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Engineering Laboratory

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

Potential Cost Savings as US Manufacturers Spend Billions on Machinery Maintenance

June 24, 2021

As discussed in NIST AMS 100-18 , the cost of machinery maintenance is not well understood; however, Census data estimates that $50 billion was spent on...

Major New Building Standard Can Map Out Tornado Threat for the First Time

June 21, 2021

Of the natural hazards in Mother Nature’s arsenal, tornadoes are some of the most vicious. But while other hazards are regularly considered in building designs...

Integrating Science & Technology with Disaster Response

June 1, 2021

Each year, communities across the United States are devastated by disasters. As the frequency, severity, and cost of many of these disasters continues to...

Firefighters spray water into a burning concrete building with a sign saying "NIST Fire Research."

How AI Could Alert Firefighters of Imminent Danger

June 1, 2021

Firefighting is a race against time. Exactly how much time? For firefighters, that part is often unclear. Building fires can turn from bad to deadly in an...

Flammability Reduction Group provides virtual seminar on Reducing the Fire Risk of Residential Upholstered Furniture Fires as part of SFPE Member Series

May 24, 2021

The “Low Heat Release Upholstered Furniture” project at the Fire Research Division (FRD) of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducts...

New Research Could Help Manufacturers Avoid 3D-Printing Pitfall

May 19, 2021

A research team has found that a method commonly used to skirt one of metal 3D printing’s biggest problems may be far from a silver bullet. For manufacturers...

Spotlight: Putting Materials to the Test With Our Advanced Weathering Machine

May 18, 2021

Not to be confused with the 1990s sci-fi film, NIST’s SPHERE (aka Simulated Photodegradation via High Energy Radiant Exposure) puts materials through the...

Spotlight: Joannie Chin’s Early Milestone in Body Armor Standards

May 18, 2021

Joannie Chin, the acting director of NIST’s Engineering Laboratory, is still a polymer scientist at heart. Take a closer look at the lifesaving mark she made on...

NEW RELEASE: Guide to Sustainable Investment Analysis

March 24, 2021

NIST’s Applied Economic Office released a “ Guide for Environmentally Sustainable Investment Analysis” based on ASTM E3200. This guide presents techniques for...

New Fire-Simulating Tool Could Improve In-Flight Fire Safety

March 24, 2021

Some of the most dangerous fires are the ones you don’t see coming. That goes not only for fires in buildings but for those kilometers off the ground, aboard...

NIST Research Featured in Fire and Materials Journal Special Issue on Furniture Flammability

March 12, 2021

The NIST Flammability Reduction Group (FRG) recently contributed to the production of a Special Issue on Furniture Flammability in the Fire and Materials...

The contrasting interiors of previous gels and the new seed gel show the different respective locations of their nanoparticles. Below we see representations of four different applications: filtration, smart windows, battery technology and tissue engineering.

Nanoparticle Gel Unites Oil and Water in Manufacturing-Friendly Approach

February 10, 2021

Oil and water may not mix, but adding the right nanoparticles to the recipe can convert these two immiscible fluids into an exotic gel with uses ranging from...

New Timeline of Deadliest California Wildfire Could Guide Lifesaving Research and Action

February 8, 2021

On a brisk November morning in 2018, a fire sparked in a remote stretch of canyon in Butte County, California, a region nestled against the western slopes of...

The 2020 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures

February 1, 2021

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinated with the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) and the earthquake engineering...

A view of rubble in the central business district of Christchurch, New Zealand, following a devastating earthquake.

New Report Charts Path Toward Superior Earthquake Recovery

January 27, 2021

For the last century, seismic building codes and practices have primarily focused on saving lives by reducing the likelihood of significant damage or structural...

NIST Reports Progress in Learning from Hurricane Maria’s Impacts on Puerto Rico

January 22, 2021

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a report summarizing progress in its multi-year study of the impacts of Hurricane Maria...

A man wearing a safety visor poses in front of lab equipment.

Spotlight: Highlights From Dave Deisenroth's Postdoctoral Experience at NIST

January 12, 2021

How would you assess the success of a postdoctoral associateship? We turn to the experiences of our own researchers, including Dave Deisenroth. Here at NIST...

The New NIST Fire Calorimetry Database Is Available to Answer Your Burning Questions

January 7, 2021

This news article is reproduced from a blog post that originally appeared in the NIST TAKING MEASURE Just a Standard Blog on December 16 th, 2020. By: Matthew...

Diagram shows a mattress being set on fire by gas burners in a standard flammability test.

Mattress Flammability Standard Is a Lifesaver, NIST Report Finds

November 18, 2020

No matter how soft and cozy, beds that have gone up in flames are a source of some of the deadliest fires in the U.S. As large pieces of furniture loaded with...

New Use Cases have been Developed for the EDGe$ Tool Online

November 16, 2020

Two new use cases have been written for the Economic Decision Guide Software (EDGe$) Online Tool V 1.0. These new Special Publications highlight functionalities...

Data Collection Instruments Published Using New NIST Data Collection Instrument (DCI) and Best Practices Publication Series