NIST News

NIST Fellow Joseph Stroscio was honored with the 2009 Nanotechnology Recognition Award at the AVS 56th International Symposium in San Jose, California on November 10, 2009. This award recognizes a … more

BOULDER, Colo.—The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has honored 22 employees of its Boulder Laboratories with the NIST Bronze Medal … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a draft publication for public comment that describes changes to the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP). SCAP is a … more

An article in the Oct. 20, 2009, issue of NIST Tech Beat, “Is Your Microrobot Up for the (NIST) Challenge?”, invited university and collegiate student teams currently engaged in … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released for public comment a new revision of one of its key computer security documents, a set of information processing standards … more

Verifying the accuracy of network analyzers--instruments that are used to measure key performance characteristics of electronic networks--was once an awkward process involving multiple steps and … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have announced plans to create a demonstration broadband … more

President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced on Dec. 7, 2009, that five organizations have been named the recipients of the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the … more

Solitary waves that run a long distance without losing their shape or dying out are a special class of waves called solitons. These everlasting waves are exotic enough, but theoreticians at the … more

The year 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the first demonstration of the laser, one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. Lasers now touch almost every aspect of modern life, from … more

Ellen Voorhees, leader of the text retrieval group in the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), was recently recognized as a … more

The teeth of some apes are formed primarily to handle the most stressful times when food is scarce, according to new research* performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology … more

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hostage Rescue Team had a problem--they needed a small, portable tool to identify fingerprints and faces, but couldn't get anyone interested in … more

If you've seen an Internet ad for capacitor-type power factor correction devices, you might be led to believe that using one can save you money on your residential electricity bill. However, a team … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced funding for 20 new research projects under its Technology Innovation Program (TIP), including projects ranging from … more

Raghu Kacker of the ITL Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division, Rick Kuhn of the ITL Computer Security Division, Jeff Yu Lei of the University of Texas at Arlington (and a guest … more

Achieving an important new capability in ultracold atomic gases, researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute, a collaboration of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the … more

Budget Key Dates more

Technology Innovation Program funding focuses on advanced materials and infrastructure monitoring and repair The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology … more

The CNST's Robert McMichael has been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). His fellowship citation notes his "broad contributions to the measurement, modeling, … more

GAITHERSBURG, Md.— The three-week-old Smart Grid Interoperability Panel’s (SGIP’s) governing board appointed Steve Widergren, a principal engineer at Pacific Northwest … more

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has presented 64 local staff members with the Departmental Bronze Medal and … more

NIST Fellow Mark Stiles has been designated a 2010 Outstanding Referee by the American Physical Society (APS). This lifetime APS award was initiated in 2008 "to recognize scientists who have … more

The CNST has recently awarded contracts with FEI Company for two Transmission Electron Microscope systems that will bring significant new capabilities to both the NanoFab and the CNST Research … more

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Barack Obama and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today announced that five organizations are the recipients of the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, … more

Go to Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke's Remarks at Baldrige Quality Awards On Dec. 2, 2009, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Gary Locke presented three U.S. … more

Fourteen staff members at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have received one of this year’s Department of Commerce Gold Medals and an additional 23 have received … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) now has a fan page on the popular social networking site, Facebook, and the microblogging service Twitter. Become a fan or follow us to … more

The inaugural meeting of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), a new forum to provide technical support to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as it coordinates … more

What: Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will present three U.S. organizations with the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest … more

Viewers of TV dramas don't focus on the technology behind how a forensics crime team tracks a terrorist or drug ring using cell phone data, but scientists at the National Institute of Standards … more

Single-walled nanotubes--cylinders of carbon about a nanometer in diameter--have been highly touted for potential applications such as ultrastrong fibers, electrical wires in molecular devices, or … more

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Naval Research Laboratory have developed a new way to introduce magnetic impurities in a semiconductor crystal by … more

Before one of your muscles can twitch, before the thought telling it to flex can race down your nerve, a tiny floodgate of sorts--called an ion channel--must open in the surface of each cell in … more

CNST researchers have designed a nanophotonic interface to very efficiently collect light emitted from single semiconductor quantum dots, providing an avenue for high resolution measurements needed … more

CNST researchers were recognized for the best poster presentation on nanolithography on October 1, 2009 at the 35th International Conference on Micro Nano Engineering, in Ghent, Belgium. The CNST … more

The U.S. Department of Commerce has presented 37 local employees of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with Gold and Silver Medal Awards—the two highest honors from … more

DENVER--The inaugural meeting of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), a new stakeholder forum to provide technical support to the Commerce Department’s National Institute of … more

On Nov. 5, 2009, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Patrick D. Gallagher by unanimous consent as the 14th director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Gallagher has worked at … more

Albert Wavering III has been named to the College of Fellows of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Wavering is acting deputy director of the National Institute of Standards and … more

Time Magazine has named research on the "quantum teleportation" of information from one atom to another in its "50 Best Inventions of 2009" feature. The research was performed … more

Ron Ross, senior computer scientist and information security researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been named a Distinguished Fellow of the Information … more

Each year the Baldrige Program recruits experts from business, education organizations, health care providers, nonprofits and other groups to serve on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm … more

A revised draft publication on computer security guidance issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is focused on transforming the episodic information system … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is asking for public comment on four white papers that outline potential areas for research funding grants under the Institute's … more

A new workshop report from the National Research Council (NRC) identifies five key activities to advance the competitiveness and effectiveness of the nation's construction industry that employs … more

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first “universal” programmable quantum information processor able to run any … more

Like other users of microfluidic systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researcher Javier Atencia was faced with an annoying engineering problem: how to simply, reliably and … more

If you're watching the complex processes in a living cell, it is easy to miss something important--especially if you are watching changes that take a long time to unfold and require … more

To exploit the quantum world to the fullest, a key commodity is entanglement--the spooky, distance-defying link that can form between objects such as atoms even when they are completely shielded … more

The goal of an integrated, miniaturized laboratory analysis system, also known as a "lab-on-a-chip," is simple: sample in, answer out. However, researchers wanting to use these … more

BOULDER, Colo.— Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will collaborate with the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) to build and apply a custom laser-based instrument--a frequency comb--to … more

The eyes may be the mirror to the soul, but the iris reveals a person's true identity--its intricate structure constitutes a powerful biometric. A new report by computer scientists at the … more

Searching for a needle in a haystack may seem futile, but it's worth it if the needle is a hard-to-detect protein that may identify a person at high risk of a heart attack circulating within a … more

A theoretical physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a method for calculating the motions and forces of thousands of atoms simultaneously over a wider … more

Dr. Taner Yildirim, a physicist at the NCNR, has won the prestigious Special Award for 2009 from Tubitak, the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. The Special Award is reserved … more

Finally, an optical frequency comb that visibly lives up to its name. Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the … more

The scientists and engineers who introduced the world to tiny robots demonstrating soccer skills are creating the next level of friendly competition designed to advance microrobotics-the field … more

High-performance optical fiber networks are susceptible to degradation effects that can change with time. An example of this is polarization-mode dispersion (PMD). EEEL researchers Paul Williams … more

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The West Virginia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WVMEP), in cooperation with the U.S. Commerce Department's MEP office, will offer training sessions in … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has posted three documents related to the Smart Grid, the next-generation electricity network for U.S. power distribution. The draft … more

In the aftermath of the Sichuan Earthquake that occurred in China this past year and its high number of casualties, which included many children, the United States and China have signed a protocol … more

David J. Wineland, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will share the 2010 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics for "experimental realization of the first … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a new publication aimed at strengthening the U.S. construction industry's efficiency and productivity in the next two to 10 … more

Investigating mysterious data in ultracold gases of rubidium atoms, scientists at the Joint Quantum Institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of … more

Drugs based on engineered proteins represent a new frontier for pharmaceutical makers. Even after they discover a protein that may form the basis of the next wonder drug, however, they have to … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been awarded the 2009 Automotive Industry Action Group's (AIAG) Chairman's Award, the organization's highest honor. NIST … more

With technology similar to that used by physicians to perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, researchers from six institutions--including the National Institute of Standards and Technology … more

The scientists and engineers who introduced the world to tiny robots demonstrating soccer skills are creating the next level of friendly competition designed to advance microrobotics--the field … more

Trying to understand the complex workings of a biological cell by teasing out the function of every molecule within it is a daunting task. But by making synthetic cells that include just a few … more

Pneumococcus colonies (bottom) ordinarily must be counted manually to determine whether pneumonia vaccine is effective on a patient, but freely available NICE software (top) … more

October 9, 2009 -- The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), presented the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with its highest honor, the 2009 AIAG Chairman's … more

The NCNR expansion project is proceeding on a schedule that will require a 10½ month shutdown of the reactor beginning around March 2011. & more

The Automotive Industry Action (AIAG) awarded Peter Denno the Outstanding Achievement Award for substantial contribution and leadership on behalf of the automotive industry. They proudly present … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has unveiled a method for calibrating entire waveforms -- graphical shapes showing how electrical signals vary over time -- rather than … more

Government agencies and other organizations planning to use WiMAX -- Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access -- networks can get technical advice on improving the security of their systems … more

NIST has created an on-line database of physical properties of gas hydrates, strange, naturally occuring materials that look like water ice but burn, as shown by this man-made example of … more

Just in time for October's Cyber Security Awareness Month, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a guide to help small businesses and organizations understand … more

To subdue the steaming heat of hurricanes or to thaw out during a blizzard, gasoline-powered, portable generators are a lifeline during weather emergencies when homes are cut off without … more

Magnetic monopoles are created (top) when the spin of an ion in one corner of a spin ice crystal is knocked askew, creating a monopole (red sphere) and adjacent ant more

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those … more

A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those it should have resisted … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold three one-hour "webinars" to brief the diverse Smart Grid community on its progress toward establishing a panel to … more

On Sept. 24, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced an accelerated plan for developing standards to transform the U.S. power distribution system into a 'Smart Grid' that would be more … more

After seven years on the Gaithersburg, Md., campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), more than 200 pieces of structural steel recovered from the World Trade Center … more

A TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND FEDERAL MARKETPLACE EVENT TEDCO, NIST and NIH Present Bio-imaging Technologies For Commercial Adoption On Tuesday, October 6, 2009, NIST and NIH presented novel … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is holding the “National Workshop on Challenges to Innovation in Advanced Manufacturing: Industry Drivers and R&D … more

Tony Haymet, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, has been chosen to serve on the primary policy advisory body of the National Institute of … more

Researchers in the Optoelectronics Division of EEEL have&demonstrated an all-fiber photon-pair source with the highest coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) reported to date in the fiber-optic … more