[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 102 (Wednesday, May 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30552-30553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12339]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket Number: 131211999-3999-01]


Solicitation of Letters of Interest To Form Participating 
Research Teams at the NIST Center for Neutron Research

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) announces its intent to form 
collaborations, called ``Participating Research Teams'' (PRTs), to 
develop and apply advanced cold and thermal neutron beam measurement 
capabilities at the NCNR to assist crucial and timely U.S. R&D on the 
structure and dynamics of advanced materials that enhance technology 
and manufacturing. The NCNR is therefore soliciting letters of interest 
in forming PRTs, which will be open to one or more U.S. companies, 
universities, and/or government agencies. Any resulting PRTs will be 
implemented through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement 
(CRADA) with NCNR. The appropriate percentage of cost sharing among the 
non-federal partners will be determined as part of the negotiations to 
form the PRT, and will be documented in the CRADA.

DATES: Letters of interest will be received on an ongoing basis, 
anticipated to continue for up to five years following publication of 
this notice. Should a date be reached when letters of interest will 
cease to be accepted, a notice will be posted at www.ncnr.nist.gov.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should send letters to Dr. Robert Dimeo, 
Director, NIST Center for Neutron Research, 100 Bureau Drive, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-6100, or via email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dan Neumann, Group Leader, Neutron 
Condensed Matter Science (NCMS), NIST Center for Neutron Research, 100 
Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 6102, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-6102, (301)

[[Page 30553]]

975-5252, or via email to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), which is located 
at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD, intends to form collaborations, called 
PRTs, to develop and apply advanced cold and thermal neutron beam 
measurement capabilities at the NCNR to assist crucial and timely U.S. 
R&D on the structure and dynamics of advanced materials of 
technological relevance, such as polymers, nanomaterials, lightweight 
alloys, biomaterials, magnetic materials, and colloidal systems. The 
collaboration agreements will be based upon the statutory technology 
transfer authorities available to NIST, including the Federal 
Technology Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. Sec.  3710a). Under these 
collaborations, new or existing NCNR neutron-scattering 
instrumentation, which are uniquely sensitive to the structure, 
behavior, and nanoscale properties of advanced materials, would be 
developed, upgraded, modified, and operated to permit the study of 
critical materials and devices under conditions that are directly 
relevant to their use and performance in technological applications. 
Organizations participating in a PRT would share the costs of 
developing and constructing neutron instrumentation and/or the 
operation. In return, PRT members would share access to a portion of 
the total time available on the capabilities developed and/or operated 
under the partnership. At the same time, at least 25% of the total 
available time would be made available to non-PRT U.S. organizations 
for non-proprietary research on a competitive, merit-based basis. The 
modes of PRT access could be tailored for either individual or joint 
research, and the subsequent data would be made available to the U.S. 
science and technology community through open publication in archived 
and peer-reviewed journals, or in publicly available reports. 
Proprietary research by both PRT and non-PRT organizations would 
require separate approval and the payment of established fees by the 
partnership organizations to assure full cost recovery to the Federal 
Government, including a commensurate share of the overhead operating 
expenses of the NCNR.
    PRTs will be open to one or more U.S. companies, universities, and/
or government agencies. It is anticipated that PRT agreements will be 
established for three-year periods, with renewal for three-year terms 
subject to the requirements and interests of the collaborators and the 
NCNR. Letters of interest for PRT's will be evaluated by an internal 
panel of NCNR staff on the basis of rationality and technical merit. 
Specifically, the following criteria and assigned weights will be used 
to evaluate PRT letters submitted to NCNR:
    (1) Rationality. The rationality, feasibility, and coherence of the 
proposer's approach, including the extent to which the proposed PRT 
would effectively develop and apply advanced cold and/or thermal 
neutron beam measurement capabilities at the NCNR to assist crucial and 
timely U.S. R&D on the structure and dynamics of advanced materials 
that enhance technology and manufacturing, and an appropriately-scaled 
level of effort. (0 to 65 points)
    (2) Technical Merit of Contribution. The potential technical 
effectiveness of the proposed work, including the value it would 
contribute to neutron research, and the extent to which the proposed 
work supports the statutory mission of NIST (to promote U.S. innovation 
and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, 
standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and 
improve our quality of life). (0 to 35 points)
    Letters of interest scoring 80 points or higher as a result of the 
evaluation will be offered the opportunity to enter into a PRT using a 
CRADA or multiple CRADAs. NIST intends to form up to four PRTs and will 
announce on the NCNR Web site (www.ncnr.nist.gov) when any agreement 
has been executed. The NCNR Director will make one or more final PRT 
selections, taking into consideration the results of the reviewers' 
evaluations and relevance to the NCNR objectives described in this 
notice. Letters of interest should be submitted in accordance with the 
DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this notice.

    Dated: May 21, 2014.
Willie E. May,
Associate Director of Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2014-12339 Filed 5-27-14; 8:45 am]
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