[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 214 (Friday, November 6, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57452-57453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-26835]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Technology Innovation Program (TIP) Seeks Comments on White 
Papers

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) 
Technology Innovation Program (TIP) announces that it is seeking 
comments on white papers prepared by TIP staff from any interested 
party, including academia; Federal, state, and local governments; 
industry; national laboratories; and professional organizations/
societies. The white papers are posted on TIP's Web site (URL). 
Comments will assist in the further refinement of areas of critical 
national need and the associated technical challenges that could be 
addressed in future TIP competitions.

DATES: The suggested dates for submission of comments on white papers 
are: November 9, 2009 through September 30, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Comments on white papers must be submitted to TIP using the 
comment button found on the first and last page of each white paper.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Wiggins at 301-975-5416 or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background Information: The Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was 
established for the purpose of assisting U.S. businesses and 
institutions of higher education or other organizations, such as 
national laboratories and nonprofit research institutions, to support, 
promote, and accelerate innovation in the United States through high-
risk, high-reward research in areas of critical national need. The TIP 
statutory authority is Section 3012 of the America Creating 
Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, 
Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act, Public Law 110-69 (August 9, 
2007), 15 U.S.C. 278n. The TIP implementing regulations are published 
at 15 CFR part 296. TIP holds competitions for funding based on 
addressing areas of critical national need. TIP identifies and selects 
topics for areas of critical national need based on input from within 
NIST, the TIP Advisory Board, the science and technology communities, 
and from the public. TIP is interested in receiving input on the 
identification and definition of problems that are sufficiently large 
in magnitude that they have the potential to inhibit the growth and 
well-being of our nation today.
    This announcement explains the process for submitting comments on 
TIP white papers. Comments on white papers from experts in other 
Federal agencies are valued and welcome, and will enable TIP to 
complement the efforts of other mission agencies and avoid duplication 
of their efforts, thereby leveraging resources to benefit the nation. 
The key concepts, enumerated below, are the foundation of TIP and 
should assist all commenters in providing input that will help TIP 
develop and refine an effective white paper:
    a. An area of critical national need means an area that justifies 
government attention because the magnitude of the problem is large and 
the associated societal challenges that need to be overcome are not 
being addressed, but could be addressed through high-risk, high-reward 
research.
    b. A societal challenge is a problem or issue confronted by society 
that when not addressed could negatively affect the overall function 
and quality of life of the nation, and as such, justifies government 
attention. A societal challenge is associated with barriers preventing 
the successful development of solutions to the area of critical 
national need. TIP's purpose is to provide funding that will enable 
U.S. businesses and institutions of higher education or other 
organizations, such as national laboratories and nonprofit research 
institutions, to tackle technical issues that can be addressed through 
high-risk, high-reward research. The results of the high-risk, high-
reward research should have the potential for transformational results.
    c. A transformational result is a potential project outcome that 
enables disruptive changes over and above current methods and 
strategies. Transformational results have the potential to radically 
improve our understanding of systems and technologies, challenging the 
status quo of research approaches and applications.
    For an understanding of how these white papers were developed, and 
for detailed instructions on how to prepare and submit your own white 
papers to TIP, refer to A Guide for Preparing and Submitting White 
Papers on Areas of Critical National Need. The Guide is available on 
the TIP Web site at http://www.nist.gov/tip/guide_for_white_papers.pdf.
    In this call for comments on white papers, TIP is seeking 
information to further develop and refine the areas of critical 
national need as defined in the 2009 competition on Civil 
Infrastructure, and the 2009 competition on Manufacturing, as well as 
information to assist TIP in further defining other topic areas under 
development. TIP may use comments received to further develop the 
definition and scope of the critical national needs suggested by these 
topic areas, and to additionally identify and explain specific societal 
challenges that require a technical solution within these critical 
national need areas. Do not include ideas for specific proposals in 
your comments on the white paper (i.e., do not discuss your specific 
solution to the problem). This solicitation for comments on white 
papers is neither a Request for Proposals (RFP) nor should it be viewed 
as a request for pre-proposals. Rather, it is a way to include ideas 
from the public to identify problems that justify government support 
and can be addressed by technological innovations that are not 
currently being sufficiently supported to meet the challenge.
    Comments on white papers must not contain proprietary information. 
Submission of comments on a white paper means that the author(s) agrees 
that all the information in the comments on the white paper can be made 
available to the public. Information contained in these comments on 
white papers will be considered and combined with information from 
other resources--including the vision of the Administration, NIST, 
other government agencies, technical communities, the TIP Advisory 
Board, and other stakeholders--to develop the scope of future 
competitions and to shape TIP's collaborative outreach. Comments on 
white papers are a valuable resource that adds to TIP's understanding 
of the significance and scope of critical national needs and associated 
societal challenges. The comments on the white papers submitted could 
be shared with the Administration, NIST, other government agencies, 
technical communities, the TIP Advisory Board, other stakeholders and 
the public as

[[Page 57453]]

part of the selection process for future competitions.
    This current call for comments on white papers pertains to the four 
areas of critical national need shown below. However, TIP intends to 
post additional white papers for comments over the coming months.
    Civil Infrastructure: Civil infrastructure constitutes the basic 
fabric of the world in which we live and work. It is the combination of 
fundamental systems that support a community, region, or country. The 
civil infrastructure includes systems for transportation (airport 
facilities, roads, bridges, rail, waterway locks) and systems for water 
distribution and flood control (water distribution systems, storm and 
waste water collection, dams, and levees). New construction approaches 
and materials to improve the infrastructure and for mitigating the 
expense of repairing or replacing existing infrastructure appear to be 
areas with the potential for specific societal challenges within this 
area of critical national need.
    The 2009 Civil Infrastructure competition, based on the white paper 
Advanced Sensing Technologies and Advanced Repair Materials for 
Infrastructure: Water Systems, Dams, Levees, Bridges, Roads, and 
Highways, dated March 2009, emphasizes technologies to detect 
corrosion, cracking, delamination and other structural damage in water 
resources systems such as water and wastewater pipelines, dams, levees 
and waterway locks, as well as bridges and roadways. The white paper 
for the 2009 Civil Infrastructure competition can be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/index.html.
    Manufacturing: R&D projects in manufacturing could enable better, 
more cost-effective use of advanced materials in innovative products. 
New and improved materials underlie many new product innovations. High-
strength alloys, aluminum and magnesium are used to build stronger, 
lighter and safer vehicles; superalloys are used to make higher 
efficiency gas turbines; composites make larger, more efficient wind 
turbine blades and higher performance aircraft; and nanomaterials are 
finding their way into better performing batteries, energy storage 
devices, high voltage transmission lines and healthcare applications.
    The 2009 Manufacturing competition, based on the white paper 
Accelerating the Incorporation of Materials Advances into Manufacturing 
Processes, dated March 2009, addresses improved technologies to produce 
these new materials and to rapidly integrate them into products while 
maintaining the material's unique properties. The white paper for the 
2009 Manufacturing competition can be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/index.html.
    Energy (proposed topic area): The proposed topic area within the 
critical national need area of energy is based on the draft white paper 
Technologies to Enable a Smart Grid, which outlines the technologies 
that will be required to enable a reliable smart grid approach to 
electric power distribution, demand, and response control, grid 
connectivity, and the integration of renewable energy sources into the 
grid. The proposed topic aims to address research in energy storage 
systems and the integration of stored energy into the grid system, 
advanced sensors and their energy sources to be deployed along the 
grid, and communication and control technologies (high voltage power 
electronics). The draft white paper for the proposed topic of Energy 
can be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/index.html.
    Healthcare (proposed topic area): The proposed topic area with the 
critical national need of Healthcare is based on the draft white paper 
Advanced Technologies for Proteomics, Data Integration and Analysis and 
Biomanufacturing for Personalized Medicine, which outlines the platform 
technologies that will be needed to enable a personalized approach to 
safer and more cost-effective healthcare. The proposed topic 
specifically aims to address research needs for: Non-invasively 
analyzing proteins in real time in live tissues, animal models and 
humans; linking genomic, proteomic and other disparate datasets with 
patient-specific data to understand disease susceptibility and response 
to treatment; and cost-effective high-throughput biopharmaceutical 
manufacturing. The draft white paper for the proposed topic of 
Healthcare can be found at http://www.nist.gov/tip/wp_cmts/index.html.

    Dated: November 3, 2009.
Patrick Gallagher,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E9-26835 Filed 11-5-09; 8:45 am]
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