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NIST in Maine

$62M

in financial awards from NIST to organizations in the state of Maine since 2022.

NIST supports key sectors in maine

Advanced manufacturing

  • Maine manufacturers in this sector rely on NIST products and services to check the purity of materials and gases, the efficiency of production processes, and the quality of products made with advanced manufacturing methods. This saves time and money and provides manufacturers with the highest quality control for parts where failure would cause catastrophic losses.
  • In FY 2023 NIST awarded $17.8 million to the University of Maine for a Green Engineering and Materials Factory of the Future and for the Advanced Manufacturing Materials Research Facility.
  • Since FY 2020, Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership, part of the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership, has received over $5.5 million in federal funds from NIST, with over $5.6 million matched in nonfederal funds, to provide affordable and innovative resources and services to help small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises keep pace with demands, maximize profit, and transform from traditional to world-class manufacturers.

Maine MEP helped food maker Chow Maine of Trenton develop a food safety plan and prepare for a third-party audit. With a new food safety system in place, Chow Maine retained $1.1 million in sales and secured two new contracts worth $360,000.

Food and agriculture

  • 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 food manufacturers detect allergens and contaminants in products and comply with the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act. These materials are used to perform instrument calibrations as part of overall quality assurance programs, to verify the accuracy of specific measurements, and to support the development of new measurement methods.

Biotechnology, life sciences and health care

  • Since FY 2023, NIST has awarded over $26.7 million to the University of Maine System to modernize and enhance its analytical laboratory, aquaculture and biomaterials capabilities.
  • NIST reference materials help the biotechnology industry with quantitative analytical measurement tools for nucleic acids, proteins, metabolites and cell systems so that manufacturers can monitor and improve manufacturing methods and products — and innovate more quickly. Biopharmaceutical companies in Maine rely on NIST’s monoclonal antibody reference material for the reliable production of treatments made from living cell lines.
  • NIST’s guidance on temperature control for vaccine storage has reduced waste by 30%, so more doses are available for more people. NIST’s calibration materials for magnetic resonance imaging help medical researchers develop quantitative tests that can rapidly determine if treatments for glioblastoma and other cancers are working, speeding clinical decisions.
  • NIST provides near real-time identification of illicit street drugs submitted by state partners and has expanded this program into over 10 states. Reports on trends in detected drugs along with never-before-seen substances are released monthly.

Energy and climate

  • 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. Trillions of dollars of commerce in the energy, aerospace, chemical, automotive and aerospace sectors are traceable back to NIST calibrations of gas flow meters.
  • NIST’s calibrated solar cells help manufacturers, energy providers, and researchers and test laboratories measure the output of their solar cells and modules. Among their many applications, these reference cells assure designers of solar powered satellites that they will produce enough electrical energy to provide essential functions, from GPS positioning to weather forecasting. NIST’s solar cells support calibrations under different light conditions — from standard solar irradiance for space applications to indoor ambient light for energy harvesting — which supports a wide range of U.S. industries and residential users.

MEP Success Stories

How Diverse Projects Drove Transformative Change

Reported Year
2024
Cumberland Ironworks needed to grow to meet customer demand. The company turned to Maine MEP, part of the MEP National Network™, for help, and in the intervening years Maine MEP has become the "go-to" for Cumberland Ironworks' needs, assisting with concerns like financial resource build up, staffing, equipment and facilities.

Food Safety System Supports Rapid Domestic Market Expansion

Reported Year
2024
As Chow Maine grew, it became evident that a food safety system would be necessary to meet the requirements of larger supermarket chains and distributors. Owner Chiaolin Korona reached out to Maine MEP, part of the MEP National Network™, to see if there was any support in developing a food safety system to prepare for a third-party audit.

Empowered Team Proactively Refines a Plant's Quality Culture

Reported Year
2024
In 2023, Barrette Outdoor Living engaged with Maine MEP, part of the MEP National Network™, to provide a Principles of Lean training and a three-day kaizen event focused on 5S. At the time, the company was wanting to learn more about lean methodologies and tools to implement action-oriented improvements, while empowering employees to emerge as

Learn how NIST improves the lives of all Americans by conducting research and fostering collaborations that make possible everything from reliable vaccine storage and fair fuel transactions to next-generation MRIs and fair stock trades. Check out NIST Works for You.

Research Projects

FOREST

The NIST Headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD also provides a convenient testbed to evaluate the current state of knowledge relating optical remote sensing to