NIST launches federal investigation into Sept. 11 WTC disaster

The National Institute of Standards and Technology officially launched a $16 million, 24-month federal building and fire safety investigation to study the structural failure and subsequent progressive collapse of several World Trade Center buildings following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

The study will focus on the building construction, the materials used and all of the technical conditions that contributed to the WTC collapse.

The investigation is part of a broader NIST response plan to the disaster. In addition to the investigation, NIST is planning to conduct two related programs concurrently: a multiyear research and development program to provide the technical basis for improved building and fire codes, standards and practices; and an industry-led dissemination and technical assistance program that will provide practical guidance and tools to better prepare facility owners, contractors, designers and emergency personnel to respond to future disasters.

ASME's Council on Codes and Standards is participating in the investigation with regard to elevator codes. ASME volunteers and staff have met with NIST officials about the investigation, and sponsored a meeting with NIST staff and staff of other engineering societies before the investigation was officially launched.

For details about the NIST investigation plan, fact sheets, downloadable visuals and other information relevant to the WTC project, go to http://wtc.nist.gov.

For more information, contact Francis Dietz at dietzf@asme.org.

 

ASME co-sponsors California legislative nano dialogue

In August, ASME and the California Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) sponsored a California Legislative Dialogue on nanotechnology.

The purpose of the Legislative Dialogue was to brief key California legislators and their staffs about emerging technologies and to discuss public policy initiatives supporting education, applied research and commercialization related to the specific technology of interest.

Stanley Williams, director of Quantum Science Research, Hewlett Packard Labs, was the presenter. Previously, he was the keynote speaker at the ASME Nanotechnology Conference in Mountain View, Calif., in June. Lynden Davis, vice president-elect of Region IX, made introductory remarks.

Williams emphasized two key points. The first was the increasing difficulty of recruiting American citizens into the nano field due to the continuing decline of math and science education in U.S. high schools. The second was the importance of ASME's leadership in nanotechnology at the national level.

Williams also called for establishing a coalition among the various California government, corporate, university and engineering societies involved in this technology — an area ripe for additional ASME leadership through its public policy forums.

At the local level, state Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, who is co-chair of the state assembly and state Senate Joint Committee on Preparing California for the 21st Century, and chair of the Senate Economic Development Committee, committed to a proactive involvement to resolve some difficulties preserving proprietary interests and intellectual property rights in research partnerships between corporate sponsors and California universities.

For more information about the meeting, contact Melissa Murray at murraym@asme.org.

— Melissa Murray
ASME Government Relations

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