(NIST: Gaithersbug, MD) -- Scientists, industry leaders, and public officials came together this week for a dialogue on innovation at The Atlantic’s “From Inspiration to Innovation Summit,” held at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) director, Patrick Gallagher, was among the invited speakers on the panel titled, “Advanced Manufacturing: Made in America... Again?”

Responding to a question about NIST’s role in supporting manufacturing, Gallagher pointed out that the agency’s mission goes back more than 110 years. Then, and now, that mission has been to ensure that U.S. industries have the infrastructure of measurements, standards, and technology they need to be competitive in global markets, particularly manufacturing-based industries. That mission is even more important today, when so much manufacturing is tied to advanced technology, and our research and development—our ability to innovate—is deeply embedded in our manufacturing capability.

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