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Material Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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Sniffing Out Corpses and Other Signs of Trouble

September 10, 2019

Science stinks. So thought Megan Harries as she measured drops of putrescine and cadaverine — the chemicals that give decomposing corpses their distinctive

Multiscale Polymer Dynamics in Hierarchical Carbon Nanotube Grafted Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites

August 27, 2019

NIST researchers utilized a suite of techniques typically reserved to investigate polymer dynamics and structure in nanocomposites with dispersed fillers to

A test tube is filled with spherical particles, with an equal sign and a question mark next to it.

Solving the Big Problem of Measuring Tiny Nanoparticles

August 14, 2019

Tiny nanoparticles play a gargantuan role in modern life, even if most consumers are unaware of their presence. They provide essential ingredients in sunscreen

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

American Chemical Society highlights NIST paper with Editor’s Choice Award

June 26, 2019

A recent manuscript published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels was selected for the Editor’s Choice Award, which is given to just one paper every day across

New NIST Reference Material Aims to Improve Food Safety in Corn Products

June 18, 2019

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new reference material that can be used to identify deadly toxins in

A man in brown camouflage clothing, including baseball cap, gloves and ear protection, uses a long pole to clean the inside of an HVAC unit outside a military tent.

NIST Study Identifies Chemical Blends as Possible Alternative Refrigerants

May 29, 2019

More than a dozen chemical blends could serve as alternative refrigerants that won’t heat the atmosphere as much as today’s refrigerants do, or catch fire

A woman with goggles prepares a sample near a large instrument.

How Milk Does an Animal Body Good

May 7, 2019

It has been called the world’s most perfect food, and there’s unequivocal evidence that it can fight off disease and build better baby brains. But even after

NIST Genome Editing Workshop to Explore Measurement Challenges

April 1, 2019

A workshop on May 3, 2019 on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland will explore the measurement and standards needs of members of industry, academia

Assessing the Next-Generation Backing Materials for Body Armor Testing

March 28, 2019

A framework of rheological techniques was developed to evaluate a candidate ballistic witness material developed by the U.S. Army.

NMR scientists from ACMD selected for Best Poster award

March 7, 2019

A NIST poster presenting recent breakthroughs in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) analysis of vapor mixtures was recently awarded “Best Poster” at

An illustration of a small particle is placed next to an illustration of polystyrene spheres.

Want to Avoid Problems in Powerful New Drugs? Ask a Roofer.

February 28, 2019

Understanding how proteins clump together is essential in modern pharmaceuticals. When these tiny particles aggregate, they can alter the effectiveness of both

NIST’s Joint Institute for Metrology in Biology Moves to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

February 7, 2019

The Joint Institute for Metrology in Biology ( JIMB), founded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Stanford University in 2014, is

NIST 2D NMR ‘Fingerprinting’ Study Gives Biopharmaceutical Sector New Power to Assure High Quality Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics

December 20, 2018

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently completed a large international study* that establishes two-dimensional

Horizontal blue mesh shaped like chicken wire featuring a regular pattern of some bigger holes. White balls are scattered around and some are going through the big holes.

NIST Simulations Suggest Graphene Can Stretch to Be a Tunable Ion Filter

November 26, 2018

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have conducted simulations suggesting that graphene, in addition to its many other

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

MML Launches National Search for Division Chief

October 25, 2018

The Material Measurement Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) anticipates the need for a Division Chief of its Applied

MML Staff Leads ASTM Standard Revision

October 16, 2018

MML Project Leader Enrico Lucon, from the Applied Chemicals and Materials Division, led an ASTM Task Group in the development of an Annex to ASTM E1820

purple rectangular bottom with an uneven purple lump that is yellow and orange toward the center. The yellow and orange sections represent a taller height.

New NIST Method Measures 3D Polymer Processing Precisely

October 9, 2018

Recipes for three-dimensional (3D) printing, or additive manufacturing, of parts have required as much guesswork as science. Until now. Resins and other

A green sea turtle is peaking its head above the ocean's surface while a rainbow appears in the sky over its head.

How Reliable Are Turtles for Measuring Ocean Trash and Marine Health?

September 25, 2018

When a sea turtle turns up dead on the beach, it often makes the news, especially if the death appears to result from plastic debris in the turtle’s stomach

NIST Grant Supports Plastics Recycling Research

September 25, 2018

The National Institute of Standards and Technology and Troy University in Troy, Alabama have entered a cooperative agreement that will fund a center for

Two vials, one with heroin and one with an equivalent dose of fentanyl, which is a much smaller amount.

New Protocol for Measuring Background Levels of Drugs in Crime Labs

September 25, 2018

When crime lab chemists handle evidence that contains illegal drugs, trace amounts of those drugs are inevitably released into the laboratory environment. When

NIST Updates Forensic Standard Reference Materials

September 19, 2018

At forensic science labs, analysts literally weigh the evidence. They also measure it in other ways. They use microscopes, DNA profiling kits, chemical

A large polar bear is jumping from one block of ice to another.

Many Arctic Pollutants Decrease After Market Removal and Regulation

August 27, 2018

Levels of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) regulated by the Stockholm Convention are decreasing in the Arctic, according to an international team of

An electron micrograph showing many blue-colored nanoscale (billionth of a meter) particles of varying sizes and shapes scattered atop a silicon wafer.

Connecting the (Nano) Dots: NIST Says Big-Picture Thinking Can Advance Nanoparticle Manufacturing

August 22, 2018

Nanoparticle manufacturing, the production of material units less than 100 nanometers in size (100,000 times smaller than a marble), is proving the adage that

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