News and Updates

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Honoring Dr. Laura Sinclair - 2024 Arthur S. Flemming Awardee

NIST CTL Scientist Honored with 2024 Arthur S. Flemming Award

September 2, 2025

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Communications Technology Laboratory (NIST CTL) is proud to announce that Dr. Laura Sinclair has been

Shaping the 6G Era

June 18, 2025

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Communications Technology Laboratory (NIST CTL) is at the forefront of 6G research, laying the foundation for

Unlocking Cybersecurity at the Physical Layer

May 8, 2025

As global communications systems grow more complex and interconnected, securing these networks requires innovative approaches that go beyond traditional

The Future is Open: What is Open RAN and How NIST is Helping

November 13, 2024

The future of your mobile network is faster, more cost effective, more intelligent, and more secure—one that breaks free from the limitations of the existing

NIST CTL Contributes to National Spectrum Research and Development Plan Priorities

October 31, 2024

On November 13, 2023, President Biden recognized radio frequency spectrum as one of the nation's most critical natural resources, calling for a modernized

Esther Baumann leans over a lab table, surrounded with wires and scientific equipment.

Smart New Laser Technology Can Monitor Greenhouse Gases Faster, More Sensitively

October 9, 2024

New laser technology, known as free-form dual-comb spectroscopy, quickly measures gases of interest by homing in on the most information-rich parts of a sample.

NIST Upgrades Tech for Monitoring Methane Emissions

January 16, 2024

Understanding and accurately measuring greenhouse gas emissions can help policymakers to craft better-informed policies to reduce them.

Angry cat. Text reads: "When you feed your ML bad data"

Spotlight: Feeding Your Machine Learning System With Good Data

December 14, 2023

Om nom nom — what are you feeding your machine learning (ML) system? NIST researchers at the crossroads of communications technology and cybersecurity are

CTL Featured at Federal Laboratory Consortium Showcase Webinar

August 22, 2023

NIST’s Melissa Midzor, David Wollman, Jim Booth, and Jordan O’Dell provide an overview of Communications Technology Laboratory programs at a Federal Laboratory

A satellite connects two locations on the earth’s surface by means of signals that use the same technology as an experiment that beamed laser light between two mountaintops in Hawaii'.

NIST Lays Groundwork for Future Ultra-Precise Timing Links to Geosynchronous Satellites

June 21, 2023

Between mountains in Hawai‘i, innovative scientists show precision timing at the quantum limit.

NIST Joins Alliance to Promote Open Wireless Technologies and Supply Chains

January 24, 2023

The O-RAN Alliance develops hardware and software specifications that allow manufacturers and network operators to mix and match products from different vendors

Wi-Fi Could Help Identify When You’re Struggling to Breathe

December 20, 2022

NIST and its FDA collaborators advanced a technique to use Wi-Fi to sense when someone’s breathing pattern changes, indicating they’re in trouble.

telecommunications tower, view from below

Stabilograms – A Visual Tool for Testbed Performance

November 30, 2022

NIST’s Testbeds offer real-world environments for conducting rigorous and replicable research. Reliability of the testbed environment is imperative. Thanks to a

To Break New Ground With Frequency Combs, a NIST Innovation Plays With the Beat

October 24, 2022

Breakthrough could help Nobel-winning tech measure distances and timing with a pinpoint precision limited only by the quantum nature of light.

Spotlight: Getting Wireless Devices to Share the Radio Spectrum and Work in Harmony

July 22, 2022

All wireless systems rely on the same radio spectrum, an information superhighway that can get backed up when too many devices attempt to access it.

Man with beard and glasses in light grey sweater sitting on the right looking at computer screen on the left, with mass of blue wires in the foreground.

Encouraging Coexistence: NIST Model Cuts Measurement Needs for Spectrum Sharing by About 33%

August 12, 2021

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a modeling technique that can save time and money in estimating how to

Landscape view of buildings and lasers scanning the atmosphere

NIST Laser ‘Comb’ Systems Now Measure All Primary Greenhouse Gases in the Air

June 30, 2021

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded their laser frequency-comb instrument to simultaneously measure three

A woman wearing a face mask works at a laptop with communications equipment on the desk.

Spotlight: Finding the Fix to Wireless Connectivity on the Fritz With Susanna Mosleh

June 29, 2021

When the Wi-Fi is wonky or there’s bad cellphone reception, Susanna Mosleh can’t ignore it. After all, her research at NIST is about finding solutions to those

Illustration shows cows in field with laser and fiber paths around the edges.

NIST ‘Agricomb’ Measures Multiple Gas Emissions From … Cows

March 31, 2021

After the optical frequency comb made its debut as a ruler for light, spinoffs followed, including the astrocomb to measure starlight and a radar-like comb

Illustration shows two buildings labeled "NIST" and "JILA" facing each other with mountains in the background.

NIST Team Compares 3 Top Atomic Clocks With Record Accuracy Over Both Fiber and Air

March 24, 2021

In a significant advance toward the future redefinition of the international unit of time, the second, a research team led by the National Institute of

Four people stand around an instrument on a tripod next to the open door of a white van.

Spotlight: Measuring the Atmosphere’s Volatile Organic Compounds

January 23, 2021

Investigating colors in the wind — NIST researchers expand beyond a current spectroscopy technique for measuring greenhouse gases to now detect volatile organic

Man with dark hair writing mathematical formulas on a whiteboard on a wall.

NIST Formula May Help 5G Wireless Networks Efficiently Share Communications Frequencies

May 26, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a mathematical formula that, computer simulations suggest, could help 5G

Skeleton of bright green and yellow with some pink and dark blue

NIST Shows Laser Ranging Can ‘See’ 3D Objects Melting in Fires

August 8, 2018

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used a laser detection and ranging (LADAR) system to image three-dimensional (3D)

In this illustration, a gas well field has a circle on it. A dual-comb spectrometer at the center sends out laser light which bounces off mirrors, goes through a gas cloud and returns to the spectrometer for analysis.

Mobile ‘Dual-Comb’ Device Significantly Improves Methane Leak Detection

March 22, 2018

Accurately detecting, locating and quantifying leaks of methane, the main component of natural gas and a major fuel source worldwide, is critically important

NIST/CU Team Launches ‘Comb and Copter’ System to Map Atmospheric Gases

June 23, 2017

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder have demonstrated a new mobile, ground-based

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