Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Taking Measure

Just a Standard Blog

Marc Levitan

Marc Levitan currently serves as Acting Director for the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program and leads windstorm and coastal inundation R&D at NIST. His latest run-in with a tornado occurred on Dec. 26, 2015. He and 14 family members spent the better part of an hour crowded into a ½ bath and small piece of adjacent hallway at his parents’ house in North Dallas while a 9 mile long and 1/3 mile wide EF-4 tornado killed 10 people, injured 468, and destroyed several hundred homes and businesses nearby.

Resilience Rises from Tragedy in Joplin

May 31, 2016

The May 22, 2011, tornado in Joplin, Mo., rated an EF-5—the most powerful ranking—on the Enhanced Fujita tornado intensity scale . It caused 161 fatalities and

Search

Email alerts

Stay connected

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).