NIST Technicalendar
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Technology Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-0001

NOVEMBER 23 TO NOVEMBER 27, 1998
In this Issue:
MEETINGS AT NIST
MEETINGS ELSEWHERE
TALKS BY NIST PERSONNEL
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 Also available:
Admin. Calendar (latest issue)NIST Staff Only
NIST Vacancy List (latest issue)
Previous Issues of the Technicalendar
Quick Technicalendar (this issue)NIST Staff Only
The NIST Technicalendar, issued each Friday, covers scheduled events which are of interest primarily to the NIST staff All items MUST be submitted electronically from this web page by 12:00 NOON each Wednesday unless otherwise stated in the NIST Technicalendar. The address for online weekly editions of the NIST Technicalendar and NIST Administrative Calendar is: http://nvl.nist.gov/pub/nistpubs/calendars/. Requests for copies of this calendar should be sent to Ms. Sharon Mingo, Editor, Building 820, Room 125, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001, (Telephone: 301-975-3570; FAX: 301-926-4431; or E-mail: sharon.mingo@nist.gov).

All lectures and meetings are open unless otherwise stated.


MEETINGS AT NIST
COMPUTATIONAL GENE FINDING

Dr. Steven Salzberg
Director of Bioinformatics at the Institute for Genomic Research. Baltimore, MD


Monday, November 23, 1998, 1:00PM, Lecture Rm. D, Administration Bldg.

Genomics (the study of genetic codes) offers the promise of unlocking many of the mysteries of biology. Large scale sequencing projects have already decoded the genomes of some bacteria, and the genomes of more complex organisms and humans are coming soon. Bacteria that have been sequenced are likely to lead to new treatments and diagnostic methods for some deadly illnesses.

Decoding the DNA sequence is one of the most important initial steps in understanding a genome, with computational tools as the primary means. This talk will describe how computational models of genes can be constructed and then used to find genes. The models are constructed using techniques that allow computational tools to be trained by input data, and thus adapt to the task at hand.

Biography: Dr. Steven Salzberg is Director of Bioinformatics at The Institute for Genomic Research and an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University; he is the author of over 50 research papers. With collaborators in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, he also developed a system for analyzing data from the Hubble Space Telescope and other astronomical image databases.



For further information contact Larry Reeker, 301-975-5147, larry.reeker@nist.gov
ENERGY SPECTRA OF VIBRONIC EXCITATIONS IN SEMICONDUCTOR NANOCRYSTAL QUANTUM DOTS

Dr. A. I. Ekimov
A.F. loffe Physico-Technical Institute. St. Petersburg, Russia


Tuesday, November 24, 1998, 1:00PM, Room A366, Physics Bldg.

Energy spectra of the vibronic modes in the nanocrystals of various semiconductor compounds are studied by resonant Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the frequencies of both the acoustic and the optical phonons depend on the nanocrystal size, and that the dependencies can be fit to the dispersion of the modes in the corresponding bulk materials. Exciton-acoustic phono coupling via deformaitonal potential and boundary conditions for the acoustic modes are discussed. Dr. Ekimov has been involved in may different aspects of nanocrystal research for over 20 years. He will be available during the day for discussions. If you would like to meet with him, please contact Steve Brown.



For further information contact Steve Brown, 301-975-5167, steve.brown@nist.gov
NIST Director's Workshop Series

BEING THE BEST IN WORLD ON CRYPTOGRAPHY

Miles Smid
Computer Security Division, ITL.

Christopher Monroe
Time and Frequency Division, PL



Tuesday, November 24, 1998, 3:00PM, Green Auditorium, Administration Bldg.



For further information contact Said Jahanmir, 301-975-4525, said@nist.gov
Boulder: Room 1107, 1:00 pm
Sponsored Jointly by the NIST Colloquium Committee and the NIST Chapter of Sigma Xi

SAMPLING & CENSUS 2000: THE CONCEPTS

Tommy Wright
Statistical Research Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census.


Friday, December 4, 1998, 10:30AM, Red Auditorium, Administration Bldg.

For almost 3 years the Census Bureau has been engaged in an important exchange with the U.S. Congress over the use of probability sampling to supplement conventional counting efforts and yield an improved census. This talk provides a glimpse of what happens "when science meets politics." The Census Bureau believes that sampling will help improve overall counting, decrease the different rates at which different sub-populations are counted, and help control costs. While seeming to agree on these advantages, Congress is concerned about the constitutionality of sampling, the possibility of abuse of the scientific method, and the magnitude of sampling error at very low levels of geography, e.g., the block level. In an elementary and entertaining way, this presentation provides some concepts to facilitate conversations among general audiences on the planned use of probability sampling methodology in Census 2000.



For further information contact Vicki Glennie, 301-975-4203, vicki.glennie@nist.gov
Colloquia are videotaped and available in the NIST Res Lib

Special Assistance Available
TECHNOLOGY TRAJECTORIES AND THEIR BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS

Brock Hinzmann
Technology Navigator, SRI Consulting,. Menlo Park, CA

Steve Baughman
Director, SRI Consulting, Menlo Park, CA



Monday, December 7, 1998, 10:00AM, Lecture Rm. A, Administration Bldg.

ATP asked SRI Consulting to undertake a study to establish baseline business implications of new and emergent technologies - assuming that an understanding of commercially important technology trajectories should aid in assessing future investment strategies.

10:00 am - 12:00 noon: Why do technology mapping, How others do technology mapping, SRI's approach to technology mapping, Technology navigation - a new approach.

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm: SRI technology navigation case studies, How to implement technology navigation at ATP.



For further information contact David King, 301-975-2369, david.king@nist.gov
Polymers Division Distinguished Lecturer Series

"DYNAMICS OF LIQUIDS: HETEROGENEOUS FROM THE START"

Gary D. Patterson
Professor of Chemical Physics, Carnegie Mellon University. Pitttsburgh, PA


Thursday, December 10, 1998, 11:00AM, Rm. B245, Bldg. 224.

Nonequilibrium states of liquids relax towards equilibrium along a highly nonexponential path. The time evolution of this relaxation can be followed by many experimental techniques, including dielectric and mechanical relaxation and by using fluctuation techniques such as light scattering. The observed relaxation functions can often be described in terms of two groups of relaxation processes. The faster group is usually characterized by a distribution of relaxation times that is even broader than the slower group that is often identified with the primary glass relaxation. The key concepts necessary to explain the two groups of processes will be presented and illustrated with a wide range of experimental data. The overall conclusion that liquids must be understood as possessing an intrinsic dynamic heterogeneity will be discussed.



For further information contact Dr. Freddy Khoury, 301-975-6753, freddy.khoury@nist.gov
EXPECTATION-BASED, MULTI-FOCAL, SACCADIC (EMS-) MACHINE VISION

Prof-Ing Ernst Dickmanns
Visiting Professor, MIT/EECS-LIDS. Cambridge, MA


Thursday, December 10, 1998, 1:30AM, Lecture Rm. F, Administration Bldg.

A decade of experience in real-world road and air vehicle guidance by dynamic machine vision has led to the third generation of vision systems after the concept of the 4-D approach. The reasons for, and the main ingredients of, the new EMS-vision system will be discussed. The results achieved with the predecessor system are demonstrated in a video film: Highway-driving in public traffic at speeds beyond 150 km/h, onboard autonomous landing approaches of aircraft, the first grasping of an object floating onboard the Space-Shuttle, and landmark navigation of helicopters. The new system will be much more flexible, easier to handle and to expand, and does not require specialized hardware. Modern PCs are sufficient for achieving performance levels comparable to biological vertebrate systems.



For further information contact James S. Albus, 301-975-3418, james.albus@nist.gov
A REGRESSION CASE STUDY: THE NON-LINEAR MODELING OF A 2-DIMENSIONAL FAMILY OF CURVES INVOLVING P-TYPE SEMI-CONDUCTOR ELECTRON MOBILITY

Herb Bennett
Semiconductor Electron Devices, EEEL.

James Filliben
Statistical Engineering Division, ITL



Monday, December 14, 1998, 1:00PM, Lecture Rm. A, Administration Bldg.

This is the first in a series of talks which presents -- in a tutorial style -- the details of a collaborative case study between members of ITL's Statistical Engineering Division and members of the NIST scientific/engineering staff.

This first case study talk focuses on the regression modeling of electron mobility for p-type materials in the "minority electron" case. It is well-known in the semiconductor industry that electron mobility varies with dopant density and aluminum-arsenide mole fraction. Potential improvement in commercial device simulators and devices themselves(e.g., cell phones)would result if a high-precision regression model for this relationship could be derived. This talk steps through the development of such a model. Sub-topics include transformations, admissible non-linear models, separable functions, and melding functions. See http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898 for details.



For further information contact Jim Filliben, 301-975-2855, james.filliben@nist.gov
11/24--TUESDAY 10:30AM 837 - SURFACE AND MICROANALYSIS SCIENCE DIVISION SEMINAR: "Surface Charging of Insulators During Electron Spectroscopy," C. . Wilson, Laboratory for Atomic and Surface Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA Rm.A366, Physics Bldg. (NIST contact: Cedric Powell, 301-975-2534, Cedric.Powell@nist.gov.)
11/24--TUESDAY 10:30AM 842 - ATOMIC PHYSICS DIVISION SEMINAR: "A test of T-invariance in a three state rubidium clock," M. . Lim, University of Michigan, Rm. B165, Bldg 221. (NIST contact: Steven Rolston, 301-975-6581, steven.rolston@nist.gov.)
11/24--TUESDAY 11:00AM 831 - BIOTECHNOLOGY DIVISION SEMINAR: "Reactive Oxygen Species-Induced Molecular Damage and Carcinogenesis," S. . Toyokuni, Dept. of Pathology & Biology of Diseases, School of Medicine, Kyoto University , Japan. Rm. A322, Chemistry Bldg. (NIST contact: M. Dizdaroglu, 301-975-2581, m.dizdaroglu@nist.gov.)
11/24--TUESDAY 10:30AM FIRE RESEARCH SEMINARS: "Organized Large-Scale Structures and Scalar Dissipation in Axisymmetric Turbulent Jets," W. M. Pitts, Chemist, Fire Science Division, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Rm. B245, Polymer Bldg. (NIST contact: Rik Johnsson, 301-975-3083, rikj@nist.gov.) http://burn.cfr.nist.gov/info/seminars/nov24-98.pitts.htm


MEETINGS ELSEWHERE
Joint IEEE Lasers and Electro-Optics Society/MTT Seminar---Washington-Northern Virginia Chapter

PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF THE DIGITAL MICROMIRROR DEVICE

R. Gale and P. F. van Kessel
Texas Instruments, Inc.


Tuesday, December 8, 1998, 7:00PM, Room 2100, University College Conference Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

One of the most exciting developments in MEMS technology in recent years has been the commercial introduction of the Digital Micromirror DeviceTM by Texas Instruments. The DMDTM is an electrically addressed array of hundreds of thousands of micromechanical mirror structures which are used to steer incoming light into or out of an aperture. The speed, uniformity and digital nature of the DMD allow the creation of still and moving projected images of unprecedented quality. In this lecture, an overview of the DMD and its applications will be presented in two sections. In the first section, fundamentals of the DMD will be discussed, including mirror dynamics, manufacturing methods and reliability. In the second section the authors will discuss the application of the DMD in an optical projection system, including pulse width modulation, signal processing and optical concerns. Additionally, other potential applications of the DMD, such as optical correlators and digital data switches will be explored.

Social, 5:15 p.m.; Dinner, 6:00 p.m. Reservations for dinner must be made by December 2, 1998. Please contact Thomas Hausken, 202-785-4426, thoida@osa.org or Dominique Dagenais.



For further information contact D. Dagenais, 202-767-9347, dagenais@ccs.nrl.navy.mil
11/23--MONDAY 11:00AM CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON GEOPHYSICAL LAB. (GL) SEMINAR: "Becoming Interested in Experiments: American Igneous Petrologists and the Geophysical Laboratory, 1905-1965," C.-H. Geschwind, Univ. of Maryland, Seminar Rm., Main Bldg., GL-DTM Grounds, Carnegie Institution of Washington, DC . (For further information contact: S. Schmidt, 202-686-2410, schmidt@gl.ciw.edu.)
11/23--MONDAY 10:00AM NAVY CENTER FOR APPLIED RESEARCH IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (NCARAI) SEMINAR: "Vision-Based Automatic Positioning and Navigation of Submersible Vehicles for Near Sea-Floor Operations," S. Negahdaripour, ECE, Univ. of Miami, FL. NCARAI Conf. Rm., Bldg. 256, Bolling AFB, Washington, DC . (For further information contact: - -, 202-404-7036, -.) http://www.aic.nrl.navy.mil/seminars/
11/24--TUESDAY 11:00AM UNIV. OF MARYLAND (UMD) CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY DEPT. SEMINAR: "Molecular Explanations of Viral Pathogenicity," A. Lilja, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UMD, Rm. 1325, Chemistry Bldg., UMD, College Park, MD . (For further information contact: - -, -, -.) http://chem-77.umd.edu/biotalks.htm
11/25--WEDNESDAY 4:15PM GEORGETOWN UNIV. (GU) CHEMISTRY DEPT. SEMINAR: "A Mechanism for Coupling Protein Translation and Protein Translocation at the Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane," C. Nicchitta, Duke Univ. Medical Center, NC. Reiss 262, GU, Washington, DC . (For further information contact: Prof. Kellaris, 202-687-2065, -.)


TALKS BY NIST PERSONNEL
LEV, S. M. : "Solving the Mystery of the Dead Cat," Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, Dickinson College Carlisle, PA USA, 11/20/98.
CLARK, C. W. : "Structure and Spectra of Bose-Einstein Condensates," Atomic Physics Seminar, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 11/23/98.
JEFFERY, A. : "Design of a New Multi-Frequency Four Terminal Pairs Bridge at NIST," EUROMET Workshop on "AC Bridges and Calculable Condensers", London, England, 11/25/98.
JEFFERY, A. : "10 pF CCEM Comparison, Preliminary Results," EUROMET Workshop on "AC Bridges and Calculable Condensers", London, England, 11/26/98.
JEFFERY, A. : "Evaluation of Systematic Errors for the NIST Calculable Capacitor," EUROMET Workshop on "AC Bridges and Calculable Condensers, London, England, 11/26/98.


ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AVAILABILITY OF A NEW 24 PROCESSOR SGI ORIGIN COMPUTER

The new 24 processor SGI Origin, named amur, is now availble for production runs in an initial configuration. This machine has 24 250Mhz R10000 CPUs, 24 GB of memory,and 96 GB of disk space.

Details on how to use the machine can be found at

http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/sasg/consult/

For an account, send email to acctnew@nist.gov. For answers to questions, please contact the consultants. They can be reached in multiple ways:

Email : consult@nist.gov Phone : (301) 975-2968 Desk : 1:00 - 4:00 pm ET, Bldg 225, Rm A148, Gaithersburg

http://www.itl.nist.gov/div895/sasg/consult/

For further information contact Judith Devaney, 301-975-2882, judith.devaney@nist.gov
Issue number: 9847

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