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.

Material Measurement Laboratory

Materials Science and Engineering Division

News and Updates

Keyword

Topic Area

Novel 3-in-1 “Rheo-Raman” Microscope Enables Interconnected Studies of Soft Materials

October 4, 2016

An innovative three-in-one instrument that allows scientists to correlate the flowability of soft “gooey” materials such as gels, molten polymers and biological

Let’s Roll: Material for Polymer Solar Cells May Lend Itself to Large-Area Processing

August 12, 2016

For all the promise they have shown in the lab, polymer solar cells still need to “get on a roll” like the ones employed in printing newspapers so that large

Illustration of prefilling a carbon nanotube with a desired chemical of known properties.

Simpler, Faster and Cheaper: A Full-filling Approach to Making Carbon Nanotubes of Consistent Quality

July 15, 2016

Just as many of us might be resigned to clogged salt shakers or rush-hour traffic, those working to exploit the special properties of carbon nanotubes have

A Crack in the Mystery of 'Oobleck'—Friction Thickens Fluids

May 5, 2016

By revealing missing details behind the odd behavior of a science fair favorite—a soupy mixture known as "oobleck" that switches back and forth between liquid

Model "patchy" particles self-assemble and provide guidance for understanding the nature of self-assembly in more complicated systems such as protein solutions.

How Do Nature’s Materials Stack Up? “Patchy” Framework Offers New Insights into Self-Assembly

April 19, 2016

Nature’s toolkit includes its still-matchless ability to effortlessly assemble proteins, membranes and other complex structures from parts lists of atoms

black and white image that looks like a dust bunny

Mixing Modern Materials? NIST Math App Helps You Manage Your Mashup

December 22, 2015

Imagine you're baking a special cake, one in which the shape of each mote of spice mixed into the batter can have a profound effect on your dessert's color, its

NIST Process Expands Catalyst Options for Electrolysis and Fuel Cells

November 19, 2015

Remember that pair of gold electroplated earrings you bought years ago at the mall? (Oh yes, you do.) Key to crafting their allure was the ability to place an

To Give Cancer a Deadly Fever, NIST Explores Better Nanoparticle Design

June 16, 2015

Heat may be the key to killing certain types of cancer, and new research from a team including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) scientists

Computer simulations of two possible morphologies of a block copolymer film

NIST Offers Electronics Industry Two Ways to Snoop on Self-Organizing Molecules

October 22, 2014

A few short years ago, the idea of a practical manufacturing process based on getting molecules to organize themselves in useful nanoscale shapes seemed

NIST Scientists Improve Microscopic Batteries with Homebuilt Imaging Analysis

September 26, 2014

In a rare case of having their cake and eating it too, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and other institutions have

Lighten Up! New NIST Research Facility Gives Material Help to Automakers

August 26, 2014

Want to make more fuel-efficient cars and trucks? Build them out of lighter materials. Sounds easy, but it's not. Automakers have decades of experience with

Lithium Sulfur: A Battery Revolution on the Cheap?

June 3, 2014

Whip together an industrial waste product and a bit of plastic and you might have the recipe for the next revolution in battery technology. Scientists from the

MML Researcher R. Joseph Kline Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

January 15, 2014

Material Measurement Laboratory researcher R. Joseph Kline was recently named among the 102 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists

What's the Matter? Q-Glasses Could Be a New Class of Solids

August 6, 2013

There may be more kinds of stuff than we thought. A team of researchers has reported possible evidence for a new category of solids, things that are neither

Multiple views of NIST's photoelectrochemical hydrogen cell.

NIST Demonstrates Significant Improvement in the Performance of Solar-Powered Hydrogen Generation

May 14, 2013

Using a powerful combination of microanalytic techniques that simultaneously image photoelectric current and chemical reaction rates across a surface on a

Shaking Things Up: NIST Researchers Propose New Old Way to Purify Carbon Nanotubes

April 30, 2013

An old, somewhat passé, trick used to purify protein samples based on their affinity for water has found new fans at the National Institute of Standards and

Schematic shows self-quenched platinum deposition on a gold surface.

Novel NIST Process Is a Low-Cost Route to Ultrathin Platinum Films

December 12, 2012

A research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a relatively simple, fast and effective method of depositing uniform

Typical BCARS composite image of a polyethylene blend

Mix Masters: NIST Scientists Image the Molecular Structure of Polymer Blends

November 27, 2012

Using an enhanced form of "chemical microscopy" developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), researchers there have shown that they

In this computer model, small, pre-selected nanotube "seeds" are grown to long nanotubes of the same twist or "chirality" in a high-temperature gas of small carbon compounds.

'Cloning' Could Make Structurally Pure Nanotubes for Nanoelectronics

November 14, 2012

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a technique for

September Workshop to Explore the Measurement Needs of the Flexible Electronics Industry

September 5, 2012

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in concert with the FlexTech Alliance, will hold a workshop on "Flexible Printed Electronics

New NIST-led Consortium Aims to Improve Process for Making 'Soft Materials'

July 11, 2012

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is launching a new consortium that will take the measure of a growing and increasingly important class

Fabrication Method Can Affect the Use of Block Copolymer Thin Films

May 2, 2012

A new study by a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicates that thin polymer films can have different

May Workshop Examines Impact of Advanced Imaging Technology on Tissue Engineering Research

April 17, 2012

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with the Multi-Agency Tissue Engineering Science (MATES) working group, is sponsoring

Two for One: Simultaneous Size and Electrochemical Measurement of Nanomaterials

March 6, 2012

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have done a mash-up of two very different experimental techniques—neutron scattering

Stretching Exercises: Using Digital Images to Understand Bridge Failures

January 10, 2012

With a random-looking spatter of paint specks, a pair of cameras and a whole lot of computer processing, engineer Mark Iadicola of the National Institute of

Advanced communications
-Quantum communications
-Wireless (RF)
Bioscience
-Biomanufacturing
-Biomaterials
-Biomolecular characterization
-Cell biology
-Engineering / synthetic biology
-Genomics
-Glycomics
-Metabolomics
-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
Buildings and Construction
-Building codes and standards
-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
-Environmental health
-Greenhouse gas measurements
-Marine science
-Sustainability
Fire
-Emergency building evacuation
-Fire detection
-Fire dynamics and science
-Fire fighting
-Fire modeling
-Fire risk reduction
-Materials flammability
-Structural fire resistance
-Wildland urban interface fire
Forensic Science
-Ballistics
-Digital evidence
-DNA and biological evidence
-Drugs and toxicology
-Fingerprints and pattern evidence
-Trace evidence
Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
-Clinical diagnostics
-Dentistry
-Food and nutrition
-Medical imaging
-Precision medicine
-Regenerative medicine and advanced therapy
Information technology
-Artificial intelligence
--Applied AI
--Fundamental AI
-Biometrics
-Cloud computing and virtualization
-Complex systems
-Computational science
-Conformance testing
-Cyber-physical systems
--Smart cities
-Cybersecurity
--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
-Federal information standards (FIPS)
-Health IT
-Internet of Things (IoT)
-Interoperability testing
-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
-Privacy
-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 systems design and analysis
-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Quality assurance
-Robotics in manufacturing
--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
-Disaster and failure studies
-Earthquake risk reduction
-Resilience economics
-Resilient materials
-Windstorm impact reduction
Standards
-Accreditation
-Calibration services
-Conformity assessment
-Documentary standards
-Frameworks
-Reference data
-Reference instruments
-Reference materials
-Standards education
Transportation
-Aerospace
-Automotive