The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) Nomination Evaluation Committee will meet in closed session on Friday, September 9, 2016. The primary purpose of the meeting is to discuss the relative merits of persons, teams, and companies nominated for the 2015 NMTI.
The meeting will convene on Friday, September 9, 2016, at approximately 9 a.m., and adjourn at approximately 5 p.m.
The meeting will be held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Palafoutas, Program Manager, National Medal of Technology and Innovation Program, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313; telephone (571) 272-9821; or by electronic mail: nmti@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the NMTI Nomination Evaluation Committee, chartered to the United States Department of Commerce, will meet at the United States Patent and Trademark Office campus in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Secretary of Commerce is responsible for recommending to the President prospective NMTI recipients. The NMTI Nomination Evaluation Committee evaluates the nominations received pursuant to public solicitation and makes its recommendations for the Medal to the Secretary. Committee members are distinguished experts in the fields of science, technology, business, and patent law drawn from both the public and private sectors and are appointed by the Secretary for three-year terms.
In order to complete the 2015 NMTI selection process prior to the next cycle of awards, USPTO asked the members of the Evaluation Committee to meet as soon as possible. Because the committee is newly formed and has multiple scheduling conflicts, September 9, 2016 is the best date available for the committee to meet in order to make timely recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce.
The NMTI Nomination Evaluation Committee was established in accordance with the FACA. The Committee meeting will be closed to the public in accordance with the FACA and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6) and (9)(B), because the discussion of the relative merit of the Medal nominations is likely to disclose information of a personal nature that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy and premature disclosure of the Committee’s recommendations would be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of the Medal Program.
The Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration, United States Department of Commerce, formally determined on September 6, 2016 pursuant to Section 10(d) of the FACA, that the meeting may be closed because Committee members are concerned with matters that are within the purview of 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6) and (9)(B). Due to closure of this meeting, copies of any minutes of the meeting will not be available. A copy of the determination is available for public inspection at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.