The
US
Department
of
Commerce’s
National
Institute
of
Standards
and
Technology
(NIST)
building
is
seen
October
9,
2012
in
Boulder,
Colorado.
(Photo
by
Dana
Romanoff/Getty
Images)
America’s
future
competitiveness
will
be
driven
by
our
ability
to
capture
the
economic
and
national
security
benefits
of
emerging
technologies
like
artificial
intelligence,
biotechnology,
and
quantum
computing.
Within
government,
these
efforts
are
underpinned
by
the
research
and
standards
development
done
at
the
National
Institute
for
Standards
and
Technology
(NIST),
an
agency
with
a
remarkable
track
record
of
success
supporting
American
innovation.
Given
this
success,
it’s
no
surprise
that
China
is
seeking
to
manipulate
international
standards
organizations
to
its
own
benefit.
In
fact,
global
standards
leadership
is
a
stated
aim
of
the
Chinese
Communist
Party
and
President
Xi’s
Jinping’s
China
Standards
2035
plan,
specifically
to
lessen
American
influence.
In
contrast,
NIST
is
being
underprioritized.
The
agency
has
crumbling
buildings
and
leaking
ceilings.
The
rapid
growth
of
industry
salaries
for
emerging
technology
jobs
means
that
NIST
finds
it
increasingly
hard
to
compete
with
the
private
sector
for
top
talent.
Federal
agency
limitations
further
currently
constrain
NIST
from
bringing
the
results
of
its
research
into
commercial
practice
to
benefit
the
US
economy.
And
during
an
era
of
rapid
progress
in
emerging
technologies
like
artificial
intelligence,
the
agency
is
limited
in
its
ability
to
respond
due
to
the
slow
pace
of
new
funding
and
hiring.
NIST’s
legacy
is
at
risk,
and
we
are
not
equipping
the
agency
to
meet
this
challenge.
But
if
it
is
willing
to
grasp
it,
the
outgoing
Congress
has
an
opportunity
to
reverse
these
trends
and
poke
a
thumb
in
China’s
eye.
A
solution
lies
with
the
bipartisan
Expanding
Partnerships
for
Innovation
and
Competitiveness
Act
(EPIC)
Act,
endorsed
by
more
than
forty
American
companies,
universities,
and
think
tanks,
as
well
as
by
heads
of
NIST
that
have
served
under
Presidents
Trump,
Obama,
and
Bush.
EPIC
would
equip
NIST
with
a
non-profit
foundation,
enabling
it
to
harness
philanthropic
investment
to
complement
its
mission.
While
NIST
will
always
answer
to
Congress
and
operate
within
its
authorized
mission,
a
foundation
can
help
connect
this
important
work
to
the
private
sector
where
the
market
can
accelerate
the
best
ideas
forward.
For
NIST,
a
foundation
could
help
further
basic
R&D
and
support
innovation
in
critical
technologies
like
AI,
while
countering
China’s
manipulation
of
international
standards
for
new
technologies.
As
we
enter
a
world
where
US
leadership
in
emerging
technologies
is
inextricably
linked
to
national
security,
Congress
should
support
NIST’s
important
work
by
prioritizing
the
full
passage
of
EPIC
as
part
of
this
year’s
National
Defense
Authorization
Act
(NDAA).
As
an
agency,
NIST
is
not
the
sexiest
of
items
to
be
argued
about
in
the
NDAA.
It
doesn’t
blow
things
up,
nor
does
it
fly
at
hypersonic
speeds.
To
understand
its
importance,
one
needs
to
understand
how
NIST
actually
works.
NIST’s
role
among
federal
agencies
is
unique.
It
is
not
a
regulator,
and
it
doesn’t
focus
on
a
particular
set
of
applied
scientific
or
technical
domains.
Rather,
its
focus
is
at
a
higher
level:
advancing
the
leading
edge
of
measurement
science
—
and
using
that
science
to
help
push
the
boundaries
of
research
and
create
standards
for
technologies,
opening
new
domains
of
innovation.
Why
are
measurements
and
standards
useful
for
pushing
the
frontier
of
innovation?
Once
it’s
possible
to
measure
something,
it
then
becomes
possible
to
test
it
and
make
it
better.
Technical
standards
provide
American
industries
with
a
common
language
to
facilitate
trade
and
enable
scientists
and
engineers
to
work
on
common
goals
that
cut
across
technical
disciplines.
NIST’s
mission
is
thus
tightly
linked
with
American
innovation
and
technological
competitiveness
—
making
sure
everyone
is
on
the
same
page
allows
the
full
force
of
American
industrial
might
to
be
brought
on
a
particular
problem.
In
pursuit
of
its
mission,
NIST
has
punched
far
above
its
weight:
Agency
scientists
have
been
awarded
15
percent
of
the
Nobel
Prizes
in
Physics
awarded
to
Americans
since
2000,
with
two
further
prizes
directly
enabled
by
measurement
work
done
at
NIST.
These
achievements
have
come
despite
NIST
receiving
less
than
half
a
percent
of
federal
R&D
funding.
Cutting
edge
defense
technologies
stand
to
benefit
going
forward.
In
biotechnology,
NIST
has
developed
reference
molecules
that
labs
across
the
United
States
use
to
develop
new
tools.
In
quantum
computing,
NIST
has
run
a
successful
program
to
identify
new
encryption
algorithms
that
are
resistant
to
powerful
quantum
computers.
In
AI,
NIST
developed
the
“MNIST”
database,
which
has
been
one
of
the
most
important
benchmarks
used
to
help
develop
neural
networks,
the
technology
behind
today’s
most
powerful
AI
models.
However,
NIST
faces
challenges
in
its
future
capacity
to
deliver
on
its
mission:
the
recent
rapid
pace
of
progress
in
emerging
technologies
has
made
it
hard
for
the
agency
to
flexibly
scale
its
projects
in
response.
Many
agencies
have
in
the
past
found
a
similar
mismatch
between
their
basic
structure
as
a
federal
body
and
the
rapidly
changing
science
and
innovation
landscape
they
are
expected
to
respond
to,
and
there
exists
a
proven
solution
for
addressing
them.
Congress
has
long
used
“agency
foundations”
as
a
solution,
complementing
agencies’
missions
by
enabling
the
deployment
of
philanthropic
investment.
The
Foundation
for
the
National
Institutes
of
Health
runs
fellowships
to
attract
top
scientists
to
the
agency.
The
Center
for
Disease
Control’s
foundation
hosts
an
emergency
response
fund,
which
raised
nearly
$600
million
in
the
early
stages
of
the
COVID-19
pandemic
to
distribute
8.5
million
pieces
of
PPE
and
hire
more
than
3,000
surge
health
workers.
The
Foundation
for
Food
and
Agriculture
Research
supports
the
Department
of
Agriculture
by
hosting
ambitious
prize
competitions,
and
innovation
and
entrepreneurship
initiatives.
These
and
other
agency
foundations
have
been
an
efficient
mechanism
for
amplifying
their
agency’s
work,
averaging
a
return
of
$67
for
every
$1
in
federal
contributions.
And
compared
to
more
ad
hoc
solutions
like
the
use
of
the
Intergovernmental
Personnel
Act
to
allow
an
agency
to
employ
technical
experts
funded
by
external
organizations,
an
agency
foundation
provides
a
more
transparent
and
well-governed
alternative.
One
key
area
where
a
non-profit
foundation
could
be
especially
useful
for
NIST’s
work
is
in
international
standards.
American
businesses
do
better
when
they
have
a
voice
in
international
standard-setting.
Today,
the
Chinese
government
is
manipulating
the
global
standards-setting
processes
by
paying
its
experts
to
participate,
and
incentivizing
them
to
all
vote
in
the
same
direction.
Because
the
US
approach
is
industry-led
by
design,
NIST
cannot
directly
support
US
experts
to
counter
China’s
efforts.
A
NIST
foundation
could
fill
this
gap
by
supporting
US
experts
(especially
from
small
and
medium-sized
enterprises)
to
participate
in
international
standard-setting,
ensuring
a
level
playing
field
for
American
enterprises.
Congress
should
act
now
to
give
NIST
the
necessary
tools
it
needs
to
deliver
on
its
core
mission
—
promoting
US
leadership
in
technical
standards,
and
accelerating
the
development
and
adoption
of
critical
emerging
technologies,
in
a
voluntary
process
involving
both
large
and
small
firms.
To
do
this,
NIST
should
be
equipped
with
its
own
Foundation,
a
proven,
effective
tool
that
other
federal
R&D
agencies
already
enjoy.
Walter
G.
Copan,
PhD,
is
vice
president
for
research
and
technology
transfer
at
Colorado
School
of
Mines,
and
senior
adviser
with
the
Center
for
Strategic
and
International
Studies
and
co-founder
of
its
Renewing
American
Innovation
project.
He
previously
served
as
16th
director
of
the
National
Institute
of
Standards
and
Technology
(NIST).
Tim
Fist
is
a
Senior
Fellow
at
the
Institute
for
Progress,
a
science
and
innovation
policy
think
tank
based
in
Washington
D.C.