April 28, 2003

In This Issue:
	NIST Peanut Butter Standard Spreads Quality When Used
	NIST, CU Publish Recipe for Home-Cooked Bose-Einstein Condensate
	NIST-Led Simulation Consortium Sets Goals, Seeks Members
	NIST Workshop to Focus on Card-Based Technologies
	NIST Video, CD Feature Latest Baldrige ‘Formulas for Success’
	Report Features Three Decades of NIST ‘Military Aid’

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Food

NIST Peanut Butter Standard Spreads Quality When Used

Some people like peanut butter in sandwiches. Other people mix it in desserts or feed it to squirrels. Now there is a new use for peanut butter—as a quality assurance tool.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently issued Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2387, a peanut butter sample that has been characterized with state-of-the-art measurement methods to provide values for the amount of fat, protein, vitamins, minerals and other analytes it contains. It is one of a series of food-matrix SRMs that can be used by food manufacturers to validate production and quality control procedures as well as ensure accurate labeling of product content.

The new SRM is the first NIST food-matrix reference material for which values are assigned for 18 individual amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—and for aflatoxins, which are carcinogen substances produced by mold in crops. Peanut butter also is the only SRM that is high in both fat content (about 50 percent) and protein (about 22 percent), making it useful in evaluating the fat and protein content of other food products.

With the release of SRM 2387, one or more reference materials in each of the nine sectors of the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) food triangle are now available from NIST. The triangle helps assure the availability of validated analytical methods for all types of foods, so that information for nutrients can be provided on labels.

SRM 2387 already has found a scientific use in evaluating allergen test kits. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spiked foods with dilute solutions of the SRM and then tested for the presence of peanuts, which are one of the major allergenic foods. Even a trace of peanut protein can cause serious reactions, even death, if someone is highly allergic.

For technical information on the certification of SRM 2387, contact Kathy Sharpless, (301) 975-3121, katherine.sharpless@nist.gov. For details on ordering, call (301) 975-6776 or send an e-mail to srminfo@nist.gov.

Media Contact:
Laura Ost, (301) 975-4034

 

Physics

NIST, CU Publish Recipe for Home-Cooked Bose-Einstein Condensate

To encourage scientists to find innovative uses for Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC), researchers at JILA—a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado at Boulder—are publishing a paper that describes how to consistently produce a stable condensate. Using a “cookbook” set of instructions, JILA researchers describe the basic steps for building a BEC
apparatus.

The “BEC recipe” begins with directions for setting up the necessary vacuum and optical systems. It then describes the experimental procedure for pre-cooling atoms in a magnetic trap and subsequently, using evaporative cooling to yield a condensate.

The JILA system has many advantages. It is easy to use, many of the necessary components are commercially available, and the transfer works essentially every time without any maintenance.

The research is based on the original work by JILA scientists Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman, winners of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics for first achieving the BEC.

For more information and a copy of the paper “Simplified System for Creating a Bose-Einstein Condensate,” contact Heather Lewandowski, JILA, Campus Box 440, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo. 80309-0440; (303) 492-5637; lewandoh@jilau1.colorado.edu.

Media Contact:
Fred McGehan, Boulder, (303) 497-7000

 

 

Manufacturing

NIST-Led Simulation Consortium Sets Goals, Seeks Members

Discrete event computer simulations are viewed widely as powerful tools for improving manufacturing processes and reducing product design time and costs, but they are difficult to develop and implement. A major barrier to their use is the lack of standard interfaces that would promote interoperability among different systems. A consortium recently launched by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) is expected to help overcome this barrier and enable more manufacturers, especially smaller and medium-sized companies, to use advanced discrete event simulations.

At the kick-off meeting held in February 2003, members of the new Simulation Standards Consortium agreed to work toward developing a consensus on precompetitive, neutral interface specifications for distributed simulation, which involves the sharing of information among multiple systems at different locations. This type of simulation is driven by discrete factory events and involves the sharing of production management, product, process, resource, location and other data types. Visualization tools may or may not be used.

Interface specifications could reduce the cost of acquiring and deploying simulations, minimize model development time, simplify data handling and provide new functionality. The technical review and consensus process under way through the consortium is one aspect of a structured standards development process. Another aspect involves testing specifications, which typically culminates in standards-setting by industry groups.

The consortium builds on several recent simulation research and standards activities, including an international project in which NIST led the U.S. effort to define communication protocols for distributed simulation.

The consortium currently has 19 organizations as members, including 10 major software vendors and several manufacturers, and is seeking additional participants. Members will have the opportunity to influence the direction of the standards-setting effort, establish partnerships with other researchers, access research results from other participants and get a head start on the application of simulation technology and neutral interfaces.

For more information, contact Swee Leong, (301) 975-5426, swee.leong@nist.gov.

Media Contact:
Laura Ost, (301) 975-4034

 

 

Information Technology

NIST Workshop to Focus on Card-Based Technologies

Cards possessing advanced technologies that permit data storage, transfer and processing are being used increasingly within the federal government because of their attractive security features and versatility. For example, a single smart card (a card with an embedded computer chip) could be used for identification, access to secure buildings, logging onto computers, and to make small purchases. Developing standards will ensure that smart cards, optical media, card readers, and other storage and processor card technologies will function smoothly and consistently across the government.

As part of the continuing effort by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support interoperability among storage and processor card systems, the agency will hold a public workshop on July 8-9, 2003, at its Gaithersburg, Md., headquarters.

Workshop topics will include: current government card-related activities and needs; card-based technology attributes; industry activities in the field; card-related industry consensus standards; multitechnology interoperability issues; and security concerns.

The fee for the workshop is $275. Registration closes on June 30, 2003. There will be no on-site registration because of NIST security regulations.

To register electronically, go to https://sales.nist.gov/conf/secure/CONF513/conf_register.htm. A detailed workshop agenda will be available from the NIST Computer Security Resource Center Web site at http://csrc.nist.gov by May 9, 2003. For meeting information, contact Curt Barker, (301) 975-8443, wbarker@nist.gov.

Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661

 

 

Performance Excellence

NIST Video, CD Feature Latest Baldrige ‘Formulas for Success’

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has produced a new set of audiovisual materials showcasing the successful strategies that earned three organizations the 2002 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, including the first recipient in the health care category.

A VHS-format videocassette contains two versions of the Baldrige program, “Quest for Excellence XIV” (short at 12 minutes and long at 40 minutes) that features the 2002 honorees: Motorola Inc. Commercial, Government and Industrial Solutions Sector, Schaumburg, Ill. (manufacturing category); Branch-Smith Printing Division, Fort Worth, Texas (small business category); and SSM Health Care, St. Louis, Mo. (health care category).

Also included on the videocassette is “A Journey Worth Beginning,” a program encouraging organizations to apply for the Baldrige Award.

A CD-ROM package includes all three video programs, as well as the Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria for 2003, presentations given by the 2002 award recipients at the Quest for Excellence XIV conference held March 30-April 2, 2003, and other information.

The audiovisual materials will be available May 1, 2003, from the American Society for Quality, P.O. Box 3066, Milwaukee, Wis. 53201-3066, (800) 248-1946. Item T1204 is the CD-ROM for $35. Item TA999 is the videocassette for $20. A combined package with the CD-ROM, video and QEXIV conference materials (Item T1206) is $59.95.

Media Contact:
Philip Bulman, (301) 975-5661