Search Taking Measure

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a person dispensing hand sanitizer into their hand

NIST Lends a Hand to Hand-Sanitizer Manufacturers

March 12, 2021

… the planet, our organization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), became concerned with the COVID-19 outbreak in March … find this internal NIST analytical “competition” interesting, but the information gathered about the techniques and measurements might be of …

a photo of two bottles about the size of spice bottles. On one is written 4351 Human lung for 239+240 Pu measurements, and on the other is written 4352 Human liver for 239+240 Pu measurements

Making Radioactive Lung and Liver Samples for Better Human Health

October 25, 2019

Kenneth G.W. Inn

… Bureau of Standards (NBS, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology or NIST). The job they hired me to do was to develop and … people who had signed releases stating that their organs and exposure information could be used for research after their deaths. Both were …

NIST researchers Elizabeth Strychalski and David Ross program the robotic arm that operates within the box-like structure of the NIST biofoundry.

The Promise of Synthetic Cells: Revolutionary New Drugs, Outer Space Explorers and Pushing Beyond the Limits of Evolution

July 8, 2024

Scientists are getting closer to creating a living cell from scratch. It could help treat diseases or even create life forms that can be better adapted to space.

Illustration shows the word "SKOR" with a horned helmet, a stick and pastures with sheep.

From the Noggin to the Butt: Quirky Measurement Units Throughout Human History

February 28, 2022

Ben P. Stein

… measurement units here at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), you'll typically hear us rattling off the official … age. In computing, engineers came up with the nibble (four bits of information) and the crumb (two bits), building upon the wordplay that …

Left: Machine that looks like an old fashioned typewriter in a box. Right: picture of Alan Turing along with a bio. Both are from a museum exhibit.

Alan Turing’s Everlasting Contributions to Computing, AI and Cryptography

June 21, 2022

René Peralta

… the world. We could not do this work without complexity theory. Technology sometimes throws us a curve, such as the discovery that if a … celebrate how Turing provided the keys to much of today’s computing technology and even gave us hints on how to solve looming technological … First Computer Programmer Who Predicted Artificial Intelligence … Information technology … Cybersecurity and privacy … Cryptography … …

Young man with wild blonde hair and reddish beard smiling beside an AC susceptometer that he helped build

SURFing from Susceptometers to Skyrmions: The Making of a Neutron MANiAC

July 20, 2018

Paul Neves

… school when I first came to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). That day, my … in copper selenate are topologically protected, which means that any information stored in them would be difficult to lose accidentally. I …

Angie Hight Walker and Amber McCreary stand side by side in the lab adjusting a complex scientific device.

From Postdoc to Quantum Physicist: How NIST Made Me a Better Scientist and Leader

August 22, 2025

Amber McCreary

… waves or magnons. In the future, we could potentially use magnons as information carriers in devices instead of electrons in transistors … use today for things like computers and phones. Ideally, magnon-based technology would operate with very little heating, which would be a …

A Little Light Construction: Laser Welding in Three Acts

November 7, 2016

Brian Simonds

… area. Less waste means lower utility bills. Also, the latest laser technology is based on fiber-optics, which we can mount directly to …

NIST researcher Mike Moldover with a basketball-sized metal sphere used to measure the speed of sound in a gas

Proving Our Mettle: NIST and the Boltzmann Constant Competition

December 20, 2017

Michael Moldover

How tall are you? How old? How much do you weigh? Do you care? Is it important to you that the measurements for height, age and weight are accurate? What about the measurement of the gasoline that you pump into your tank? Is it important that the 12 gallons you pay for are truly 12 gallons

Screenshot says "AMOS Gateway: A Portal for Research and Education in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Science" over colorful circular design.

AMO for All: How Online Portals Are Democratizing the Field of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics

October 24, 2022

Barry Schneider

… these excitations in different atoms and molecules, we can use this information in all kinds of applications. Some are in fundamental … learning and deep learning are now being used to effectively extract information from existing data and to make predictions on the outcome … longer impossible or too costly could be on the horizon. … Information technology … Mathematics and statistics … Physics … Atomic / molecular …

A detailed view of two connected blue and silver train cars on a railway track.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: NIST Edition

April 30, 2025

Riley Wilson

… recently went through the NIST Digital Archives in search of valuable information about our agency’s impact on American lives. There, I … between traditional taximeters and newer, app-based ride-hailing technology. … Autonomous systems … Automated vehicles … Metrology … …

A Slice of Math Functions for Pi Day

March 14, 2016

Sandy Ressler

… the workings of the physical world. The DLMF provides all the information scientists need to work with mathematical functions. One of … July 31, 2019, to repair a broken link … Buildings and Construction … Information technology … Materials … Concrete / cement … Mathematics and statistics …

Researcher Ming Zheng looks with interest at a small vial he is holding up in front of him.

How Nature’s Symmetry Might Help Us See Early Warning Signs of Cancer

June 27, 2025

Ming Zheng

… good starting materials: DNA : We know DNA as the carrier of genetic information, but it can also be used to organize other materials. … can detect other health conditions, too. Turning an idea into a real technology requires a concerted effort from a community of …

smoke billows from the open doorway of a burning test storage room

Rescuing Our History from the Ashes

November 1, 2018

Jason Stoughton

… In a unique collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the PRICE team along with a busload of other Smithsonian … filled with charred “relics,” they’re taking with them a wealth of information and hands-on experience. “The disaster in Brazil [at the … … Fire dynamics and science … Fire modeling … Materials flammability … Information technology … Virtual / augmented reality … Public safety … …

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 on social media: Facebook National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership Twitter @NIST … @MFGUSA @NISTPublicSafeT LinkedIn National Institute of Standards and Technology National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Organization of Scientific Area Committees Communications Technology Laboratory Manufacturing USA group Manufacturing Extension …

A researcher in a lab coat and safety glasses poses next to a large piece of lab equipment.

The Insulation That Melts in Your Walls — and Could Reduce Your Energy Costs

January 30, 2025

Brian Gutierrez

… they haven't been widely adopted. One major barrier is the gap in information about how well the materials perform and how to best use …

Sun Park wears safety glasses as she adjusts wiring and equipment in the lab.

Unlocking Our World’s Earliest Secrets — One Tiny Electron at a Time

July 18, 2024

Sun Park

… but very small — too small for us to be able to measure with current technology. However, the new physics models predict much larger values … directions to the nearest ice cream shop, but many people use that technology every day! Even if there aren’t any applications, I think …

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.

Men working at construction site with wood planks on ground and gray house dangling in air by crane

Building Codes, Planning Key to Community Resilience

September 21, 2016

Dominic Sims

“Buildings built to the most modern building codes were the safest places to be during Hurricane Sandy.” Having spent most of my life in code enforcement, I’ve known this to be fact and have seen the evidence with my own eyes. But hearing New York City Chief Resilience Officer Daniel Zarrilli say it

two photos of Matt Staymates facing each other in front of a schlieren camera system. On the left, Matt is not wearing a mask, on the right he is. In both photos he is coughing. In the unmasked photo, you can see a big plume of air exiting forward like a jet from his mouth. In the masked photo, the air plume hangs around his face and does not go very far.

My Stay-at-Home Lab Shows How Face Coverings Can Slow the Spread of Disease

June 9, 2020

Matthew E. Staymates

… and mechanical engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), I’ve devoted much of my career to helping others see …

three weapons on a blue checked background

Women’s Body Armor: Staying Ahead of the Curves

August 1, 2016

Jennifer Huergo

… (As any woman who has shopped for a bra knows.) Forster found lots of information on clothing design, but nothing that helped her create a … she found a study of chest circumference, but it didn’t offer any information on how much of that circumference was on the front of the …

purple-gloved researcher holding three vials up to the camera

Blood, Sweat and Genomes: A Quest to Advance Measurement Science in Non-Model Organisms

January 29, 2019

Ben Neely

… Biologists have for years been using insights from nature to advance technology, e.g., gecko feet and adhesives. Studying naturally … there, it moves to the team at the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s Reference Sequence Database (RefSeq) , who annotates the …

Clothes rack. Sign in middle. Left pointing arrow says Donate with clothes hanging. Right facing arrow says "keep" pointing to other clothes.

Your Old Clothes Can Come Full Circle With Textile Recycling

May 2, 2022

Kelsea Schumacher

… needs, including collaboration, system harmonization, and data and information sharing. Transitioning to a circular economy requires … classifications, industry tools and standards. Further, data and information gaps currently inhibit many efforts to reduce the …

A researcher wearing safety glasses reaches into a box of circuitry and other equipment, which emits a green glow.

Think You Know What a Second Is? It Will Likely Change in the Next Decade.

October 16, 2023

Tara Fortier

… a future redefinition of the second might impact our lives and modern technology. You may have learned to count “one, 1,000” or “two, … be fundamental research and science. It is a rare occurrence that technology takes a step forward and someone doesn’t find some way to …

NIST Physicist’s Once Obscure Work Is Now Helping Researchers Learn About the Origins of the Universe

April 17, 2024

Ron Cowen

… the electric field of the radiation. Those wiggles encode a wealth of information about the universe an instant after the Big Bang and could …