This is a contributed reference work from international authors from both industry and academia. It deals with materials metrology and standards for engineering design. This includes examination of metrological considerations as well as investigating the many measurement and control techniques. It will be of interest to all materials scientists and engineers from graduates to experienced professionals and will be particularly useful to all those involved with measurement instrumentation.

This assessment of the technical quality and relevance of the programs of the Measurement and Standards Laboratories of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is the work of the 165 members of the National Research Council's (NRC's) Board on Assessment of NIST Programs and its panels. These individuals were chosen by the NRC for their technical expertise, their practical experience in running research programs, and their knowledge of industry's needs in basic measurements and standards. This assessment addresses the following: The technical merit of the laboratory programs relative to the state of the art worldwide; The effectiveness with which the laboratory programs are carried out and the results disseminated to their customers; The relevance of the laboratory programs to the needs of their customers; and The ability of the laboratories' facilities, equipment, and human resources to enable the laboratories to fulfill their mission and meet their customers' needs.

The Conference entitled 'Performance of Buildings--Concept and Measurement' was held at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Md. on September 23-25, 1968.At the present conference, papers were presented by nineteen authors representing government and industry in such diverse disciplines as architecture, engineering, science, urban planning, and standards.These papers emphasize the prime importance of considering user needs in the development of performance criteria, the necessity of test methods to determine whether the desired performance has been achieved, and the development of performance specifications and standards.Application of these ideas to building systems, and to the planning and design of entire communities, is also discussed.(Author).