America is facing a great challenge to its national security following the terrorist tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. Stronger and more durable building materials, as well as fully equipped sensor network monitoring systems, can improve the structural integrity and life safety of national infrastructure in the future. The development of smart advanced materials and structural systems is one of the keys to meeting this national need. For many years, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) approximately 3,000 scientists and engineers have worked in a wide range of physical, chemical, biological, and engineering disciplines, providing measurements, standards, and technical advice to help federal, state, and local agencies and the private sector protect U.S. citizens from terrorist or military attacks, natural disasters and other threats. With an annual operating budget of roughly 400dollar million (USD), the ' NIST laboratories and the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) significantly contribute to national homeland security efforts. The ATP and its private sector partners develop broadly enabling, innovative technologies, and ATP has provided approximately 290dollar million (as of September 2002), for R&D related to homeland security, including high-risk technologies that offer the potential for widespread benefits to the nation. (The ATP funding for technologies relevant to homeland security, sorted by the NIST strategic opportunity areas, is illustrated in the accompanying pie chart and the table on the facing page.) This unique, government/industry partnership's mission is to accelerate the development of emerging or enabling technologies leading to revolutionary new products, industrial processes and services that can compete in rapidly changing world markets.
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