The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is asking for public comment on four white papers that outline potential areas for research funding grants under the Institute's Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The papers outline national needs for new and improved technologies in the areas of monitoring and repair of the civil infrastructure, manufacturing technologies for advanced materials, enabling technologies for an electric power "smart grid," and technologies for health care based on proteomics, data analysis and biomanufacturing.
TIP was established to support, promote and accelerate the development of innovative technologies that address critical national needs in the United States. The program holds competitions for R&D funding for U.S. businesses, institutions of higher education, and other organizations on specific research areas. The white paper process and public reviews are one of the means TIP employs to select appropriate areas for funding. (See "NIST Issues New Call for White Papers on Critical National Needs, " NIST Tech Beat, Sept. 8, 2009.)
The four white papers that are the subject of the current call for comments are:
* Advanced Sensing Technologies and Advanced Repair Materials for Infrastructure: Water Systems, Dams, Levees, Bridges, Roads, and Highways, available at *
www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/civil_wp_11_5_09.pdf
(comments to be sent to civil.tipwp@nist.gov);
* Accelerating the Incorporation of Materials Advances into Manufacturing Processes, available at *
www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/manufacturing_wp_11_5_09.pdf
(comments to be sent to mfg.tipwp@nist.gov);
* Technologies to Enable a Smart Grid, available at *
www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/energy_wp_11_5_09.pdf
(comments to be sent to energy.tipwp@nist.gov); and
* Advanced Technologies for Proteomics, Data Integration and Analysis and Biomanufacturing for Personalized Medicine, available at *
www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/healthcare_wp_11_5_09.pdf
(comments to be sent to health.tipwp@nist.gov.)
Comments on these white papers will be accepted through Sept. 30, 2010.
For an explanation of how TIP white papers are developed and detailed instructions on how to prepare and submit a white paper to TIP, see A Guide for Preparing and Submitting White Papers on Areas of Critical National Need, available at *
www.nist.gov/tip/guide_for_white_papers.pdf
.
The full text of the Nov. 6, 2009, Federal Register notice with this request for comments is available at *
www.nist.gov/tip/2009_tip_frn_wp_comments_11_6_09.pdf
.
*The Technology Innovation Program was cancelled in the fiscal year 2012 budget. All available TIP white papers are now located at www.nist.gov/tip/wp/index.cfm.
