Public Safety

A Christmas tree is engulfed in flames. To the left is a chair. In front is a coffee table, rug and fishbowl. To the right is a tall bookshelf. There are 3 wrapped presents under the tree. A timer reads 8:04 seconds.

Safety Moon Shot: How Fire Research Cut Deaths by Half in a Generation

October 29, 2024

NIST research helped make the smoke alarm a standard part of our homes, and it’s one of many ways our fire research has made everyone safer.

Facing the Facts to Keep Our Biometrics Secure

October 2, 2024

As facial recognition has become more common — from opening your smartphone to identifying yourself at a national border — NIST’s work in facial recognition has

A person in a baseball cap and face mask stands at a computer surrounded by scientific equipment, including a curving black plastic tube.

NIST Partnership Helps Communities Manage Unknown Dangers in Common Street Drugs

March 16, 2023

When you buy a medication at a pharmacy, you know what’s in it. When someone buys street drugs, they have no idea what they’re really getting.

Team image of ARCC at the NIST PSCR 2021 First Responder UAS 3.1: FastFind Stage 3 Live Demonstration

It Takes a (Worldwide) Village to Improve Drone Technology for First Responders

October 19, 2022

The research continues because the need continues.

Grid showing six fingerprints in different false colors.

A Tale of Two Errors: Measuring Biometric Algorithms

May 18, 2022

NIST researchers conduct biometric technology evaluations, working closely with developers of software that compares images of fingerprints, faces and irises.

A man modeling a safety helmet talks with two others standing behind a table in a conference hotel.

What Is $300 Million Worth? The Evolution of NIST’s Public Safety Research

April 27, 2022

I’m particularly proud that the $300 million enabled us to engage and recruit so many external partners from industry, academia and public safety.

NIST and the Titanic: How the Sinking of the Ship Improved Wireless Communications for Navigating the Sea

April 13, 2022

If you’ve seen the movie Titanic starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, then you’ve watched the star-crossed lovers’ untimely end and the tragic sinking

Historical photo shows two rows of women working at long tables.

New Jersey’s ‘Radium Girls’ and the NIST-Trained Scientist Who Came to Their Aid

March 16, 2022

Radiation expert and historian Bert Coursey, who has worked at NIST for 50 years, writes extensively on the history of radium and radiation standards. He

The sun rises over a green marsh with an open channel of water running through.

In a Changing Climate, Resilience Research Can Help Communities ‘Make Decisions for a Better Future’

March 8, 2022

Climate change keeps NIST economist Jennifer Helgeson up at night. Not with worry, but with work. For the last several weeks, Helgeson was working on the latest

NIST’s Investigations of Structural Disasters: What We Do and Why They Can Take Years to Complete

March 23, 2022

My Background in Disasters It seems as though I was born to be a disaster researcher. I can vividly remember seeking shelter during tornado warnings in the

A couch is in flames in a mocked-up room inside a large fire testing facility.

Saving Lives by Making Upholstered Furniture More Resistant to Fire

February 9, 2022

Fires that begin on upholstered furniture such as sofas are the leading cause of home fire fatalities in the United States, accounting for about 600 deaths per

Close-up of a map showing a city called Lumberton

The Trials and Triumphs of a Small City’s Hurricane Recovery Could Help Other Communities Bounce Back

January 19, 2022

In September 2018, a North Carolina city’s long road to recovery from Hurricane Matthew two years earlier became even longer. Lumberton, a small but diverse

Clear glass "boxes" with tubes coming in and out

That’s a Wrap: Selects From the NIST Invent Calendar

January 5, 2022

We have a gift for you, packaged up in December 2021 and now ready to experience in full. Each day in December, the NIST Invent Calendar revealed innovations

A white telescope dish is surrounded by wooded mountains in autumn colors.

In Case You Missed It From NIST: 2021 Edition

December 21, 2021

While the pandemic still grips the world, researchers at NIST continue their work on COVID-19 related research, as well as the wide range of other science and

Analyzing the Aftermath of the Twin Towers Aircraft Impacts

August 27, 2021

I consider myself lucky to have been able to perform contract engineering research and consulting for my entire career. The work environment has been somewhere

Inside the Towers on 9/11: My Story of Investigating the WTC Evacuation

September 3, 2021

The kickoff meeting On Nov. 1, 2002, in a small conference room on the Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

How 9/11 Changed Me and First Responder Communications

August 20, 2021

If you remember Sept. 11, 2001, that day is most likely imprinted on your mind like no other day. You remember what you were doing and who you were with. You

20 Years Later: NIST's World Trade Center Investigation and Its Legacy

August 18, 2021

The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was one of the worst-ever building disasters in

Putting Together the Big Picture for the World Trade Center Disaster Investigation

August 25, 2021

Imagine assembling a jigsaw puzzle of more than 14,000 pieces without an image on the box showing what the final picture will look like. Imagine that important

Reconstructing the Fires That Brought Down WTC 1, 2 and 7

September 8, 2021

Everyone has a story about where they were when they heard about the disaster universally called “9/11.” Mine begins in Ottawa, Canada. As chance would have it

Reflections on Assisting With the 9/11 World Trade Center DNA Identifications

September 1, 2021

On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, I walked to work from my home in Olde Towne Gaithersburg, Maryland, and arrived at my office shortly before 9 a.m. I had just

Search and Rescue Robotics: A Q&A With NIST's Adam Jacoff

May 7, 2021

Adam Jacoff has been a robotics research engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 1988. His research has focused on

Improving Forensic Chemistry: A Q&A With NIST's Ed Sisco

May 5, 2021

Ed Sisco has been a research chemist within the Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since

Supporting Mobile Public Safety Broadband Using Drone-Borne Networks

May 13, 2021

Working outside is always a highlight for me at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It happens more often than you might think, and

NIST Lends a Hand to Hand-Sanitizer Manufacturers

March 18, 2021

Like everyone on the planet, our organization, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), became concerned with the COVID-19 outbreak in March

Need Some Good News? NIST’s 2020 Highlights

December 22, 2020

2020 has been a challenging year, but we at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have worked as hard as we can to fulfill our mission for

The New NIST Fire Calorimetry Database Is Available to Answer Your Burning Questions

December 16, 2020

Several centuries ago, scientists discovered oxygen while experimenting with combustion and flames. One scientist called it “fire air.” Today, at the National

How NIST Is Helping First Responders Stay Connected

January 6, 2021

What do first responders do? It’s an easy question, and I used to think I knew the answer. Firefighters put out fires; police officers enforce the law; EMS

Developing an Exposure Notification System to Blunt the Spread of COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

November 10, 2020

I am part of a grassroots effort at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that is developing an exposure notification system for pandemics

Knocking Down Fences for Fire Research

November 18, 2020

Wildfires don’t stop where the wilderness ends. They burn through communities and neighborhoods, destroying property and taking lives. In 2018, the California

Taking Measure