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

NIST Offers 19 Ways to Build Zero Trust Architectures

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.

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

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

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

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

Shocking History: How a NIST Engineer Helped Create Lifesaving CPR

A person performs chest compressions on a CPR practice mannequin.

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

May 20, 2025

Two researchers in safety glasses stand behind a table holding various electronic and laser devices. A metal structure in the foreground is part of the atomic clock.

New Atomic Fountain Clock Joins Elite Group That Keeps the World on Time

April 28, 2025

Privacy Framework wheel includes central Govern circle and four outer sections: Control, Communicate, Protect, Identify.

NIST Updates Privacy Framework, Tying It to Recent Cybersecurity Guidelines

April 14, 2025

Horizontal concrete slab is visible in a forest of scaffolding and equipment in a large indoor space.

Champlain Towers South Investigation Team Provides Update to Structural Engineers

April 11, 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.