National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

A -- PUBLIC MEETING SOL Q- POC Customer Representative 1-800-287-3863 Department of Commerce Technology Administration National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Gaithersburg, MD. Date: March 1, 1995 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING: The NIST Advanced Technology Program (ATP) is soliciting proposals under its focused program competition, Digital Data Storage (95-03) and announces a public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for all interested parties. An estimated $15 million in first-year ATP funding is available under this focused program competition 95- 03. The ATP reserves the right to utilize for this competition more or less funding than the amount stated above, depending on the quality of the proposals received. The actual number of proposals funded will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the amount of funding requested in the highest ranked proposals. Outyear funding is contingent on the approval of future Congressional appropriations and satisfactory program performance. This is the first of three competitions planned for this ATP focused program. Two additional competitions are planned, the second of which should occur 12 to 18 months after the initial competition. The follow-on competitions are intended to fill technical gaps and provide opportunities for further customer-supplier integration. Award recipients will be required to share non-proprietary information at workshops which will be held throughout the duration of the program. The ATP operates under program procedures published at Part 295, Title 15, of the Code of Federal Regulations. The ATP Proposal Preparation Kit dated November 1994 (containing proposal cover sheets, other required forms, background material, and instructions for submission of proposals) and the focused program paper entitled ''Digital Data Storage,'' Supplemental Information Program Competition 95-03,'' may be obtained by phone (1-800-ATP-FUND), fax (301-926-9524), e-mail (atp@micf.nist.gov), or written request at the address shown below. Only FULL proposals are being solicited under this focused program competition 95-03. Abbreviated/pre-proposals WILL NOT be accepted. Proposals submitted by facsimile or electronic mail WILL NOT be accepted. If a proposer's proposal is judged to be of high enough quality to be invited in for an oral review, ATP reserves the right to submit a list of questions to the proposer that must be addressed at the oral review. The due date for submission of full proposals is 3 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday, May 9, 1995. Should the NIST facility be closed on the specified due date, ATP proposals will be due at 3 p.m. eastern time on the next business day that the NIST facility is open. Proposals received after this deadline will not be considered. Decisions on the awards for this competition should be made within three months after full proposals are received. Send proposals to: Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Bldg. 101, Rm. A430, Quince Orchard & Clopper Roads, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001. Mark envelope Focused Program 95-03. The goal of this five-year Digital Data Storage focused program is to promote U.S. economic growth by supporting sustained, high-risk research and development, which will accelerate the data storage industry. The emphasis of the Program is research that will lead to digital data storage devices exhibiting at least an order of magnitude increase in data storage density (either areal or volumetric), performance, and/or cost advantages over present technology. The goal of the program will be the technology development for future large (multi-gigabyte), low cost, high-performance data storage devices. Proposals may address technology to develop components, materials, channel electronics, and software that are specific to the data storage industry. Topics that may be addressed include new media for magnetic and electro-optical storage devices, new materials to increase storage density and improve performance, high-performance recording heads that are vastly superior to today's state of the art, new lubricants and surface finishes for media, reliable micropositioning devices for high-precision placement of sensing devices over data tracks, channel electronics for signal-processing in order to achieve low error rates, and improved software which significantly advances the state of the art over the range extending from error detection and correction within storage units and disk controllers to management of data storage systems. Specifically excluded from this competition are data storage techniques that are based on semiconductor devices (such as flash memories, etc.) and software not specifically designed to augment the performance of physical storage devices (such as database software, stand-alone compression software, etc). A public meeting (Proposers' Conference) for potential proposers and other interested parties will be held from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. eastern time on Monday, March 27, 1995, at the Gaithersburg Hilton, 620 Perry Parkway, Gaithersburg, MD (Interstate I-270, Exit 11). The morning session will provide general information on the ATP and hints on preparing good proposals (covering the same material presented at previous ATP Proposers' Conferences). The afternoon breakout session will provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions on the scope and technical and business goals of this focused program. Attendance at this public meeting is not required. No registration fee will be charged. In case of severe weather, please call NIST's Facilities Status Line 301- 975-6748, for a pre-recorded message of the status of NIST opening. If NIST is closed, the meeting will be rescheduled. To register for this public meeting or for further information, contact ATP by phone: 1-800-ATP-FUND; fax: 301-926-9524; or e- mail: atp@micf.nist.gov. (0058)

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