NIST ensures that the U.S. economy runs on fair transactions, that our infrastructure is built with quality construction materials, that our manufacturers can innovate and compete internationally, and that we have access to reliable products at home. We provide critical measurements and standards, including nearly 600 calibration services and more than 1,100 standard reference materials, that make Americans safer and healthier and help our companies innovate.
- Each year, NIST’s measurement standards help to validate the volume of liquid fuel in billions of dollars’ worth of transactions. Our calibrations of industrial natural gas flow meters ensure fair and transparent sales of millions of dollars’ worth of product.
- In FY 2024, NIST made a grant of nearly $1 million to the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island’s Bering Sea Research Center for upgrades to facilities. The indigenous population’s expertise and leadership helps to drive the center’s research and monitoring activities of the region’s ecosystems.
- NIST develops and updates inspection procedures and trains state regulatory officials on how to verify the net contents of packages, including for ice-glazed seafood (e.g., shrimp, lobster, crab legs and fish fillets), to protect consumers and businesses and ensure fair trading for grocery stores, restaurants and customers.
- NIST reference materials help Alaskan seafood producers ensure that they are detecting contaminants in products and are complying with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act.
- Since FY 2020, the Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center, part of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, has received $3.4 million in federal funds from NIST, with $2.5 million matched in nonfederal funds, to equip Alaska’s manufacturers with the tools and resources necessary to improve the quality, productivity and competitiveness of their operations.
With the help of the Alaska MEP, coffee company SteamDot in Anchorage obtained the lab test necessary to certify its bottled cold brew as shelf stable. As a result, the company realized $350,000 in new and retained sales and expanded into markets across the Pacific Northwest.