Statement of
Dr. Hratch G. Semerjian
Acting Director
National
Technology Administration
Before the
House of Representatives
Committee on Government Reform
Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy,
Intergovernmental Relations and the Census
“Defining Federal Information Technology Research and
Development: Who? Where? What? Why? and
How Much?”
Chairman
Putnam and Members of the Committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify
today about the contributions of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) to Federal information technology research and development. I
would like to address the questions you asked in your invitation to testify and
tell you about some of the important activities currently underway at NIST.
The
benefits that information technology has had on the
Our
mission is to develop and promote measurement science, standards, and
supporting programs in information technology in order to enhance productivity,
facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. We work in partnership with
industry, academia, government—civilian and military, and consortia to develop
and demonstrate tests, test methods, reference data sets, proof-of-concept
implementations, and other information infrastructure technologies. Our goal is
to enable the information technology industry in the
A new age is dawning
for scientific and engineering research, pushed by continuing progress in
computing, information, and communication technology, and pulled by the
expanding complexity, scope and scale of today’s challenges. These information technology advancements
provide the potential for the research community to build new types of
scientific and engineering knowledge environments and organizations and to
pursue research in new ways and with increased efficacy.[1] The acknowledged key to these breakthroughs
is achieving the necessary functionality, interoperability, usability,
confidence, and data protection within the IT systems that will lead the way.
NIST is at the
forefront of this new age. The
information technology research at NIST is focused on building the trust and
confidence in today’s and tomorrow’s systems.
Trust and confidence covers the range of IT systems: advances in modeling and simulation to
complement the advances in the physical sciences; secure, robust, quality
software; agile, resilient, robust networks that continue to operate under
catastrophic conditions; and integrity, availability, interoperability and
reliability of the systems, data and networks.
We have a unique collection of scientists working collaboratively from
computer scientists to chemists, electrical and mechanical engineers and physicists
striving to meet the challenge of trust and confidence in IT in the nanoscale
revolution and beyond.
I would now like to
mention some highlights from our major Information Technology program areas
which will give you a flavor of the wide array of expertise and effort resident
at NIST:
NIST ensures the
security, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. NIST has a long-standing, highly
successful role in working with Federal agencies and industry to ensure the
protection of information technology and systems through standards and
guidelines, testing methodologies, conformity assessment and complementary
supporting research. These activities emanated from necessity and
were formalized in legislation such as the Computer Security Act, the Federal
Information Security Management Act, and the Cyber Security Research and
Development Act. These efforts, often codified in Federal Information
Processing Standards (FIPS), have led to increased protection of government
information. NIST is also leading global efforts to develop secure smart card
technologies and travel documents, and to achieve consensus on various
electronic authentication strategies.
NIST mitigates
the $59.5 billion cost of inadequate software testing. NIST is the world leader in development of
test methodologies for software assurance and conformity to IT standards. NIST
maintains a robust program in software that is fundamental to the continued
growth of the IT industry. We facilitate electronic commerce through
development of XML tests, while also developing test methods and registries to
improve the interoperability, quality, conformance, and correctness of
healthcare information data transfer. Our expertise in software extends to the
field of computer forensics; a program which enables the detection of computer
crime and successful prosecution of terrorists and other criminals.
NIST develops
test and measurement technology that keys the implementation, robust operation,
and continuity of operations of the nation’s core networking infrastructure. We have the premier capability in the world
for modeling and simulating the performance of large networks under various
failure and recovery scenarios, which enables more consistent service of the
internet. Our broad ranging program also works with the public safety community
and industry to develop modern, interoperable communication and
networking standards for first responders.
NIST enables
intuitive, efficient access, manipulation, and exchange of complex
information. NIST continues to make strides in improving
our customers’ ability to use information technology and the underlying
information. These efforts have brought advances to human language technology
that enhances content extraction, question answering, and speech-to-text
capabilities. Tremendous strides have also occurred in the usability and
accessibility of information through the testing of NIST labs.
NIST is a world
leader in analytical, statistical, and computational methods for solving
scientific and engineering problems. We continue to provide technical leadership in state-of-the-art
analytical and computational methods for the scientific and engineering world.
The mathematics program develops, analyzes, and solves mathematical models of
physical phenomena; develops highly efficient parallel computational
models to enable scientific advancement; develops and distributes mathematical
software tools and tests; and
continues development of the Digital Library of Mathematical Functions, a
comprehensive, authoritative web-based interactive reference on the special
functions of applied mathematics. NIST also continues to provide the
statistical underpinnings that strengthen scientific research through
formulation and development of statistical theory and methodology for
metrology. The program develops new statistical methods for the design and
analysis of Key Comparisons forming the basis of international trade; develops
statistical methods to evaluate IT performance in networks, biometrics, and
computer forensics; and characterizes complex instruments, systems, and
processes in mathematical terms, including the analysis of the World Trade
Center collapse. In cooperation with Sematech, NIST created
the popular Web-based e-Handbook of Statistical Methods, which is a fundamental
global reference.
NIST works to ensure the interoperability of technology specifications. Interoperability is essential to productivity and competitiveness of many industries because efficient design and manufacturing require the coordination of many different participants and processes that rely on a digital representation of the product. To mitigate the $1 billion annual cost to members of the automotive supply chain, NIST has initiated the NIST Manufacturing B2B Interoperability Testbed to address the needs for demonstration and testing of B2B standards. The testbed is an on-going effort to mobilize software vendors, manufacturers, standards organizations, and other stake-holding parties to enhance the capability for on-demand demonstration and testing of interoperability of enterprise application in a B2B setting.
Through these
efforts NIST has developed world-class competencies in security, software,
networks, information access, mathematics, statistics, and interoperability.
This bundle of competencies, combined with Nobel prize winning expertise in the
physical sciences places NIST in a unique position to create an enormous impact
on the economy and scientific research. It is precisely this unique capability
that attracts funding from other agencies. We continually leverage our
expertise and this funding to protect this Nation and position the
NIST assists government and industry in protection of the US border through the development of biometrics evaluation systems, biometrics standards, and biometrics research. Working with the biometric community, NIST has long been recognized as an expert in the use of biometric information. Two recent laws recognized this expertise and provided specific requirements for NIST, the USA PATRIOT Act and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act. Under these laws, NIST has refined programs in fingerprint testing, face testing, multimodal biometrics evaluation, multimodal system design, and standards.
NIST enhances trust and confidence in voting systems. The core of democracy is the voting system. The Help America Vote Act seeks to increase trust and confidence in the voting system, in part by providing NIST with mandates in the areas of security, hardware/software interoperability, and human factors issues. Under HAVA, NIST recently released a study titled: “Improving the Usability and Accessibility of Voting Systems and Products” which established a roadmap for voting constituencies, vendors and users to achieve increased trust and confidence that the voting system accurately reflects the will of the electorate.
NIST makes revolutionary advances in quantum communications and computing. Quantum communications offers the promise of perfectly protected messages while quantum computing offers the promise of dramatically increased computing power. NIST is developing the measurements and standards infrastructure to enable future development of information systems based on the principles of quantum physics. NIST’s two Nobel Laureates are focused on this effort.
NIST utilizes information technology to find knowledge in large data sets. NIST has the most comprehensive array of chemical, physical, and engineering measurements data of any group worldwide working in science and technology. NIST cost-effectively manages this data by developing accessible IT resources, including web-based data dissemination and single-portal access to all these databases, while using statistical and mathematical methodology to make sense of the data.
NIST works with partners in other Federal agencies,
academia, and industry to develop and promote openness and interoperablility in
information technology. It works with
other agencies not only on a bilateral basis, where it furnishes expertise in
its unique areas of research to the DoD, HHS, NIH, DOJ and others, but also
through support and cooperation within the Interagency Working Group on
Information Technology Research and Development. Examples of NIST IT cooperation with
industry include electronic commerce and various aspects of
Providing security to supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems-- systems that monitor and control power flows in the electric power grid –involves significant IT research, as SCADA systems are increasingly IT-based. NIST is evaluating the performance of a number of promising security systems under development to ensure security while not compromising the performance of the power grid. In a similar way, cybernetic building systems involve information handling at many different levels of building services (e.g., fire detection, security and transport systems, energy management, and utilities). The NIST program which includes a full-scale demonstration of cybernetic building systems, involves a significant amount of IT research to develop a standards-based information infrastructure.
NIST is careful to
utilize its unique attribute of being an unbiased, neutral third-party to best
enhance the efforts of industry where it is needed most. The impact of NIST
programs on the IT industry, the Federal government, the security of IT
infrastructure, and security of the American people is broad and deep. The
standards, tests and measures that NIST enables are also key to the continued
competitive advantage of the
NIST received FY 2004 appropriated funding of $48.6 million, which is supplemented by a number of other agencies by $17 million. In addition, now before the Congress is the President’s FY 2005 budget request that includes a proposed increase of $7 million for NIST to address key national needs in cyber security and accelerate solutions to critical cyber security issues ($6 million) and to address the biometric requirements of the USA Patriot Act by developing the standards for testing the accuracy of biometric technologies ($1 million). This specifically includes working with the Department of Homeland Security through its Science and Technology Directorate, as well as the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate’s National Cyber Security Division to enhance collaborative efforts begun in 2003. This proposed expansion of NIST’s current program will allow for additional deliverables in FY 2005 and a critical start to long-term work in key areas including:
· Enhancing security, critical infrastructure application, and communication protocols;
· Expanding the NIST Cryptographic Toolkit to include limited power, small-sized computing environments;
· Improving broken wireless security standards by identifying, prioritizing, and accelerating approaches to securing wireless devices;
· Developing metrics to understand, express, and improve our ability to build secure networks and systems from individually understood components; and
· Developing advanced means to cost-effectively control access of individuals and automated services to information and other automated services.
In conclusion, NIST
takes its roles in maintaining the vitality of the U.S. information technology
industry seriously, in providing unique expertise to the rest of the
government, and in sharing with industry, government and universities the basic
science and technology that comes from its measurement and standards research.
These brief examples of our work and accomplishments illustrate NIST’s
commitment to these roles. They also
demonstrate the base upon which NIST continues to build.
This concludes my
prepared remarks. I will be pleased to
answer your questions.
Hratch Semerjian, Acting Director
Hratch G. Semerjian is serving as Acting Director of NIST while Arden Bement serves in a temporary capacity as the Acting Director of the National Science Foundation. Dr. Semerjian has served as the Deputy Director of NIST since July 2003. In this position, Dr. Semerjian is responsible for overall operation of the Institute, effectiveness of NIST's technical programs, and for interactions with international organizations. NIST has a total budget of about $771 million, and a permanent staff of about 3,000, as well as about 1,600 guest researchers from industry, academia, and other national metrology institutes from more than 40 countries. Most of the NIST researchers are located in two major campuses in Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo. NIST also has two joint research institutes; the oldest of these is JILA, a collaborative research program with the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the other is CARB (Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology), a partnership with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.
Dr. Semerjian received his M.Sc. (1968) and Ph.D. (1972) degrees in
engineering from