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My mom is a painter, so I grew up in a messy house full of brushes, twisted tubes of paint, pots of ink, plaster busts of various Romans, rolls of papers, and
In case you haven’t already heard, if you wanted to give your loved one that special, once-in-a-lifetime gift by naming one of the elements in row 7 of the
This year will be the 45th anniversary of the Metric Conversion Act, which was signed on December 23, 1975, by President Gerald R. Ford. Normally, we celebrate
A catchphrase from a popular reality show goes: “One day you're in. And the next day, you're out.” For the purposes of the show, the host is referencing fashion
November is National Aviation History Month. So it’s fitting that it was also in November, of 1910, that a 12-year-old boy in Baltimore, Maryland, named Hugh
I’m a graphic designer, or, in the language of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a "Visual Information Specialist." For the past 18 years I’ve been
Guest blog post by Don Hillger, President, U.S. Metric Association This year, 2016, marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Metric Association
I was always fascinated with science. However, I steered away from pursuing science beyond high school because there was too much math involved (and “MATH,” a
Whether they’re made of leather or metal, people have been using tape measures for a long time. The first spring-loaded metal tape measure was invented and
If I told you my job required a hair net, a “bunny suit,” and a million-dollar piece of equipment, would you have any idea what I do? Do I sound like a mad
Amelia Earhart continues to make headlines, mainly because of her mysterious disappearance. The famed aviatrix vanished on July 2, 1937, during her attempt to
Want to pique interest in a subject area? Throw a party — right? Enter 2008 and World Accreditation Day. It was Monday, June 9, to be exact. I would love to be
I’m a physicist, and as anyone who watches the popular TV series “ The Big Bang Theory” knows, it’s a commonly held conception that there is a strong connection
Depending on whom you ask, May (or August or April, it would be great if someone were to standardize this … we’re going with May) is National Inventor’s Month
Put your hands together. Now move them back and forth to rub them against each other. Feel that heat? That’s from friction. No matter if it’s between siblings
This article was written in response to the March 14, 2016, death of John Cahn , one of the world’s foremost materials scientists, who worked at NIST from 1977
Over the course of its 100-plus year history, NIST has had some colorful characters who were also pioneers in their fields. For computer scientist Karen Olsen
As a professional reference librarian and amateur history buff at NIST, I have had the opportunity to become acquainted with all kinds of extraordinary
As happens with most every metrologist I know, I fell into metrology (the science of measurement) quite by accident. My degree was in chemical engineering, and
Like many of you, I venture out on Saturday mornings to get groceries and gas. Until my college years, I never thought much about whether or not I paid the
Of all the many useful and interesting periodic tables on the Internet—the periodic tables of the animals, vegetables, and minerals—and U.S. Presidents, Vienna®
It’s a college graduate’s nightmare. You earn your undergraduate degree with a stellar grade point average, over-the-top recommendations from your professors
Welcome to the brand new NIST blog, Taking Measure. Taking measure is what we do at NIST, both figuratively and literally. We are constantly looking ahead to