Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Physical Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

NIST Grant to University of Maryland Steps Up the Agency's Nanotechnology Efforts

July 6, 2006

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have joined in a $1.5 million...

Noise Measurement May Boost Cell Phone Performance

June 22, 2006

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and industry collaborators have developed improved methods for accurately measuring...

Three NIST Scientists Receive Flemming Awards

June 8, 2006

Three scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will be among 11 federal employees to receive the Arthur S. Flemming Awards at...

Circuit Board Materials May Like It Hot (or Not)

June 8, 2006

Electrical circuits may act differently in Arizona than they do in Alaska—potentially affecting the performance of computers and other electronics. A new...

Laser Trapping of Erbium May Lead to Novel Devices

April 28, 2006

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used lasers to cool and trap erbium atoms, a "rare earth" heavy metal with unusual...

Image taken from animation that shows how single photons are sent and detected by the NIST QKD system.

Code for 'Unbreakable' Quantum Encryption Generated at Record Speed over Fiber

April 18, 2006

Gaithersburg, Md.—Raw code for "unbreakable" encryption, based on the principles of quantum physics, has been generated at record speed over optical fiber at...

Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Announces New Nanotechnology Center; Focus Is on Building Infrastructure for Nanomanufacturing

March 20, 2006

DETROIT—U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez today in Detroit announced the launch of a state-of-the-art center for collaborative nanotechnology...

"Frequency Comb" Spectroscopy Proves to be Powerful Chemical Analysis Tool

March 16, 2006

Boulder, Colo. -- Physicists at JILA have designed and demonstrated a highly sensitive new tool for real-time analysis of the quantity, structure, and dynamics...

Record-breaking Detector May Aid Nuclear Inspections

March 14, 2006

Boulder, Colo.—Scientists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have designed and demonstrated the world's most...

Enhanced LIDAR Improves Range, Vibration Measures

February 2, 2006

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the use of an ultrafast laser "frequency comb" system for improved...

colorized micrograph of three tunable gates

New Design for Transistors Powered by Single Electrons

February 2, 2006

Scientists have demonstrated the first reproducible, controllable silicon transistors that are turned on and off by the motion of individual electrons. The...

Stable Polymer Nanotubes May Have a Biotech Future

February 2, 2006

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created polymer nanotubes that are unusually long (about 1 centimeter) as well as...

NIST Names Hockert Chief of Weights and Measures

January 17, 2006

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced Jan. 10 that Carol Hockert has been selected as the new chief of the NIST Weights and...

Simulation Program Predicts Resistivity in Nanodevices

January 17, 2006

As nanoscale circuits continue to shrink, electrical resistivity increases in the wiring and limits the maximum circuit speed. A new simulation program...

Enjoy New Year's Eve a Second Longer!

December 22, 2005

You can toot your New Year's horn an extra second this year, say physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Along with the rest of...

Measurement and Standards Issues in Nanobiotechnology

December 22, 2005

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will co-host a workshop to discuss needed measurement technologies and standards in the rapidly...

An instrument called GAMS4, originally designed and built at NIST and now located at Institut Laue Langevin in France

Einstein Was Right (Again): Experiments Confirm that E= mc²

December 21, 2005

GAITHERSBURG--Albert Einstein was correct in his prediction that E=mc 2, according to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the...

NIST Physicists Coax Six Atoms into Quantum 'Cat' State

November 30, 2005

BOULDER, Colo. – Scientists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have coaxed six atoms into spinning together in...

Nobel Laureate wins Presidential Rank Award

November 17, 2005

NIST Fellow William D. Phillips, 1997 Nobel Laureate in physics, is a distinguished recipient of a 2005 Presidential Rank Award for exceptional long-term...

Two Universities Get Grants for Precision Measurements

November 17, 2005

NIST has awarded two new Precision Measurement Grants to promote fundamental research in measurement science in U.S. colleges and universities. One grant was...

The NIST "transition-edge sensor" is made of layers of molybdenum and copper with a coating of bismuth to increase the X-ray stopping power.

Copper Ridges Nearly Double X-ray Sensor Performance

November 17, 2005

A series of copper ridges nearly doubles the resolution of experimental X-ray sensors, enabling more precise identification of the X-ray "fingerprints" of...

NIST Physicist Honored for Technological Innovation

October 20, 2005

NIST Fellow Jun Ye was honored Oct. 8 at the "Amazing Light: Visions for Discovery" symposium held to celebrate the 90th birthday of 1964 Nobel Laureate Charles...

NIST/JILA Fellow Jan Hall Shares 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics

October 4, 2005

Congratulatory letter from Congressman Boehlert (requires Acrobat Reader) Boulder, Colo.—John L. (Jan) Hall of the Commerce Department's National Institute of...

Meeting on New Technologies and Radiation Measurements

September 23, 2005

The impact of new technologies on radiation measurements and standards will be the focus of the 14th annual conference of the Council on Ionizing Radiation...

orange patterned background with two candy corn-looking peaks and whiter ridges around the peaks

Like Fireflies and Pendulum Clocks, Nano-oscillators Synchronize Their Behavior

September 14, 2005

BOULDER, Colo.—Like the flashing of fireflies and ticking of pendulum clocks, the signals emitted by multiple nanoscale oscillators can naturally synchronize...

Was this page helpful?

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
-Quantum communications
-Spectrum sharing
-Wireless (RF)
Artificial intelligence
-Agentic AI
-AI measurement and evaluation
-Autonomous systems
--Automated vehicles
--Autonomous laboratories
-Applied AI
-Fundamental AI
-Hardware for AI
-Machine learning
-Trustworthy and responsible AI
Biotechnology
-Bioeconomy
--Biological data
-Bioimaging
-Bioinformatics
-Biomanufacturing
-Biomaterials
-Biometrology
-Biosecurity
--Biosurveillance
--Genomic cybersecurity
--Nucleic acid sequence screening
-Cell measurements
-Engineering / synthetic biology
--Biofabrication
--Cell-free systems
--Genome engineering
--Protein engineering
-Gene delivery systems
-Genome editing
-Genomics
-Glycomics
-Metabolomics
-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
Buildings and construction
-Building codes and standards
-Building retrofit
-Building control systems
-Building damage and repair
-Building economics
-Building materials
-Energy efficiency
-Heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
-Indoor air quality
-Structural engineering
-Thermal comfort
Chemistry
-Analytical chemistry
-Chemical engineering and processing
-Chemical thermodynamics and chemical properties
-Molecular characterization
-Theoretical chemistry and modeling
-Thermochemical properties
Electronics
-Electromagnetics
-Flexible electronics
-Magnetoelectronics
-Optoelectronics
-Organic electronics
-Semiconductors
-Sensors
-Superconducting electronics
Energy
-Alternative energy
-Conventional energy
-Electric power / smart grid
-Fuels
Environment
-Air / water / soil quality
-Climate measurements
-Environmental health
-Greenhouse gas measurements
-Marine science
-Sustainability
Fire
-Fire detection
-Fire dynamics and science
-Fire fighting
-Fire modeling
-Fire risk reduction
-Materials flammability
-Structural fire resistance
-Wildland urban interface fire
Forensic science
-Digital evidence
-Drugs and toxicology
-Firearms and toolmarks
-Forensic biometrics
-Forensic genetics
-Trace evidence
Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
-Cell and gene therapy
-Clinical diagnostics
--Cancer
--Medical imaging
-Food and nutrition
-Human microbiome
-Precision medicine
-Regenerative medicine and advanced therapy
--Flow cytometry
Information technology
-Biometrics
-Cloud computing and virtualization
-Complex systems
-Computational science
-Conformance testing
-Cyber-physical systems
--Smart cities
-Cybersecurity and privacy
--Cryptography
--Cybersecurity education and workforce development
--Cybersecurity measurement
--Identity and access management
--Privacy engineering
--Risk management
--Securing emerging technologies
--Trustworthy networks
--Trustworthy platforms
-Data and informatics
--Human language technology
--Information retrieval
--Natural language processing
-Digital twins
-Federal information processing standards (FIPS)
-Health IT
-Internet of Things (IoT)
-Interoperability testing
-Library and information science
-Location based services
-Mobile
-Networking
--Mobile and wireless networking
--Network management and monitoring
--Network modeling and analysis
--Network security and robustness
--Network test and measurement
--Next generation networks
--Protocol design and standardization
--Software defined and virtual networks
-Software research
--Software testing
-Usability and human factors
--Accessibility
-Video analytics
-Virtual / augmented reality
-Visualization research
-Voting systems
Infrastructure
Manufacturing
-Additive manufacturing
-Factory communications
-Factory operations planning and control
-Interoperability in manufacturing
-Machining
-Manufacturing economics
-Manufacturing quality assurance
-Manufacturing systems design and analysis
-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Robotics
--Agility and adaptability
--Collaborative robots
--Dexterous grasping
--Manipulation
--Mobility and industrial autonomous vehicles
--Navigation / actuation / control
--Sensing and perception
-Supply chain
-Sustainable manufacturing
-Systems engineering
-Systems integration
-Technology commercialization
Materials
-Ceramics
-Composites
-Concrete / cement
-Materials characterization
--Composition and structure
--Mechanical properties
--Thermal properties
-Metals
-Modeling and computational material science
-Polymers
-Superconductors
Mathematics and statistics
-Experiment design
-Image and signal processing
-Modeling and simulation research
-Numerical methods and software
-Statistical analysis
-Uncertainty quantification
Metrology
-Amount of substance
-Dimensional metrology
-Electrical / electromagnetic metrology
-Flow metrology and rheology
-Force metrology
-Humidity metrology
-Ionizing radiation metrology
-Mass metrology
-Metric
-Optical / photometry / laser metrology
-Pressure and vacuum metrology
-Thermometry metrology
-Time and frequency metrology
-Weights and measures
Nanotechnology
-Nanobiotechnology
-Nanochemistry
-Nanoelectronics
-Nanofabrication / manufacturing
--Lithography
--Self-assembly
-Nanofluidics
-Nanomagnetics
-Nanomaterials
-Nanomechanics
-Nanometrology
-Nanophotonics
-Nanophysics
-Nanoplasmonics
Neutron research
Performance excellence
-Assessment tools and services
-Baldrige award
-Baldrige examiners
-Baldrige framework and criteria
-Best practices
-Leadership development
Physics
-Atomic / molecular / quantum
-Biological physics
-Condensed matter
-Electron physics
-Magnetics
-Nuclear physics
-Optical physics and communications
-Quantum information science
-Radiation
-Spectroscopy
-Thermodynamics
-Time and frequency
Public safety
-Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear / Explosives (CBRNE)
-First responder preparedness
-Law enforcement
-Public safety communications research
-Response robots
Resilience
-Community resilience
--Recovery
--Resilience metrics
-Disaster and failure studies
-Earthquake risk reduction
--Functional recovery
-Resilience economics
-Resilient materials
-Windstorm impact reduction
Standards
-Accreditation
-Calibration services
-Conformity assessment
-Documentary standards
-Frameworks
-Quality assurance
-Reference data
-Reference instruments
-Reference materials
-Standards education
Technology transfer
Transportation
-Aerospace
-Automotive