%0 Book %A National Research Council %T An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Building and Fire Research Laboratory: Fiscal Year 2010 %@ 978-0-309-16167-1 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13011/an-assessment-of-the-national-institute-of-standards-and-technology-building-and-fire-research-laboratory %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13011/an-assessment-of-the-national-institute-of-standards-and-technology-building-and-fire-research-laboratory %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Engineering and Technology %P 56 %X A panel of experts appointed by the National Research Council assessed the scientific and technical work of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The scope of the assessment included the following criteria: (1) the technical merit of the current laboratory programs relative to the current state of the art worldwide; (2) the adequacy of the laboratory facilities, equipment, and human resources, as they affect the quality of the laboratory technical programs; and (3) the degree to which the laboratory programs in measurement science and standards achieve their stated objectives and desired impact. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Persistent Forecasting of Disruptive Technologies—Report 2 %@ 978-0-309-14904-4 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12834/persistent-forecasting-of-disruptive-technologies-report-2 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12834/persistent-forecasting-of-disruptive-technologies-report-2 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Engineering and Technology %P 341 %X The term "disruptive technology" describes a technology that results in a sudden change affecting already established technologies or markets. Disruptive technologies cause one or more discontinuities in the normal evolutionary life cycle of technology. This may lead to an unexpected destabilization of an older technology order and an opportunity for new competitors to displace incumbents. Frequently cited examples include digital photography and desktop publishing. The first report of the series, Persistent Forecasting of Disruptive Technologies, discussed how technology forecasts were historically made, assessed various existing forecasting systems, and identified desirable attributes of a next-generation persistent long-term forecasting system for disruptive technologies. This second book attempts to sketch out high-level forecasting system designs. In addition, the book provides further evaluation of the system attributes defined in the first report, and evidence of the feasibility of creating a system with those attributes. Together, the reports are intended to help the Department of Defense and the intelligence community identify and develop a forecasting system that will assist in detecting and tracking global technology trends, producing persistent long-term forecasts of disruptive technologies, and characterizing their potential impact on future U.S. warfighting and homeland defense capabilities. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Testing of Body Armor Materials for Use by the U.S. Army—Phase II: Letter Report %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12885/testing-of-body-armor-materials-for-use-by-the-us-army-phase-ii %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12885/testing-of-body-armor-materials-for-use-by-the-us-army-phase-ii %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Conflict and Security Issues %P 54 %X This report assesses the methodologies used for body armor testing. This Phase II report considers in greater detail [than in Phase I] the validity of using the column drop performance test described by the Army for assessing the part-to-part consistency of a clay body within the level of precision that is identified by the Army test procedures. More detailed evaluations of the array of issues surrounding body armor testing, both present and future, will be presented in the final Phase III report. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Examination of the U.S. Air Force's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs in the Future and Its Strategy to Meet Those Needs %@ 978-0-309-14197-0 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12718/examination-of-the-us-air-forces-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-workforce-needs-in-the-future-and-its-strategy-to-meet-those-needs %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12718/examination-of-the-us-air-forces-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-workforce-needs-in-the-future-and-its-strategy-to-meet-those-needs %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %K Conflict and Security Issues %K Industry and Labor %P 176 %X The Air Force requires technical skills and expertise across the entire range of activities and processes associated with the development, fielding, and employment of air, space, and cyber operational capabilities. The growing complexity of both traditional and emerging missions is placing new demands on education, training, career development, system acquisition, platform sustainment, and development of operational systems. While in the past the Air Force's technologically intensive mission has been highly attractive to individuals educated in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, force reductions, ongoing military operations, and budget pressures are creating new challenges for attracting and managing personnel with the needed technical skills. Assessments of recent development and acquisition process failures have identified a loss of technical competence within the Air Force (that is, in house or organic competence, as opposed to contractor support) as an underlying problem. These challenges come at a time of increased competition for technical graduates who are U.S. citizens, an aging industry and government workforce, and consolidations of the industrial base that supports military systems. In response to a request from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering, the National Research Council conducted five fact-finding meetings at which senior Air Force commanders in the science and engineering, acquisition, test, operations, and logistics domains provided assessments of the adequacy of the current workforce in terms of quality and quantity. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Report of a Workshop on the Scope and Nature of Computational Thinking %@ 978-0-309-14957-0 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12840/report-of-a-workshop-on-the-scope-and-nature-of-computational-thinking %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12840/report-of-a-workshop-on-the-scope-and-nature-of-computational-thinking %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 114 %X Report of a Workshop on the Scope and Nature of Computational Thinking presents a number of perspectives on the definition and applicability of computational thinking. For example, one idea expressed during the workshop is that computational thinking is a fundamental analytical skill that everyone can use to help solve problems, design systems, and understand human behavior, making it useful in a number of fields. Supporters of this viewpoint believe that computational thinking is comparable to the linguistic, mathematical and logical reasoning taught to all children. Various efforts have been made to introduce K-12 students to the most basic and essential computational concepts and college curricula have tried to provide a basis for life-long learning of increasingly new and advanced computational concepts and technologies. At both ends of this spectrum, however, most efforts have not focused on fundamental concepts. The book discusses what some of those fundamental concepts might be. Report of a Workshop on the Scope and Nature of Computational Thinking explores the idea that as the use of computational devices is becoming increasingly widespread, computational thinking skills should be promulgated more broadly. The book is an excellent resource for professionals in a wide range of fields including educators and scientists. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies—Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles %@ 978-0-309-14850-4 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12826/transitions-to-alternative-transportation-technologies-plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicles %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12826/transitions-to-alternative-transportation-technologies-plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicles %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Energy and Energy Conservation %K Transportation and Infrastructure %P 70 %X The nation has compelling reasons to reduce its consumption of oil and emissions of carbon dioxide. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) promise to contribute to both goals by allowing some miles to be driven on electricity drawn from the grid, with an internal combustion engine that kicks in when the batteries are discharged. However, while battery technology has made great strides in recent years, batteries are still very expensive. Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies--Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles builds on a 2008 National Research Council report on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The present volume reviews the current and projected technology status of PHEVs; considers the factors that will affect how rapidly PHEVs could enter the marketplace, including the interface with the electric transmission and distribution system; determines a maximum practical penetration rate for PHEVs consistent with the time frame and factors considered in the 2008 Hydrogen report; and incorporates PHEVs into the models used in the hydrogen study to estimate the costs and impacts on petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Forging the Future of Space Science: The Next 50 Years %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12675/forging-the-future-of-space-science-the-next-50-years %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12675/forging-the-future-of-space-science-the-next-50-years %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 166 %X From September 2007 to June 2008 the Space Studies Board conducted an international public seminar series, with each monthly talk highlighting a different topic in space and Earth science. The principal lectures from the series are compiled in Forging the Future of Space Science. The topics of these events covered the full spectrum of space and Earth science research, from global climate change, to the cosmic origins of life, to the exploration of the Moon and Mars, to the scientific research required to support human spaceflight. The prevailing messages throughout the seminar series as demonstrated by the lectures in this book are how much we have accomplished over the past 50 years, how profound are our discoveries, how much contributions from the space program affect our daily lives, and yet how much remains to be done. The age of discovery in space and Earth science is just beginning. Opportunities abound that will forever alter our destiny. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Proceedings of a Workshop on Deterring Cyberattacks: Informing Strategies and Developing Options for U.S. Policy %@ 978-0-309-16035-3 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12997/proceedings-of-a-workshop-on-deterring-cyberattacks-informing-strategies-and %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12997/proceedings-of-a-workshop-on-deterring-cyberattacks-informing-strategies-and %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Conflict and Security Issues %K Computers and Information Technology %P 400 %X In a world of increasing dependence on information technology, the prevention of cyberattacks on a nation's important computer and communications systems and networks is a problem that looms large. Given the demonstrated limitations of passive cybersecurity defense measures, it is natural to consider the possibility that deterrence might play a useful role in preventing cyberattacks against the United States and its vital interests. At the request of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Research Council undertook a two-phase project aimed to foster a broad, multidisciplinary examination of strategies for deterring cyberattacks on the United States and of the possible utility of these strategies for the U.S. government. The first phase produced a letter report providing basic information needed to understand the nature of the problem and to articulate important questions that can drive research regarding ways of more effectively preventing, discouraging, and inhibiting hostile activity against important U.S. information systems and networks. The second phase of the project entailed selecting appropriate experts to write papers on questions raised in the letter report. A number of experts, identified by the committee, were commissioned to write these papers under contract with the National Academy of Sciences. Commissioned papers were discussed at a public workshop held June 10-11, 2010, in Washington, D.C., and authors revised their papers after the workshop. Although the authors were selected and the papers reviewed and discussed by the committee, the individually authored papers do not reflect consensus views of the committee, and the reader should view these papers as offering points of departure that can stimulate further work on the topics discussed. The papers presented in this volume are published essentially as received from the authors, with some proofreading corrections made as limited time allowed.