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public safety

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

New Protocol for Measuring Background Levels of Drugs in Crime Labs

September 25, 2018

When crime lab chemists handle evidence that contains illegal drugs, trace amounts of those drugs are inevitably released into the laboratory environment. When

Flying Drones Compete to Complete Unprecedented Feat

August 1, 2018

Whether it’s the effort to redefine the kilogram or researching the Harry Potter realm of quantum mechanics where things can somehow be in two or more places at

Data-Sharing Website May Speed Response to New Illegal Drugs

July 5, 2018

The drug overdose epidemic currently gripping the nation is so tenacious in part because it’s being driven by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that comes in many

Man and woman with faces scrubbed out against an abstract backdrop.

Help Keep Big Data Safe by Entering NIST’s ‘Unlinkable Data Challenge’

May 1, 2018

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting the public’s help in making the personal information in large databases safe for

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

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

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

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

Making “The Technology” for Exoskeletons a Reality

April 21, 2017

This article originally appeared on the NIST Taking Measure blog . Guest blog post by Bill Billotte. I grew up in a small farming community in southern Georgia

Odor Detection with An Artificial Dog Nose

Sniffing Like a Dog Can Improve Trace Detection of Explosives

December 1, 2016

By mimicking how dogs get their whiffs, government and university researchers have demonstrated that “active sniffing” can improve by more than 10 times the

Grants and Cooperative Agreements

Current & upcoming funding opportunities Funding opportunities are a staple of public-private partnerships. PSCR has been proud to work with...

NIST and NTIA Seek Industry Partners for Public Safety Communications Test Bed

July 14, 2015

The Commerce Department's Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program is signing up a new round of industry collaborators for the test bed used to

George B. Huff Jr. (left) and Steve Poupos

NIST Taps Experts in Business Continuity, Network Disaster Recovery for Community Resilience Efforts

June 30, 2015

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has named experts in business continuity planning and the post-disaster recovery of telecommunication

Research Roadmap Traces the Path to 'Smart' Fire Fighting

June 18, 2015

When responding to the more than 1.2 million blazes reported annually, the nation's firefighters usually start with a dangerous disadvantage: They often lack

Dereck Orr with a variety of radios and cell phones

NIST Develops First 'Roadmap' for Public Safety Communications Research

May 26, 2015

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the first "roadmap" for the next 20 years of research needed to establish seamless

NIST Makes 'Bio Inspired' Flame Retardants in a Jiffy

April 14, 2015

After devising several new and promising "green" flame retardants for furniture padding, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers took

Building that has been destroyed by a tornado

NIST to Launch Review of Resilience Planning Guide at Houston Workshop, April 27, 2015

April 14, 2015

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will issue the full draft of its Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure

NIST Tests: Firefighters Portable Radios May Fail at Elevated Temperatures

December 9, 2014

New test results from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) confirm that portable radios used by firefighters can fail to operate properly

NIST to Establish New Centers of Excellence for Work in Forensics, Disaster Resilience

June 13, 2014

Officials at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have announced plans to establish two new research Centers of Excellence to work with

Nanotube-Infused Clothing May Protect Against Chemical Weapons

May 6, 2014

Nerve agents are among the world's most feared chemical weapons, but scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a

NIST engineer Kate Remley holds two Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) devices with wireless alarm capability.

Improving Safety Measures and Measures of Safety for World Metrology Day 2012

May 17, 2012

World Metrology Day celebrates the signing of the Treaty of the Meter on May 20, 1875.* By signing the treaty, representatives from 17 nations, including the

New Report Outlines Key Features of Next-Generation Public Safety Communications

January 31, 2012

WASHINGTON—Creation of a next-generation public safety communications network requires leadership from a single non-profit organization devoted to this purpose

NIST Finds That Ethanol-Loving Bacteria Accelerate Cracking of Pipeline Steels

August 2, 2011

U.S. production of ethanol for fuel has been rising quickly, topping 13 billion gallons in 2010. With the usual rail, truck and barge transport methods under

Public Safety Broadband Network

Objective To develop communications and network models for public safety broadband networks, and to analyze and optimize the performance of...