Senate confirms standards chief

The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed William Alan Jeffrey as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the standards-setting body of the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration. Jeffrey was previously senior director for homeland and national security and the assistant director for space and aeronautics at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Jeffrey succeeds Arden Bement, now director of the National Science Foundation. Jeffrey also developed research projects in communications, computer network security, sensor development and space operations for the Tactical Technology Office with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.