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Physical Measurement Laboratory

Applied Physics Division

News and Updates

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Spotlight: Scientists Can Measure Laser Power Using HALO

January 22, 2026

By measuring laser power, scientists can help improve safety, quality control and performance over time.

NIST Researchers Demonstrate that Superconducting Neural Networks Can Learn on Their Own

August 18, 2025

Using detailed simulations, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their collaborators have demonstrated that a class of...

Three male researchers pose smiling in front of a large, complex scientific device in a lab.

NIST and Partners Use Quantum Mechanics to Make a Factory for Random Numbers

June 11, 2025

Broadcast as a free public service, the beacon can be used anywhere an independent source of random numbers would be useful, such as selecting jury candidates...

A first-ever comparison between National Metrology Institutes in the kW-power regime

March 5, 2025

NIST has continuously positioned itself at the forefront of high-power laser calibrations for over three decades [1]. To better meet needs of the manufacturing...

Sources and Detectors group ensures U. S. Military gas mask performance

February 26, 2025

“To survive and win…we must leverage ingenuity and technology to develop comprehensive solutions” -U. S. Army CBRN capability development update, 2024 CBRN...

Calibration leaders and researchers in the NIST Sources and Detectors Group support U.S. Military Aviation with laser-targeting system calibrations

February 21, 2025

“Air Power alone does not guarantee America’s security, but I believe it best exploits the nation’s greatest asset – our technical skill” -Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg...

3 NIST Researchers Receive Presidential Rank Awards

December 5, 2024

All three were awarded the “Distinguished Rank,” the highest category of Presidential Rank Awards.

Spotlight: Game-Changing Microscopy Technique for Identifying Cancerous Cells

September 3, 2024

Breast-conserving surgery, or lumpectomy, is a treatment for early-stage breast cancer. It’s important for surgeons to remove enough tissue around the tumor to...

Cassie Stoffer smiles while wearing safety glasses and standing next to a large metal tank with many pipes and wires attached to it.

Spotlight: Cassie Stoffer Helps Run Calibration and Measurement Services Related to Magnetic Resonance

August 27, 2024

If you ask NIST physicist Cassie Stoffer what she finds most exciting about science, it’s seeing what she learned in a textbook have real-world applications...

Tiny red cylinder probes are presented in front of a much larger ice cube.

Spotlight: Shape-Shifting Probes Will Help Improve MRI Imaging

April 12, 2024

Not all gems are the precious stone kind. In the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a type of microscopic magnetic probes called geometrically encoded...

NIST Researchers Use Cellphone Compass to Measure Tiny Concentrations of Compounds Important for Human Health

April 1, 2024

Nearly every modern cellphone has a built-in compass, or magnetometer, that detects the direction of Earth’s magnetic field, providing critical information for...

NIST Physicist Sae Woo Nam, Pioneer in Single-Photon Detectors, Passes Away

March 1, 2024

During his 25-year career at NIST, Sae Woo performed groundbreaking work. He died in January at 53.

Micrograph shows six blue boxes with thin lines at the center, each connected to white rectangular shapes.

Spotlight: A New Wavelength of Scientific Exploration With Single-Photon Detectors

January 29, 2024

From the minuscule bindings of molecules to the far reaches of space, we’re exploring the universe around us by catching sight of the smallest particles of...

NIST’s Ultra-small, Shape-shifting GEMS Offer an Easier and Cheaper way to improve MRI Imaging

December 20, 2023

Microscopic magnetic probes that change shape in response to their environment may greatly enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, producing the...

Illustrated celestial body shines on a flat box-shaped device with a protruding center.

NIST Team Develops Highest-Resolution Single-Photon Superconducting Camera

October 25, 2023

Researchers at NIST and their colleagues have built a superconducting camera containing 400,000 pixels — 400 times more than any other device of its type.

New NIST Measurements Aim to Advance and Validate Portable MRI Technology

July 17, 2023

A new wave of smaller, less expensive MRI systems promises to expand the delivery of health care and the capabilities of medicine.

white matter mimic in the bottom half of the artificial cranium

Lessons from an Experimental Brain Phantom

July 12, 2023

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and colleagues have developed a novel, anatomically accurate reference model of the...

Sam Oberdick and Gary Zabow pose for a picture, standing together with lab equipment in the background.

Spotlight: The Creative Minds Working Behind the Scenes on Agents of MRI Contrast

July 7, 2023

You might not recognize these two faces from such NIST social media hits as “microprinting with candy” and “molds for microparticles,” but they were behind that...

A blue-tinged drawing shows a schematic of the two qubits and resonator above a white rectangle, which represents the SQUID device that controls the connections and relationships among the qubits and resonator elements.

NIST ‘Toggle Switch’ Can Help Quantum Computers Cut Through the Noise

June 26, 2023

The novel device could lead to more versatile quantum processors with clearer outputs.

NIST Team Demonstrates Novel Way to Convert Heat to Electricity

May 19, 2023

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have fabricated a novel device that could dramatically boost the conversion of heat...

Spotlight: Researcher Sae Woo Nam Speeds Up Our World With Photon Detection

May 18, 2023

He and his colleagues built a detector that’s now used all over the world.

Flat surface designed with black lines that outline a red box and extend outward into a gold exterior. A gold column full of black lines cuts across the red box. At its center, a box in a faint green is surrounded by a thin silver border.

Spotlight: Differing Device Personalities Come Together for Future Quantum Computing Networks

April 28, 2023

We’re building the tools to trap ions and watch them glow (or not). The art-deco-esque device shown here is a combined trap for ions (charged atoms) and...

An SRM for the Verification of 3D Optical Medical Imaging Devices

April 4, 2023

Medical imaging devices and systems must be calibrated to ensure uniformity and reliability of test results. A Standard Reference Material (SRM) or "phantom"...

〈Q|School Single Photonics Short Course: Sources, Detectors and Measurements

February 21, 2023

In cooperation with researchers and metrologists from around the world, the University of Colorado and NIST Boulder presented a short course consisting of...

Man wearing safety glasses leans toward a tabletop optical laser setup.

Spotlight: Meet a Mentor for Summer Undergraduates: NIST Quantum Physicist Krister Shalm

January 23, 2023

Quantum physicist Krister Shalm has a few spots in his laboratory for motivated undergrads. Do you know any STEM-centric college students who might be...

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