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.

A Quantum Leap Forward: How Tiny Particles Can Bring Us Exciting New Tech

Corey Stambaugh poses smiling outdoors on the NIST campus.

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.

Fighting Fire With Research: How a Scientist is Protecting People and Property From Wildfires

Two NIST researchers, wearing hardhats and protective jackets, watch a small shed burn as part of a setudy.

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

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

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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.