and provides practicing dentists with new materials, reference materials, measurement methods, and technology transfer, while steadily refocusing NIST work to include important new thrusts such as tissue engineering for bone grafts.
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As of January 2000, staffing for the Polymers Division included 43 full-time permanent positions, of which 38 were for technical professionals. There were also nine nonpermanent and supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and part-time workers.
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Technical Merit and Appropriateness of Work The Metallurgy Division is organized into five groups according to core expertise: Metallurgical Processing, Electrochemical Processing, Magnetic Materials, Materials Structure and Characterization, and Materials Performance. Senior staff in each of the core disciplines have selected projects that draw unon the unique canahilitv of staff and the world-claL~Ls techniques available to them and that imnact ~ 1 ~ ~ 1 ~ high-priority national industrial needs.
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The project on lightweight materials for automotive applications has significantly speeded up the introduction of lightweight materials into the transportation industry, with capabilities for modeling sheet metal-forming processes and a state-of-the-art measuring system to provide forming data for validating the models. This project is a collaboration with the Materials Reliability Division.
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To further ensure that the technology being developed has the desired impact on the U.S. industrial community, the Metallurgy Division sponsors workshops; participates in technical consortia; and encourages staff to present papers, to attend professional meetings, and to play leadership roles in interagency and standards committees.
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As of January 2000, staffing for the Metallurgy Division included 42 full-time permanent positions, of which 39 were for technical professionals. There were also 11 nonpermanent and supplemental personnel, such as postdoctoral research associates and part-time workers.
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This illustrates just how close the Metallurgy Division is to critical mass. There are clearly funding issues that affect the division's operations as well.
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Department of Commerce, Technology Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST Center for Neutron Research: 1999 Programs and Accomplishments, NISTIR 6437, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., January 2000.
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The subpanel applauds management's aggressive, uncompromising approach to corrective maintenance and its demonstrated willingness to sacrifice the operating schedule whenever necessary to keep the reactor in excellent operating condition. Although collective radiation dose data were not yet available for the entire calendar year, data through August 1999 appeared to be closely tracking collective dose data from prior years.
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The subpanel observed previously that considerably more use could be made of the instruments with large user bases if there were enhancements to the available software. This is especially critical for the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)
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Inelastic scattering experiments using spin-polarized inelastic neutron scattering (SPINS) in this system have uncovered an unexpected first-order phase transition into an ordered state with a finite-energy localized-spin excitation of unknown origin.
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Researchers in the Macromolecular and Microstructure Science Program very successfully meet their goals of developing methods and supporting a large and vigorous user community in this area. The methods of SANS and reflectivity relate submicron structure to bulk properties and provide key data for a broad range of materials.
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Especially noteworthy are improvements in on-site data storage and analysis support. A major concern of the user community relates to the timing of the pending reactor shutdown for upgrade of the cold source and cooling towers.
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NCNR Resources Funding sources for Neutron Research are shown in Table 6.6. The NCNR staffing currently includes 85 full-time permanent positions, of which 78 are for technical professionals.
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As an example of such an outreach mechanism, the subpanel applauds the effort under way by the condensed matter staff to establish an effective visiting program for theorists. Similar staff-initiated steps should be pursued by other parts of the science program.
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· The timing of the planned reactor shutdown to connect the new cooling tower and install the new cold neutron source has become a valid concern for the NCNR user community. If work cannot begin before spring 2001, the shutdown would coincide with the scheduled upgrade of the Oak Ridge HEIR facility.
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