News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 15 of 15

Measuring Up: Light reflection and transmission

January 4, 2022

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently completed major upgrades to two key instruments serving critical national needs: measuring

Divide and Conquer: New Algorithm Examines Crime-Scene Bullets Segment by Segment

March 26, 2020

On the morning of March 22, 1915, residents of the small town of West Shelby, New York, awoke to a horrific scene. A woman clad only in a bloodied nightgown lay

Bullet fragment is illuminated under microscope lens.

Kennedy Assassination Bullets Preserved in Digital Form

December 5, 2019

In the palm of his hand, Thomas Brian Renegar held two small metal objects that had changed the course of history. Twisted pieces of copper and lead, they were

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

Graphic explaining the CMC method for comparing ballistic surfaces

How Good a Match is It? Putting Statistics into Forensic Firearms Identification

February 8, 2018

On February 14, 1929, gunmen working for Al Capone disguised themselves as police officers, entered the warehouse of a competing gang, and shot seven of their

Stop the Presses: NIST Finds a Way to Measure Fuel Cell 'Printing' at a Fast Clip

October 4, 2017

If you’re wondering when a hydrogen-powered car will become a viable option for you, take heart. A team including scientists at the National Institute of

A 3D topographic surface map of the base of a fired 9 mm bullet.

NIST 3D Ballistics Research Database Goes Live

July 7, 2016

It's a staple of the TV-crime drama: a ballistics expert tries to match two bullets using a microscope with a split-screen display. One bullet was recovered

Improving CD-AFM Measurements from the Tip Down

March 31, 2016

As the sizes of computer chips in electronic devices continue to shrink, traditional measurement tools (e.g., microscopes utilizing visible light) are no longer

New Ballistics Control Chart for Forensic Imaging

October 28, 2015

You've probably seen it on TV: To determine whether a single weapon was used in multiple crimes, forensics labs run images of a spent bullet through a database

A fired cartridge case and a fired bullet.

PML Helps Lead Standardization for Firearm and Toolmark Examinations

March 24, 2015

Xiaoyu Alan Zheng and Ted Vorburger of PML's Semiconductor and Dimensional Metrology Division were appointed to the Organization of Scientific Area Committees'

Computing with Single Atoms

November 26, 2014

As features on silicon microchips continue to shrink, the final frontier of miniaturization is a transistor on the scale of a single atom – a technology that

PML Study Supports Validity of Toolmark Identification in Forensics

December 13, 2013

Toolmark identification is an important forensic discipline where scrape and impression marks found at a crime scene are used to identify the type, brand, or

This cartridge case shows the three distinct marks, or 'signatures,' impressed on its surface when it was fired by a gun

Shelling Out Evidence: NIST Ballistic Standard Helps Tie Guns to Criminals

August 8, 2012

Thanks to a new reference standard developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), law enforcement agencies will have an easier time

New SRM for Bullet Casings

July 23, 2012

At a time when the reliability of crime lab findings is under increasing scrutiny, PML researchers have provided law enforcement with an important new tool for

To Make a Fine Point, New NIST Instrument Analyzes Microscope Tips

March 18, 1997

A new research facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology accepts tips six at a time, in fact. But the tips are not of the monetary variety

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