National Institute of Standards and Technology

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Driving Innovation

From developing precise atomic clocks to creating encryption standards to supporting manufacturing, NIST plays a crucial role in advancing technology.

What we do

From nanoscale devices that power the most advanced microchips to earthquake-resistant skyscrapers, NIST’s measurements and research fuel innovation and improve the quality of life for all Americans. We provide support and resources to U.S. manufacturing, helping to grow our economy and ensure our national security.

Discover how our work makes America safer, healthier and more prosperous.

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What’s new

New NIST Method Precisely Measures Radioactivity in Tiny Samples

Circuit board with various square chips and gold screws. Small letters in the center say: NIST True Bq.

NIST Releases Extensive Video Update on Champlain Towers South Investigation

Photo of structural elements surrounding man with helmet and glasses looking up

Atomic Clocks: A Technology Powerhouse

Illustration shows analog clock on a satellite hovering over a driving map and photo of SUV.

Bioinspired Materials Can Take a Punch

A composite image of multiple creatures, including green beetles, crabs, lobster, scorpion and a mantis shrimp.

Three male researchers pose smiling in front of a large, complex scientific device in a lab.

NIST and Partners Use Quantum Mechanics to Make a Factory for Random Numbers

June 11, 2025

Areas vulnerable to cyberattack including a head office, a remote worker’s office, a coffee shop employees visit, and a distant data center are arranged in a circle around the words Zero Trust Architecture.

NIST Offers 19 Ways to Build Zero Trust Architectures

June 11, 2025

Diagram shows a radioisotope attached to a cancer-targeting molecule and how the molecule attaches to a cancer cell and injects alpha radiation.

New NIST Standard Helps Deliver the Right Dosage of Cancer-Fighting Drugs

June 3, 2025

NIST Moonlight Data Will Help Satellites Get a More Accurate Look at Earth

May 20, 2025

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America’s national measurement institute

Photograph of the NIST-4 Kibble watt balance in blue light.

NIST is the National Metrology Institute for the United States, also known as an NMI. Everything you use in your everyday life works because of measurements. Without precise measurements, your car wouldn’t run, your phone wouldn’t work, and hospitals couldn’t function. We maintain the measurements that make industry and society work. Learn more about our unique role in the national — and global — economy.