NIST News

World Metrology Day celebrates the signing of the Treaty of the Meter on May 20, 1875. By signing the treaty, representatives from 17 nations, including the United States, recognized the importance … more

The federal government issued on May 9, 2012, a solicitation for proposals from teams led by non-profit organizations or universities to establish an Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have published their first archival paper based on data from the institute’s new hydrogen test facility.* The … more

Researchers, health care professionals, academics, industry representatives and others interested in the advanced diagnostic and disease treatment options possible from the analysis of metabolites … more

Laurie E. Locascio has been named as the new director of the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) while Richard Cavanagh, who had … more

Today, at a White House event, leaders from industry, academia, national labs, and government announced more than a dozen new commitments to advance the Administration’s Materials Genome … more

Recently, NIST announced the availability of $2.5 million for funding criminal justice applications that use new scientific discoveries. Thirty-six proposals were received, and the judges found it … more

& Using SEMPA, the magnetic structures in the top and bottom layers of a cobalt-ruthenium-cobalt sandwich contained within a superconducting device were imaged, both before (left) and … more

Peter Huang of PML's Sensor Science Division. Peter Huang of the Sensor Science Division’s Temperature and Humidity group has devised a new humidity generator that enables … more

Scientists, industry leaders and public officials came together this week for a dialogue on innovation at The Atlantic's "From Inspiration to Innovation Summit," held at Ronald Reagan … more

Botnet activity is on the rise around the globe, and to help understand this problem the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is hosting a free, day-long workshop May 30, 2012, at … more

Roger Kilmer, director of NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program speaks to more than 800 manufacturers and other industry experts at the Manufacturing Innovation 2012 … more

The new, automated Vacuum Comparison Standard can accommodate up to 10 customer gauges of different types at once, with calibration times in the two- to three-hour range. In the vacuum … more

A SURF beam line (foil-wrapped cylinder at right) ends at a vacuum chamber in which the MAVEN EUV filter radiometer was tested. At left, plastic drapes form a clean room in which the … more

Gaithersburg, Md.—An international team of researchers including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has found what may be the first known example of … more

On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) will host “Creating Usable Electronic … more

Vincent Lee prepares a demonstration for visiting students. For the second consecutive year, PML played a major role in NIST’s contributions to the Science and Engineering … more

PML technician Sherry Sheckels uses a flashlight and magnification loupe to take exact water-level measurements on a sta more

The Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO) today* issued a formal "request for information" on a new public-private partnership proposed by President Obama: the National … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has extended until May 25, 2012, the comment period for the second draft of a publication intended to help federal departments and agencies … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed and published a new protocol for communicating with biometric sensors over wired and wireless … more

Forensic Firearms Analysis Conference 2012 Since the early 1900s, forensic scientists have been using firearms analysis to associate bullets and cartridge cases left at crime scenes to … more

When it comes to the food used to raise fish in aquaculture "farms," it seems that you may get what you pay for. In a new study,* researchers from the National Institute of Standards and … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a novel way of producing light pulses that are "superluminal"—in some sense they travel … more

A new study by a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicates that thin polymer films can have different properties depending on the method by … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a prototype bioreactor—a device for culturing cells to create engineered tissues—that … more

Using a refined technique for trapping and manipulating nanoparticles, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have extended the trapped particles' useful life … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is hosting Cloud Computing Forum & Workshop V on June 5-7, 2012, at the Department of Commerce’s Herbert C. Hoover … more

Fire researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently were honored by the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), while the Fire Department of New … more

Congratulations to the three winners of the NIST Mass Masters challenge conducted Friday April 27-29, 2012, at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. By correctly selecting … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will host two forums next month designed to connect manufacturers with more than 34,000 … more

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built a quantum simulator that can engineer interactions among hundreds of quantum bits (qubits)—10 times more … more

On April 15, 2012, U.S. Commerce Department Secretary John Bryson presented 11 U.S. organizations with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest honor for organizational … more

A miniature atom-based magnetic sensor developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has passed an important research milestone by successfully measuring human brain … more

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used the scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA) … more

Two new advanced laboratory buildings for high-precision science and measurements have officially opened in Boulder, Colo., providing upgraded facilities to support technology innovation and … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) have provided the first evidence that engineered nanoparticles are able … more

Identifying people by acquiring pictures of their eyes is becoming easier, according to a new report* from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST researchers evaluated the … more

Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a novel "superradiant" laser that works on a subtly different principle than ordinary lasers. In principle, the new JILA laser could be 100 to 1,000 … more

Materials scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with an international research team, have helped prove the stability of a novel—and … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with the Multi-Agency Tissue Engineering Science (MATES) working group, is sponsoring a two-day workshop on imaging … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is co-hosting the fifth annual Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security conference on June 6 and 7, 2012, … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced proposed changes to a standard that specifies how to implement digital signatures, which can be used to ensure the integrity … more

The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has sent its 2011 annual report to Congress. The VCAT is the agency's primary … more

A team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has received the 2012 Energy and Environmental Stewardship award from the Department of Commerce for the design and … more

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP), managed for 25 years by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in collaboration with the private sector, has announced that it … more

JILA, a joint institute of the University of Colorado Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology that has produced three Nobel Prize winners since 2001, has opened a new wing … more

Researchers from the NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology and Arizona State University have used environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM) to explain the role of nickel … more

David Allen takes readings using a NIST standard reflectance diffuser prior to scanning a wound area on an anesthetized pig. Illumination comes from the broadband lights on the hyperspectral … more

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Top: The gratings are fabricated with approximately 700 nm between ridges. Each has slightly different spacing and thickness, affecting reflectivity and mechanical performance. Bottom: A … more

The newly designed ionization chambers, in two sizes. & In the pursuit of precision measurements, nothing is simple, even when the apparatus employed appears to be utterly … more

BOULDER, Colo. – Physicists at JILA have demonstrated a novel “superradiant” laser design, which has the potential to be 100 to 1,000 times more stable than the best … more

Memory devices based on magnetism are one of the core technologies of the computing industry, and engineers are working to develop new forms of magnetic memory that are faster, smaller, and more … more

Securing computers against unlawful and malicious attacks is always important, but it’s especially vital when the computers in question control major physical … more

The first of a planned series of regional workshops to design a proposed $1 billion federal initiative, the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), will be held on April 25, 2012, at … more

A new online tool can help small companies and entrepreneurs evaluate their awareness of intellectual property (IP)—trade secrets, company data and more—and learn how to protect … more

Mathematician Geoffrey McFadden of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Applied and Computational Mathematics Division has been named a fellow of the Society for Industrial and … more

H. Felix Wu, a mechanical engineer and research manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been named a fellow of SPIE, the international professional society for … more

Consistent with its purpose, the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Inc., has committed funds to sustain the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP) through fiscal … more

Measurements taken by a team including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientists show that a newly devised material has the ability to separate closely related components of … more

In the diamagnetic lateral force calibration method, an AFM cantilever (shown here is a NIST HammerHead cantilever) presses against the surface of a piece of graphite that levitates in a … more

Washington, D.C. -- Responding to President Obama's call for an "all-of-the-above" strategy to help consumers reduce their energy costs, the Administration announced on March 22 that … more

The Baldrige Performance Excellence Program is saying farewell to Mr. Sandy McDonnell, a friend and leader who was critical to the program's start-up. Mr. McDonnell, 89, died on March 19 in the … more