NIST DIRECTOR PATRICK GALLAGHER
© NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed Patrick Gallagher as the 14th director of its National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Although the title may be new to Gallagher, NIST's mission of developing measurement science, standards and technology isn't. The 46-year-old physicist began his career in the organization's NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) in 1993 to pursue studies in neutron and x-ray instrumentation; in 2004 he became NCNR's director.

Now Gallagher is responsible for NIST's broader set of programs, which includes a vast spectrum of research in areas including robotics and artificial intelligence, construction standards, computer security protocols and quantum physics, to name just a few.

The agency's Intelligent Systems Division, for example, has spent more than $125 million and three decades developing robotic autonomous intelligent control subsystem called 4D/RCS. The agency is also working with the Michigan Department of Transportation on a $19-million project to build next-generation monitoring systems for bridges. In an effort to improve data security, NIST compiled a list of recommendations that government departments and agencies encrypt all data on mobile computers and devices unless the information was deemed "nonsensitive" in writing by the department or agency head.

How important is NIST? Important enough for the Obama administration to promise the agency $610 million in funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to pay for research, grants and new equipment as well as the construction of new facilities and laboratories. (NIST's total budget for fiscal 2009 is $1.6 billion.)

ScientificAmerican.com recently spoke with Gallagher about this dramatic increase in funding, NIST's plans for that money, and the importance of high school math and science.

[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]

How would you define NIST's mission?
NIST has a broad mission to promote competitiveness. The best way to think of NIST is as a four-program organization, with NIST Laboratories being what most people think of when they think of NIST. These labs are the nation's measurement laboratory, and the work they do is designed to put trust into all the transactions and interactions that take place in our economy.

How much does NIST's work impact people's lives on a daily basis?
Think about what NIST does just in terms of how a computer operates. We work behind the scenes to define security standards such as the encryption used to code and decode the information sent over the Internet. Your computer's clock [[http://tf.nist.gov/]] is probably set using the NIST time signal. In the computer itself we've looked at the performance and energy efficiency of its chips and the materials used to make and solder those chips inside the computer. We also set standards for monitors and other display technologies.

There's no shortage of technology priorities for the country at this time. What would you say are some of the most significant?
It's less about which technologies are driving, and more about what's pulling on the technology. Technology is a big component of how the country will solve a lot of problems. As a country, we have to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, improve health care delivery, and improve physical infrastructure. Technology will play a critical role in how we do this, and NIST has to provide the measurements and standards to ensure this technology is up to the challenge.

Why are measurements and standards so important?
Most technologies are not in and of themselves self-sufficient, or vertically integrated. You assemble most technologies from other technologies, and you need to know that these different components will fit together. This almost always involves a measured standard. If you're going to buy a smart meter or a smart appliance for your home, you're going to want to know that this technology will talk to the smart grid, and that's a measurement problem.

What role will measurements and standards play in the development of electronic medical records, a technology the Obama administration has made a top priority?
At a very deep level, it's about changing the way we do medicine. NIST has two roles: One is supporting how the medical systems that create the information for these records interoperate. The other is establishing protocols for medical tests. There's a lot more art than science here today, because the people who developed these different technologies had a different approach that maybe didn't take measurement science into account. They were more focused on providing a specific outcome for a specific procedure. NIST is full of measurement specialists, so we have a different way of looking at things. For example, there aren't standards when it comes to medical imaging, and this is an area we're actively working to develop.