NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
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.
Theodore V. Vorburger, James H. Yen, Jun-Feng Song, Robert M. Thompson, Thomas Brian Renegar, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, D Ott, Martin G. Ols
In response to the guidelines issued by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB-International) to establish traceability and quality assurance in U.S. crime laboratories, NIST and the ATF initiated a
The Congruent Matching Cells (CMC) method was invented at the National Institute of Standards and Institute (NIST). The CMC method is based on correlation of pairs of small correlation cells instead of correlation on the entire images. Four identification
Shannan R. Williams, Melissa Taylor, Anuj Mehta, Irland Jeffrey
Forensic science laboratories and law enforcement agencies have increasingly used automated identification technology (AIT), such as barcoding and radio frequency identification (RFID), to track and manage forensic evidence, firearms, and personnel. AIT
Michael D. Coble, Todd Bille, Steven Weitz, John Buckleton, Jo Bright
DNA analyses from casework samples commonly result in complex DNA profiles. Often, these profiles consist of multiple contributors and display multiple stochastic events such as peak height imbalance, allelic or locus drop-out, allelic drop-in, and
Chemical straightening, also known as a relaxer, is ubiquitously used among African American women to obtain straighter hair compared with their natural tresses. This study focused on the stability of drugs of abuse in hair after a single application of
Yooyoung Lee, P. Jonathon Phillips, James Filliben, J. R. Beveridge, Hao H. Zhang
Methods for assessing the impact of factors and image-quality metrics for still face images are well-understood. The extension of these factors and quality measures to faces in video has not, however, been explored. We present a specific methodology for
This book is primarily intended for DNA analysts or those trying to understand what a DNA analyst does in his or her review of forensic DNA data that was obtained by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and short tandem repeat (STR) typing via
Rapid PCR protocols for the amplification of typing short tandem repeat multiplexes were evaluated on 6 different thermal cyclers. PCR primers from the commercially available multiplex short tandem repeat typing kit Identifiler were used to target 15 STR
Haiying Guan, Andrew Dienstfrey, Mary Frances Theofanos, Brian Stanton
Although fingerprint mark-up and identification are well-studied fields, forensic fingerprint image preprocessing is still a relatively new domain in need of further scientific study and development of guidance of best practice. Latent fingerprint image
Frank Breitinger, Barbara Guttman, Michael McCarrin, Vassil Roussev, Douglas R. White
This document provides a definition of and terminology for approximate matching. Approximate matching is a promising technology designed to identify similarities between two digital artifacts. It is used to find objects that resemble each other or to find
We demonstrate the coupling of desorption electro-flow focusing ionization (DEFFI) with in-source collision induced dissociation (CID) for the mass spectrometric (MS) detection and imaging of explosive device components, including both organic, e.g
We discuss the application of recently developed 670 GHz low-noise amplifiers based on InP HEMTs to passive indoor imaging. Packaged LNAs were integrated with commercial zero-bias diodes, and accurate measurements of system noise-equivalent temperature
Barbara Guttman, Martin Herman, Michaela Iorga, Larry Feldman, Kim Quill
Forensic science provides the methodologies for understanding crime scenes. It is used for analyzing evidence, identifying suspects, and prosecuting and convicting criminals while exonerating innocent people. To maintain the integrity of the U.S. criminal
Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Johannes A. Soons, Robert M. Thompson, John Villanova, Taher Kakal
A 2009 report by the National Academies [1] recommended strengthening the scientific basis of procedures and criteria employed by the forensic science specialty of toolmark identification. The current method of comparison and determination of identity is
This report documents performance of one-to-many face identification algorithms, and compares it with that in 2010. Performance in this context refers recognition accuracy and computational resource usage as measured by executing those algorithms on
Yooyoung Lee, P. Jonathon Phillips, James Filliben, J. R. Beveridge, Hao Zhang
This paper identifies important factors for face recognition algorithm performance in video. The goal of this study is to understand key factors that affect algorithm performance and to characterize the algorithm performance. We evaluate four factor
Desorption electro-flow focusing ionization (DEFFI) mass spectrometry was used to image chemical distributions of endogenous, e.g., fatty acids, and trace exogenous compounds, e.g., explosives, narcotics and lotions, in deposited and lifted artificial
Mobile device forensics is the science of recovering digital evidence from a mobile device under forensically sound conditions using accepted methods. Mobile device forensics is an evolving specialty in the field of digital forensics. This guide attempts
Based on three dimensional (3D) topography measurements on correlation cells, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed the "NIST Ballistics Identification System (NBIS)" aimed to accurate ballistic identifications and fast
Constructing an efficient and accurate model from security events to determine an attack scenario for an enterprise network is challenging. In this paper, we discuss how to use evidence obtained from security events to construct an attack scenario and
P. Jonathon Phillips, Yi-Chen Chen, Vishal M. Patel, Rama Chellappa
n this paper, we address the problem of matching faces across changes in pose in unconstrained videos. We pro- pose two methods based on 3D rotation and sparse representation that compensate for changes in pose. The first is Sparse Representation-based
Theodore V. Vorburger, Thomas Brian Renegar, Xiaoyu Alan Zheng, Jun-Feng Song, Johannes A. Soons, Richard M. Silver
NIST methods for calibration of surface roughness parameters and step height are described. The surface roughness parameters currently being measured include roughness average (Ra), root mean square (rms) roughness (Rq), average maximum height of the
Thomas J. Bruno, Tara Lovestead, Jessica Nichols, Megan E. Harries
In this paper we present results of the application of PLOT-cryoadsorption (PLOT-cryo) to the analysis of ignitable liquids in fire debris. We tested ignitable liquids, broadly divided into fuels and solvents (although the majority of the results presented