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Public safety

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Unusual Suspects

March 16, 2018

NIST contributes to public safety with materials that increase the confidence of first responders to detect biothreats in the field. NIST’s Material Measurement...

A graph with vertical lines showing the mass spectrum of fentanyl

Free Software Can Help Spot New Forms of Fentanyl and Other Illegal Drugs

March 7, 2018

Fentanyl, the synthetic drug that is driving a nationwide overdose epidemic, is not only a killer. It’s also a shape shifter. Illicit chemists are constantly...

Three hexagons featuring highly mobile deployed network icons

R&D Summit Report Published!

February 26, 2018

It is with great pleasure that the Highly Mobile Deployed Networks (HMDN) team is announcing the publication of the October Working Group R&D summit report...

Dark blue background with locks in circles connected to lines

Need Help Securing Unclassified Government Info? NIST Has an Early Holiday Gift

November 28, 2017

It’s crunch time for government contractors. They only have until Dec. 31, 2017, to demonstrate they are providing appropriate cybersecurity for a class of...

Deployable Networks R&D Summit Highlights

November 1, 2017

PSCR hosted a two-day Next Generation Deployable Networks R&D Summit on October 18-19 at the NIST Boulder Labs. The Summit gave stakeholders an opportunity to...

Congratulations to the Future of Public Safety Technology Challenge Winners

November 1, 2017

Congratulations to The Norman Invasion for winning the Future of Public Safety Technology Prize Challenge. This Challenge focused on the development of a...

Clear Talk for First Responders

October 25, 2017

For first responders, such as firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians, a successful outcome to a mission—and perhaps the difference...

Empty courtoom with seats and scales of justice on table

NIST Experts Urge Caution in Use of Courtroom Evidence Presentation Method

October 12, 2017

Editor’s Note: The headline on this article was updated to clarify that NIST as an institution is not making a policy recommendation on this subject. The peer...

New Network Security Standards Will Protect Internet’s Routing

October 3, 2017

Electronic messages traveling across the internet are under constant threat from data thieves, but new security standards created with the technical...

Image of a research platform that can report oceanographic and atmospheric data via satellite.

NIST Publishes 2016 Department of Commerce Laboratories Technology Transfer Report

September 11, 2017

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the U.S. Commerce Department’s (DOC) 2016 Annual Report on Technology...

Illustration with four photos: solar field, power tower, highway and ambulance with a lock graphic in the middle

NIST, DHS Join Forces to Create Cybersecure Communities Around the Globe

August 24, 2017

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will jointly sponsor the 2018 Global City Teams...

Three people looking at drawing of Fire Escape Plan

NIST Study Suggests Frailty Makes Elderly More Likely to Die in Home Fires

August 22, 2017

A new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows scientifically for the first time that an individual’s ability to respond quickly...

Scientists Automate Key Step in Forensic Fingerprint Analysis

August 14, 2017

The first big case involving fingerprint evidence in the United States was the murder trial of Thomas Jennings in Chicago in 1911. Jennings had broken into a...

Cornell University engineers testing a novel earthquake-resilient pipeline

NIST Funds 12 Projects to Make Communities More Resilient to Disasters

August 2, 2017

Using biological materials as flame retardants, defining the characteristics of soil liquefaction during earthquakes and collecting disaster data with aerial...

Scientists Lay the Groundwork for a Reliable Marijuana Breathalyzer

July 5, 2017

Marijuana is now legal for recreational or medicinal use in at least 28 states and the District of Columbia. But driving under the influence of marijuana is...

NIST Awards $38.5 Million to Accelerate Public Safety Communications Technologies

June 13, 2017

BOULDER, Colo. – The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $38.5 million to 33 research and development...

Fire Testing of New Building Materials

June 8, 2017

New, lighter, cheaper, sustainable and recyclable building materials are entering the market every day as developers try to lower costs and shrink their carbon...

Do You Have What It Takes to be a Forensic Fingerprint Examiner?

May 18, 2017

Being a forensic examiner seems glamorous on TV. But working in a crime lab requires long hours of intense focus that are anything but action-packed. This is...

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

Fentanyl Can Sicken First Responders. Here’s a Possible Solution.

May 9, 2017

Dan Kallen, a detective in southern New Jersey, was searching a home with fellow officers in August 2015, when they found a bag of white powder. Kallen removed...

‘Indoor GPS’ Apps Closer to Reality With New NIST Challenge

April 7, 2017

GPS usually works great outdoors, but what if you’re disoriented in a large building such as a museum or a mall? There are no smartphone apps for indoor...

NIST Quest for Climate-Friendly Refrigerants Finds Complicated Choices

February 17, 2017

BOULDER, Colo. – Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have just completed a multiyear study to identify the “best”...

Database of Software “Fingerprints” Expands to Include Mobile Apps

December 15, 2016

A group of computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been working for more than 15 years on an impossible task: to...

NIST Research Enables Enhanced DNA “Fingerprints”

December 15, 2016

As the new year approaches, forensic labs across the country are gearing up for a big change in the way they generate DNA profiles, the genetic fingerprints so...

In Search of ‘Sterile’ Neutrinos

December 9, 2016

Lately, neutrinos – the tiny, nearly massless particles that many scientists study to better understand the fundamental workings of the universe – have been...

Keeping a Sharp Eye on the Environment from Space

December 7, 2016

On Nov. 19, 2016, America’s most advanced weather satellite rocketed into orbit carrying six new, state-of-the-art instruments, dramatically enhanced...

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