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Engineering Laboratory

News and Updates

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Spotlight: Laura Dubrulle

October 15, 2019

Closing down a highway of fire: NIST guest researcher Laura Dubrulle wants to keep your fence from going up in flames and taking your home with it. With small...

Robot arm picks up a red widget off a table

Spotlight: The Robot Workcell Checkup

August 28, 2019

Your toe bone is connected to your foot bone, then your heel bone, then your ankle bone … so when something hurts, doctors at your checkup can go down the line...

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...

Guidelines for Participation in the 2020 MaCFP Condensed Phase Workshop

June 14, 2019

The Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena (MaCFP) Working Group of the International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) has released its “...

Flammability Reduction Group Members Present at the 2019 BCC Flame Meeting

June 1, 2019

Two members of the NIST Flammability Reduction Group (FRG) recently traveled to San Antonio, Texas for the 30th Annual Conference on Recent Advances in Flame...

Gas vs. Electric? NIST Says Fuel Choice Affects Efforts to Achieve Low-Energy and Low-Impact Homes

May 23, 2019

If you want to make your home as energy-efficient and green as possible, should you use gas or electric for your heating and cooling needs? Gas is the more eco...

NIST Drafts Public Comment to California Code of Regulations

May 14, 2019

Drs. Mauro Zammarano, William M. Pitts, Anthony Hamins, and Richard Gann of the Flammability Reduction Group submitted comments for consideration to the State...

Dr. Mauro Zammarano selected to deliver keynote presentation at the European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials

May 13, 2019

Dr. Mauro Zammarano has been selected to deliver a keynote presentation at this year’s European Meeting on Fire Retardant Polymeric Materials (FRPM19). Dr...

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park Gatlinburg Welcome Center sign is half-burned, leaving only the Gatlinburg name and a white arrow. Debris lies on the ground in front of the sign.

Official NIST Survey to Support Data Collection on Chimney Tops 2 Fire, Improve Emergency Communications

March 29, 2019

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking help from residents of Sevier County...

NIST: Blockchain Provides Security, Traceability for Smart Manufacturing

February 11, 2019

Engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) needed a way to secure smart manufacturing systems using the digital thread, so they...

Tested in the Flames

December 21, 2018

FIRES START WITH SIMPLE INGREDIENTS—fuel, oxygen, and a spark—but combustion scientists still struggle to understand the complex ways those ingredients interact...

A rectangular-shaped model of a thatched roof is attacked by embers emitted from the pipe-shaped mouth of the NIST Dragon device.

A Fire-Breathing Dragon Helps Fight Ember Attacks on Thatched-Roof Buildings

December 17, 2018

Visitors to the historic mountain villages in central Japan marvel at the elegance of the steep thatched-roof farmhouses found there. Known as “gassho-zukuri,”...

An aerial drone sits on a launch pad before lifting off to start the NIST performance test course. Three sections of the course, poles with white bucket-shaped targets attached, are seen in the background.

NIST Performance Tests for Aerial Response Robots Become National Standard

December 4, 2018

Tracking the spread of a wildfire. Searching for a missing person. Detecting toxic fumes after an explosion before sending in rescue workers. These are just...

An electron micrograph showing a globular cluster of silver nanoparticles atop the surface of a cutting board from which it was scratched off.

Do Kitchen Items Shed Antimicrobial Nanoparticles After Use?

November 8, 2018

Because of their antimicrobial and antifungal properties, silver nanoparticles measuring between one and 100 nanometers (billionth of a meter) in size, are...

Rescuing Our History from the Ashes

October 26, 2018

What strikes terror in the hearts of museum curators everywhere? Budget cuts, surely. But worse yet, the prospect of precious, irreplaceable relics being...

Salt Lake County Among Localities Using NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide

October 17, 2018

Emergency managers, industry professionals, and other staff from Salt Lake County (SLCo) and local jurisdictions gathered on Oct. 10, 2018, in West Valley, Utah...

Lecture Presented at the 2018 European Symposium on Fire Science

September 28, 2018

Dr. Isaac Leventon recently returned from Nancy, France, where he attended the 2018 European Symposium on Fire Safety Science (ESFSS 2018) to deliver a lecture...

Registration Is Now Open for the NIST Workshop on Priority Data and Information Needs

September 25, 2018

As more communities take action to improve their overall resilience to natural, technological, and human-caused hazards, there is a growing recognition that...

Schematic shows the five layers of a typical automobile composite body. Mar and scratch damages from five objects, seen as cracks and crevices in the coating layers, are marked.

To Improve Auto Coatings, New Tests Do More Than Scratch the Surface

September 20, 2018

Know that sickening feeling when you exit the grocery store and find your car has been banged up by a runaway shopping cart? It may one day be just a bad memory...

Flammability Reduction Group Welcomes Dr. Andre Thompson

September 3, 2018

Welcome Dr. Andre Thompson! Andre recently joined the Flammability Reduction Group in the Engineering Laboratory at NIST as an NRC post-doc. Over the next 2...

NIST Details Steps to Keep Buildings Functioning After Natural Hazards

August 21, 2018

After an earthquake, hurricane, tornado or other natural hazard, it’s considered a win if no one gets hurt and buildings stay standing. But an even bigger...

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