News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 25 of 421

A man faces away from the camera, taking a photo of a damaged storefront.

Natural Disaster Preparations May Aid Businesses’ Pandemic Response

October 19, 2020

The social and economic impacts of COVID-19 have battered small and medium-sized enterprises, putting millions of jobs in the U.S. at risk. And a year rife with

Insights Into Behavior During Chimney Tops 2 Fire Could Improve Evacuation Planning

September 2, 2020

As global temperatures continue to rise, cities and towns not historically prone to large wildfires may begin to face greater threats. An unsuspecting Tennessee

A person wears an exoskeleton and 3D-printed knee apparatus fashioned with reflective markers.

Exoskeleton Research Marches Forward With NIST Study on Fit

August 20, 2020

A shoddily tailored suit or a shrunken T-shirt may not be the most stylish, but wearing them is unlikely to hurt more than your reputation. An ill-fitting

Resilient Cedar Rapids: Rebuilding Better Pays Off

August 12, 2020

Many cities in the United States have experienced or will experience devastating losses caused by a natural disaster. In the aftermath of a disaster, the

Research Suggests Significant Benefits to Investing in Advanced Machinery Maintenance

June 15, 2020

The maintenance of machinery in the manufacturing industry consists of three primary approaches: reactive, preventive, and predictive. Reactive maintenance is

A hospital room containing a nurse and patient exhaling aerosols carrying viruses. Air ducts and filters are depicted above and a portable air filter is shown in the room.

NIST Airflow Model Could Help Reduce Indoor Exposure to Aerosols Carrying Coronavirus

June 11, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built an online tool that could help decrease the concentration of aerosols

Evidence suggests that the U.S. Loses Hundreds of Billions to Cybercrime, Possibly as much as 1 % to 4 % of GDP Annually

May 27, 2020

Cybercrime puts America’s competitive edge and economic future at risk; however, there is some debate as to the extent that this activity is impacting economic

A shower head with steamy water coming out.

NIST Identifies Critical Needs for Improved Plumbing

May 11, 2020

We don’t use water like we used to. In recent decades, concerns about cost, water shortages and environmental impacts together with changes in plumbing design

A view through a door window of N95 masks being decontaminated.

NIST Tool Could Help Hospitals Repurpose Rooms for Disinfecting N95 Masks

April 16, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the United States are disinfecting N95 masks by placing them in repurposed rooms or shipping containers

NIST Releases Online Economic Decision Tool to Help Communities Plan for Disaster

March 25, 2020

Preparing a community’s buildings and infrastructure for a hurricane or earthquake can be an incredibly complicated and costly endeavor. A new online tool from

A fire test of an office building floor replica occurring in a fireproof compartment.

How Fire Causes Office-Building Floors to Collapse

March 24, 2020

Engineers and technicians at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spent months meticulously recreating the long concrete floors supported

NIST Community Resilience Guide Supports Maryland Counties Climate Resilience Planning

March 20, 2020

The NIST Community Resilience Program was invited by the University of Maryland’s (UMD) Center for Global Sustainability to support an initiative to aid local

NIST Conducts Full-Scale Experiments to Demonstrate Flammability Risk of Residential Upholstered Furniture (RUF) and Potential Mitigation Strategies

March 12, 2020

The NIST Flammability Reduction Group (FRG) is conducting a series of full-scale fire experiments in collaboration with the National Fire Research Laboratory

NIST Community Resilience Panel at HurriCon 2020

HurriCon 2020: Science at the Intersection of Hurricanes and the Populated Coast

March 11, 2020

Members of NIST’s Community Resilience Program and the NIST-funded Center of Excellence (CoE) for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning jointly convened a

Sunlight shines through solar panel backsheet.

NIST Study Uncovers a Potential Driver of Premature Solar Panel Failures

March 10, 2020

Unlike diamonds, solar panels are not forever. Ultraviolet rays, gusts of wind and heavy rain wear away at them over their lifetime. Manufacturers typically

NIST Releases a New Standard Cigarette for Testing the Flammability of Mattresses and Furniture

February 19, 2020

In efforts to reduce the number of deaths from smoking-related fires, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a new supply of a

NIST Renews $20M Award to Community Resilience Center of Excellence

February 3, 2020

The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded a renewal of a $20 million cooperative agreement to Colorado

Two hands in purple gloves hold onto butane lighters, which are being used to light up two cigarettes poised in a metal device.

Butt Emissions: Study Finds Even Extinguished Cigarettes Give Off Toxins

January 29, 2020

Cigarette butts pile up in parks, beaches, streets and bus stops, places where all types of littering are frowned upon. An estimated more than five trillion

The Ninth Triennial International Fire & Cabin Safety Research Conference

October 29, 2019

Two members of the NIST Flammability Reduction group recently attended the Ninth Triennial International Fire & Cabin Safety Research Conference, which was

The remains of what was once a home improvement store in Joplin, Mo., showing the destructive power of the tornado that struck the area in May 2011.

NIST Awards $6.6 Million for Research to Help Structures Better Withstand Earthquakes, Wind and Fire

August 8, 2019

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is awarding more than $6.6 million to fund research

10 NIST Researchers Receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

July 25, 2019

WASHINGTON — Ten researchers from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) received the Presidential Early Career

NIST Economics Hits the Additive Manufacturing Spotlight

July 23, 2019

In late 2014, the Applied Economics Office (AEO) published NIST Special Publication (SP) 1176, “Costs And Cost Effectiveness of Additive Manufacturing.” For

Interflam 2019

July 14, 2019

Six members of the NIST Fire Research Division (including three current or former members of the Flammability Reduction Group) recently traveled to the Royal

FRPM19

July 1, 2019

Three members of the NIST Flammability Reduction group recently traveled to Turku, Finland for the biennial European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric

Global City Teams Challenge Smart and Secure City Expo Convenes July 10-12 in Washington, D.C.

June 20, 2019

WASHINGTON — Teams of innovators and municipal governments around the world who are using technology to address challenges such as disaster response, energy

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