ABSTRACT
As a national laboratory dedicated to the advancement of measurement science and engineering, National Bureau of Standards (NBS) recognized early in its history that the assessment of the quality of measurement results is a fundamental component of its mission. This chapter describes the NBS’s Critical Data for Critical Needs, relating the context in which the publication appeared, its impact on science, technology, and the general public, and brief details about the lives and work of the author. Critical Data for Critical Needs offers both a status report and a prognosis of major changes expected from the revolution in information technology that was beginning at that time. The paper Critical Data for Critical Needs remains a classic in defining the scope and importance of data in the advancement of science and technology and of the impact computers have had on scientific data work.
