Photonics Research Center Present
Dr. James M. Turner, Ph.D.
Deputy Director and Acting Director, National Institute of Standards and
Technology
Measuring Up to the Global Competition: How NIST Advances Innovation and
Industrial Competitiveness
Thursday, May 29, 2008
4:15 pm, Hewlett 201
Refreshments at 4:00pm
Abstract
Study after study asserts the importance of innovation to the economic
futures of industries and nations. Across the spectrum from R&D
laboratory to marketplace, global competition to be first and best in
developing and commercializing new technologies is intensifying. The
job of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a
science and technology agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce, is to
work with companies, universities, and other organizations to develop
and deliver the advanced measurement capabilities that are among the
essential ingredients of a 21st century innovation economy. In this
talk, I will describe the vital – but often overlooked – role that
measurements and standards play in fostering technological progress
under fast-changing circumstances of global competition and as new
national needs arise. Examples will be drawn from NIST's work in
nanotechnology and biotechnology.
About our Speaker
Dr. James M. Turner is the Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of
Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He is
also carrying out the responsibilities of the Director. (The NIST
Director position is vacant.) Turner provides high-level oversight and
direction for NIST. The agency promotes U.S. innovation and industrial
competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and
technology. NIST's FY 2008 resources total $931.5 million and the agency
employs about 2,800 scientists, engineers, technicians, support staff
and administrative personnel at two main locations in Gaithersburg, MD
and Boulder, CO. Along with the Department of Energy Office of Science,
and the National Science Foundation, NIST is slated for substantial
budget increases for its core research programs under the President's
American Competitiveness Initiative.
Prior to joining NIST on April 16, 2007, Turner served as the Assistant
Deputy Administrator for Nuclear Risk Reduction in the Department of
Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. In that position, he
was responsible for major projects in Russia to permanently shutdown
their last three weapons-grade plutonium-production reactors. He also
worked with foreign governments and international agencies to reduce the
consequences of nuclear accidents by strengthening their capability to
respond to nuclear emergencies.
Prior to that assignment, Turner held several senior management posts at
DOE concerned with laboratory oversight and with nuclear safety and the
safeguarding of nuclear weapons both here and abroad.
He holds degrees in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (Ph.D.) and Johns Hopkins University (B.A.), and taught for
five years as an Associate Professor of Physics and Engineering at
Morehouse College.
Among other honors, he has received the U.S. Government Presidential
Rank Award for Meritorious Service, three times received the U.S.
Department of Energy Exceptional Service Award, and earned the Secretary
of Energy Gold Award and the National Nuclear Security Administration's
Gold Medal. Dr. Turner is an active member of the American Physical
Society, the American Chemical Society, the American Nuclear Society,
the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ASTM, the
Council on Foreign Relations, IEEE, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and the
World Affairs Council.
Dr. Turner is a native of Washington, DC, is married, and has five
children and one grandchild. He enjoys doing yoga and Tai Chi. He and
his wife, Paulette, reside in Olney, Maryland.
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