James St. Pierre

James A. St. Pierre is Deputy Director of the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL). ITL is one of six research Laboratories within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with an annual budget of $120 million, 367 employees, and about 160 guest researchers from industry, universities, and foreign laboratories.

Along with the ITL Director St. Pierre oversees a research program designed to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by developing and disseminating standards, measurements, and testing for interoperability, security, usability, and reliability of information systems, including cybersecurity standards and guidelines for Federal agencies and U.S. industry, supporting these and measurement science at NIST through fundamental and applied research in computer science, mathematics, and statistics. Through its efforts, ITL seeks to enhance productivity and public safety, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life.

Within NIST's traditional role as the overseer of the National Measurement System, ITL is addressing the hard problems in IT Measurement Research. ITL's research results in metrics, tests, and tools for a wide range of subjects such as complex systems, pervasive information technologies, and virtual measurements, as well as issues of information and software quality, integrity, and usability.

ITL has been charged with leading the nation in utilizing existing and emerging IT to meet national priorities that reflect the broad-based social, economic, and political values and goals of the country. Under the Federal Information Security Management Act, ITL is charged with developing cybersecurity standards, guidelines, and associated methods and techniques. Under other legislation, such as the USA PATRIOT Act, the Help America Vote Act, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ITL is addressing major challenges faced by the nation in the areas of homeland security, electronic voting, and health information technology. In addition, Mr. St.Pierre coordinates ITL's involvement in the NIST Smart Grid efforts – ITL's contributions to this effort are focused on cybersecurity and networking.

His work has been published in the NIST Journal of Research and in external publications. He has given dozens of presentations on both technical and management topics, to both national and international audiences. Before joining NIST, in 1994, he worked as a technical project leader within Loral Space Systems semiconductor design group and worked for IBM on the development of hardware and software for Los Angeles-class submarines. In addition, he worked with several universities to develop their semiconductor design curricula.