NIST and the American Competitiveness Initiative

By Dr. William Jeffrey, Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology , B.Sc. Physics, MIT, 1982

Abstract
Recent publications ranging from Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat” to the National Academies' “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” have made the association between a robust national research agenda and America’s future economic security. In the most recent State of the Union address, President Bush outlined the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) as part of the Administration’s response to ensuring America’s future competitiveness. Under ACI, the physical science research at the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy (Office of Science), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will double over the next ten years. Dr. Jeffrey will discuss the ACI, NIST’s role in supporting the nation’s economic security, and highlight current research areas of focus.

About the Speaker
William Jeffrey is the 13th Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), sworn into the office on July 26, 2005. He was nominated by President Bush on May 25, 2005, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 22, 2005.

As director of NIST, Dr. Jeffrey oversees an array of programs that promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life. Operating in fiscal year 2006 on a budget of about $930 million, NIST is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., with additional laboratories in Boulder, Colo. An agency of the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration, NIST has extensive cooperative research programs with industry, academia, and other government agencies.

Dr. Jeffrey has been involved in federal science and technology programs and policy since 1988. Prior to his appointment to NIST, he served as senior director for homeland and national security and assistant director for space and aeronautics at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) within the Executive Office of the President. Earlier, he was the deputy director for the Advanced Technology Office and chief scientist for the Tactical Technology Office with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Prior to joining DARPA, Dr. Jeffrey was the assistant deputy for technology at the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office, where he supervised sensor development for the Predator and Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. He also spent several years working at the Institute for Defense Analyses performing technical analyses in support of the Department of Defense.

Dr. Jeffrey received his Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University and his B.Sc. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.