MARCH SYMPOSIUM SIZES UP THE PAST, FUTURE OF STANDARDS.

Thousands upon thousands of standards exist to advance incredibly diverse aims--from ensuring that the threads of fire hoses and hydrants match to enabling computers to connect to networks. In fact, a international professional organization recently ranked the promulgation of standards among the top 10 engineering accomplishments of the last century. But the picture isn't always rosy. These so-called documentary standards sometimes can be bones of fierce contention, triggering market battles, impeding trade and causing diplomatic friction.

In celebration of its 100th birthday, NIST hosted a March 7, 2001, symposium at its Gaithersburg, MD, headquarters, to survey the past, present and future of the occasionally turbulent standards world. Experts from industry, international standards organizations, academe and government weighed the evolving role of standards and the hundreds of organizations that develop them. The focus was on specific economic sectors, such as information technology, transportation and construction.

An important contributor to U.S. and international standardization activities since its creation in 1901, NIST coordinates the Federal Government's standards-related activities with the private sector.

For more information on the NIST Centennial Standards Symposium, visit the NIST Office of Standards Services web page at www.ts.nist.gov/oss; or contact Mary Jo DiBernardo.