[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 165 (Thursday, August 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46655-46656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22217]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)


Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Request for nominations of members to serve on the Visiting 
Committee on Advanced Technology.

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SUMMARY: NIST invites and requests nomination of individuals for 
appointment to the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT). 
The terms of some of the members of the VCAT will soon expire. NIST 
will consider nominations received in response to this notice for 
appointment to the Committee, in addition to nominations already 
received.

DATES: Please submit nominations on or before September 16, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please submit nominations to Dr. Brian C. Belanger, 
Executive Director, Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology, National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 
1004, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1004. Nominations may also be submitted 
via FAX to 301-948-1224.
    Additional information regarding the Committee, including its 
charter, current membership list, and executive summary may be found on 
its electronic home page at: http://www.nist.gov/director/vcat/
vcat.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Brian C. Belanger, Executive 
Director, Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology, National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1004, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1004; telephone 301-975-4720, fax 301-948-1224; 
or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. VCAT Information

    The VCAT was established in accordance with 15 U.S.C. 278 and the

[[Page 46656]]

Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. app.2).

Objectives and Duties

    1. The Committee shall review and make recommendations regarding 
general policy for NIST, its organization, its budget, and its 
programs, within the framework of applicable national policies set 
forth by the President and the Congress.
    2. The Committee functions solely as an advisory body, in 
accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
    3. The Committee shall report to the Director of NIST.
    4. The Committee shall provide a written annual report, through the 
Director of NIST, to the Secretary of Commerce for submission to the 
Congress on or before January 31 each year. Such report shall deal 
essentially, though not necessarily exclusively, with policy issues or 
matters which affect the Institute, or with which the Committee in its 
official role as the private sector policy adviser of the Institute is 
concerned. Each such report shall identify areas of research and 
research techniques of the Institute of potential importance to the 
long-term competitiveness of United States industry, which could be 
used to assist United States enterprises and United States industrial 
joint research and development ventures. The Committee shall submit to 
the Secretary and the Congress such additional reports on specific 
policy matters as it deems appropriate.

Membership

    1. The Committee is composed of fifteen members that provide 
representation of a cross-section of traditional and emerging United 
States industries. Members shall be selected solely on the basis of 
established records of distinguished service and shall be eminent in 
one or more fields such as business, research, new product development, 
engineering, labor, education, management consulting, environment, and 
international relations. No employee of the Federal Government shall 
serve as a member of the Committee.
    2. The Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology shall appoint the members of the Committee, and they will be 
selected on a clear, standardized basis, in accordance with applicable 
Department of Commerce guidance.

Miscellaneous

    1. Members of the VCAT are not paid for their service, but will, 
upon request, be allowed travel expenses in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 
5701 et seq., while attending meetings of the Committee or of its 
subcommittees, or while otherwise performing duties at the request of 
the chairperson, while away from their homes or a regular place of 
business.
    2. Meetings of the VCAT take place in the Washington, DC 
metropolitan area, usually at the NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, 
Maryland, and once each year at the NIST headquarters in Boulder, 
Colorado. Meetings are one or two days in duration and are held 
quarterly.
    3. Committee meetings are open to the public except for 
approximately one hours, usually at the beginning of the meeting, a 
closed session is held in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6), because 
divulging information discussed in those portions of the meetings is 
likely to reveal information of a personal nature where disclosure 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. 
All other portions of the meetings are open to the public.

II. Nomination Information

    1. Nominations are sought from all fields described above.
    2. Nominees should have established records of distinguished 
service and shall be eminent in fields such as business, research, new 
product development, engineering, labor, education, management 
consulting, environment and international relations. The category 
(field of eminence) for which the candidate is qualified should be 
specified in the nomination letter. Nominations for a particular 
category should come from organizations or individuals within that 
category. A summary of the candidate's qualifications should be 
included with the nomination, including (where applicable) current or 
former service on federal advisory boards and federal employment. In 
addition, each nomination letter should state that the person agrees to 
the nomination, acknowledge the responsibilities of serving on the 
VCAT, and will actively participate in good faith in the tasks of the 
VCAT. Besides participation at meetings, it is desired that members be 
able to devote the equivalent of two days between meetings to either 
developing or researching topics of potential interest, and so forth in 
furtherance of their Committee duties.
    3. The Department of Commerce is committed to equal opportunity in 
the workplace and seeks a broad-based and diverse VCAT membership.

    Dated: August 17, 1999.
Karen H. Brown,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 99-22217 Filed 8-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-30-M