(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- On Sept. 10, the White House announced President Barack Obama’s intention to nominate physicist Patrick Gallagher to be the 14th director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Gallagher, 46, is currently the NIST deputy director.

“NIST is a unique agency with a strong culture of world-class scientific achievement. Pat Gallagher has come up through the ranks and his continued leadership will be critical to an agency that is central to the nation’s ability to innovate and compete in global markets,” says U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke on the nomination.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gallagher will direct an agency with an annual budget of approximately $800 million that employs approximately 2,900 scientists, engineers, technicians, support staff, and administrative personnel at two primary locations: Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado. Gallagher will succeed William Jeffrey, who left NIST in 2007.

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