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Diana Ortiz-Montalvo, wearing safety glasses and holding a small circular filter with tweezers, poses with Abigail Lindstrom in the lab.

Microplastics Mystery: Sampling Airborne Microplastics at a Recycling Facility

October 4, 2023

Diana Ortiz-Montalvo

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, a NIST researcher shares how her upbringing in Puerto Rico inspired her to study air quality.

Portrait of NIST researcher Shanée Dawkins

My Research Can Help Protect You — and Your Company — From Hackers Trying to Steal Your Money and Information

September 29, 2023

Shanée Dawkins

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, learn how NIST is helping organizations improve their phishing training - keeping all of our information safer.

Several metallic envelopes with NIST labels are displayed with Halloween decorations like cobwebs, skeletons and pumpkins.

There Will Be (Precisely Measured) Blood: A Haunted House Tour Through NIST’s Spookiest Reference Materials

September 28, 2023

Megan King

This spooky season, join us for a haunted house tour of the scariest standard reference materials in our labs.

Isabelle Rivera poses smiling at a computer with two monitors, one showing a spreadsheet and the other multiple file icons.

Reaching for the Stars: My Summer Internship Learning About Spectroscopy in Space and on Earth

September 13, 2023

Isabelle Rivera

As a summer high school intern at NIST, I got to take a deep dive into one of the ways scientists study space — the absorption and emission of light by matter, known as spectroscopy.

A medical worker wears gloves as she prepares to swab the nose of a female patient.

Measuring the Accuracy of PCR Tests Can Improve Health Care Beyond COVID-19

September 11, 2023

Robert DeJaco

Many of us have taken a COVID-19 test. But, have you ever wondered, after your sample goes off to a lab, exactly how they arrive at a positive or negative result?

Miral Dizdaroglu wears safety glasses as he poses in the lab next to an open spectrometer, which looks a little like a microwave with extra buttons.

How We Studied DNA Damage in Cooked Food — and What It Might Mean for Our Health

August 24, 2023

Miral Dizdaroglu

When you eat plants or meat, you’re also eating a tiny amount of that plant or animal’s DNA. But what happens to that plant or animal DNA when you cook the food before eating it?

A large white balloon with a small box attached to it waits inside a cinderblock building with a rolltop door.

Up, Up and Away: How NIST Research Helped Improve Weather Balloon Forecasting

August 23, 2023

A key component of the weather balloon — which helps meteorologists forecast the weather every day — was developed at NIST in the 1930s.

Two people wearing coveralls in a "clean room" lab look up at a disk-shaped object that one of them is holding.

Agents of Contrast, Software Runaway Hit, Our Early Universe: A Sample of Stories on NIST Social Media

August 16, 2023

Riley Wilson

Curious? It’s time to get you caught up on a few of the summer happenings at NIST.

Kandice Taylor, in safety glasses, laughs as she pours liquids into a glass flask that is overflowing with foam.

I’m Helping My Garden Vegetables — and My Students — Bloom Where They Are Planted

August 10, 2023

Kandice Taylor

Middle school is the perfect time to plant the seed for a child to grow a lifelong love of science.

Alshae' Logan-Jackson wears a purple coverall and safety glasses in the lab as she uses tweezers to hold a small white disk.

Protecting People From Plumbing Pathogens Is Personal to Me

July 20, 2023

Alshae’ Logan-Jackson

Pathogens can get into our water through plumbing and are especially dangerous for people with compromised immune systems.

Grace Waters poses smiling in the lab, leaning against a desk with a computer monitor showing data and graphs.

A Summer of Science: NIST Interns’ Stories of Their Time in the Lab

July 20, 2023

From measuring UV light to working on virtual reality software, a summer at NIST is not your average internship.

Drawing of Nikola Tesla with his chin propped on his hand.

What’s in a Name? The Tesla

June 27, 2023

Sandy Ressler

Do you enjoy flipping on the light switch? Well, you can thank Nikola Tesla — born 167 years ago today.

Illustration shows tiny colored pieces of plastic floating under the surface of the ocean with sunlight shining through.

Small Particles, Big Problem: Measuring Microplastics’ Impact on Fish

June 20, 2023

Meredith Evans Seeley

Viruses are not just a problem for humans. Viruses are common in our oceans and aquatic environments, too.

Under the orange lights of a clean room, Katarina Cicak, wearing a coverall and safety glasses, displays tiny chips in a plastic box.

From Escaping a War to Becoming a Mom of 3 at Once, Science Has Always Been There for Me

June 14, 2023

Katarina Cicak

I learned as a young adult not to get attached to material things; they can be gone in an instant. But there were some things I knew no one could take — an education and my love of science.

Peter Trask sits at a lab table working on wiring for a scientific device.

My Lab Helps People Breathe Easier All Over the World

June 12, 2023

Peter Trask

My lab here in Gaithersburg, Maryland, helps agencies all over the world track their pollution levels by measuring them accurately.

NIST researchers Yoshi Ohno and Jane Li demonstrate different types of lighting in their lab on NIST’s campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The Eye of the Beholder: How Lighting Affects Our Color Perception

June 6, 2023

Megan King

Remember the social media controversy over the color of a dress? That’s a lighthearted example of how illumination can affect the things we see, but this is serious science.

Christine McGinn wears safety glasses as she handles plastic bottles and other materials in the lab.

My Science Project Collapsed, but My Science Career Was Just Getting Started

May 24, 2023

Christine McGinn

Representation and mentors are key to promoting diversity in America’s science and technology workforce into the future.

Header graphic depicting images related to Blaise Pascal: a barometer, a drawing of Blaise Pascal, and a bike tire

Under Pressure: Blaise Pascal, the Barometer and Bike Tires

May 23, 2023

Sandy Ressler

On his 400th birthday, we celebrate the scientist whose name is the unit of measurement for air, bike and car tire pressure. You should read it. No pressure.

Justin Zook in a lab surrounded by genetic sequencing machines

Our Human Genes Are Diverse. Our Team Is Helping Create a DNA Reference Library to Reflect That.

May 11, 2023

Justin Zook

To unlock the full potential of genetic testing and related medical research, we need a diverse, global human genome, known as the pangenome.

Melissa Phillips, wearing safety glasses, poses leaning over an open chest freezer, holding a plastic bag of spinach.

Organic, Vegetarian or Carnivore: Whatever You Eat, My Lab Is Working to Keep It Safe

April 24, 2023

Melissa Phillips

The levels of contaminants in our food supply are, generally, decreasing, but we still need to make sure our food is safe. And measuring tiny things (and big things) is what we do best here at NIST.

Jeanne Quimby crouches next to a rack of computer equipment with many different colored cord connections.

Being a Mom Helps Me Protect Our Communication Infrastructure

April 20, 2023

Jeanne Quimby

Jeanne Quimby's kids are the reason she came up with her team’s idea for how to detect cybersecurity events on our U.S. critical communication infrastructure.

Aly Artusio-Glimpse smiles and holds up a tiny glass square.

Benchy the Boat, Irradiated Mangoes, Quantum Window: A Sample of Stories on NIST Social Media

April 20, 2023

Riley Wilson

NIST’s research can range from the complex to the downright whimsical, but all the papers published here can trace back to a benefit for everyone in the U.S.

A ground-mounted solar panel has a spiderweb crack in the lower left-hand corner.

We Need a Second Earth to Support Our Current Consumption. We Can Do Better if We Think ‘Circular.’

April 13, 2023

Nehika Mathur

If we’re going to secure a sustainable future on the only planet we have to live on, we must transition to a circular economy, where we keep material in use indefinitely.

NIST researcher Jessie Zhang, wearing a protective suit, mask, and safety glasses holds up a piece of foil in the lab.

Foiled! NIST Unwraps What’s Baking Under Aluminum in Its Labs

March 29, 2023

Megan King

Here at NIST, we do a different kind of baking, but we often use the same foil you use in your own kitchen.

NIST's Andrew Wilson holds an ion trap in his lab in Boulder, Colorado. Behind him are screens depicting dots.

From GPS to Laser Pointers, Quantum Science Is All Around Us

March 24, 2023

Andrew Wilson

Ahead of World Quantum Day this week, we asked Andrew Wilson, who leads NIST’s Quantum Physics Division, to explain just what exactly quantum science is and why it matters.

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