WORKSHOP ON COATING AND PAINT MEASUREMENT More than 30 years of technological advances and environmental requirements have transformed the nation's $14 billion-a-year paint and coatings industry. Colors of virtually every shade add hundreds of billions of dollars of value to products from automobiles to bulk plastics. Industry's ability to measure and predict appearance, however, is essentially at pre1960's levels. For instance, at least 10 different metrics exist for measuring ``gloss.'' Old metrics are also considered inadequate for new coatings such as metallic and pearlescent finishes. The National Institute for Standards and Technology will host a workshop 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 20 in the Green Auditorium at NIST Gaithersburg headquarters to discuss a framework for cooperative work in coatings appearance. There is no charge for the workshop. Participants from industry and NIST laboratories will assess industrial need for new appearance measurement methods, discuss NIST's proposed research on advanced scattering and rendering models and photometric measurements, and consider the establishment of an industrial advisory committee. Interested parties should contact Jonathan Martin, B348, Building Research Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-6707, e-mail: Jonathan.Martin@nist.gov.

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