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Taking Measure

Just a Standard Blog

Leon Chao

Leon Chao is a millennial raised on the mean streets of Pallet Town. He serves as a mechanical engineer in the NIST Quantum Measurement Division, building precision instrumentation such as Kibble balances and torque realizers. Recently, he has formed collaborations across the Department of Defense aimed at modernizing mass and torque metrology, and he hopes to one day see his team’s efforts result in viable commercial instruments for calibrations labs everywhere. To this day, he can be spotted still gnawing at the dinosaur ham he started on years ago …

A Lego structure wired to various electronic readout devices stands on a wooden counter surrounded by other scientific equipment. A sign on the concrete wall behind reads "No Turkeys Allowed."

How Lego Bricks Shaped My Career at NIST

September 7, 2022

Leon Chao explains how the popular toys inspired the first tabletop version of an ultraprecise measurement machine.

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About this blog

Taking Measure is the official blog of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

It provides a behind-the-scenes look at NIST’s research and programs, covering a broad range of science and technology areas. Through this blog, NIST’s researchers and staff share why they do what they do and how today’s research will lead to tomorrow’s innovations.

The views presented here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of NIST.

If you have any questions about our blog or reprint requests, please contact us at takingmeasure [at] nist.gov (takingmeasure[at]nist[dot]gov).