NIST in Georgia

NIST supports Georgia’s $10 billion chemical industry with a wide variety of products and services. 

• NIST reference materials and calibrations help manufacturers check the purity or composition of gases and other raw materials and comply with environmental regulations. 
• The NIST Mass Spectrometry Data Center produces data libraries that speed chemical identification and quality control for the chemical manufacturing sector and many others. This data is so widely trusted that it is packaged with nearly every mass spectrometer sold. 
• The NIST ThermoData Engine is used by chemical companies around the world. It provides thermophysical properties for industrially important fluids and fluid mixtures so that chemical plants can optimize production processes through computer modeling without running expensive full-size experiments. 

• NIST’s CHIPS for America program was created, in part, to address the semiconductor shortage that began in 2021, which hit the automotive sector particularly hard. CHIPS has announced more than $6 billion in awards to U.S. companies for creating or expanding manufacturing capacity for the semiconductors that automakers and OEM suppliers need to make cars in America. 
• To support the adoption of electric vehicles, NIST accumulates, updates and disseminates good practices for measurement and device reliability for EV chargers based on its experience in measurement and instrumentation. The goal is for EV drivers to have the same trust in charging that users of gas pumps have in refueling.
• Based on our expertise in developing cybersecurity standards, guidelines, best practices and other resources, NIST has issued a Cybersecurity Framework profile for Electric Vehicle Extreme Fast Charging Infrastructure to address vulnerabilities in the chargers’ multiple connected systems.
• The NIST Center for Automotive Lightweighting provides automakers with the mechanical and physical measurement tools they need to reliably manufacture components from new, lighter materials. These lighter parts can increase fuel or battery efficiency and cut emissions. 

• Georgia manufacturers in this sector rely on NIST reference materials for steels, cements, glass, fuels, chemical analysis and more to ensure small engineering tolerances and the highest quality control for parts where failure would cause catastrophic losses.
• NIST standards, calibrations and other services ensure accurate measurements of altitude and airspeed, and support remote sensing via satellites. The atomic clocks used by global positioning systems and telecommunications networks rely on precision timekeeping disseminated by NIST, starting with the NIST primary standard atomic clock. 
• NIST supports development and deployment of next-generation wireless communications, including providing world-class test beds for characterizing antennas for space applications. This research helps the industry make smaller — but effective — antennas for smaller, less expensive satellites.

• Georgia MEP helped South Georgia Pecan Co. reduce staff turnover, decrease customer complaints, and improve safety and productivity with an operational excellence assessment and daily communications plan between departments and company leadership. 
• NIST’s library of reference materials helps to ensure that foods grown or eaten in the U.S. are safe from contaminants and allergens that could cause illness to consumers. Georgia companies also rely on NIST reference materials to check their test methods and help them comply with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act.
• NIST develops and updates inspection procedures and trains state regulatory officials on how to verify the net contents of packaged foods to protect consumers and businesses and ensure fair trading for grocery stores, restaurants and customers.

• From 2012 to 2022, the NIST Public Safety Communications Research Division invested $8.4 million through prize challenges, grants and internal research projects for Georgia companies and universities to increase the safety of first responders and their communities. This investment resulted in: 

• Georgia was struck by 72 tornadoes in 2023. NIST researchers and collaborators have improved the design of buildings to perform better under high wind conditions. Our recommendations are being incorporated into codes that will make new buildings safer.