NIST News

This contributed volume is dedicated to the subject of performance evaluation and benchmarking of intelligent systems by drawing from the experiences and insights of experts gained both through … more

Vijay Srinivasan was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). This award is to acknowledge Dr. Srinivasan's distinguished dual career in industrial research and … more

Photo: NASA/DMSP download a high-resolution version WASHINGTON – Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today unveiled an accelerated plan for developing standards to transform the … more

The Panel of Judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for organizational performance excellence, has selected 15 organizations for the … more

The Fifth Annual IT Security Automation Conference, co-hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will focus on emerging technologies designed to support the security … more

The Library of Congress Federal Library & Information Center Committee (FLICC) has announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Services Division … more

To facilitate audits of election results and making the election process more transparent, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host a workshop next month to discuss … more

Two distinguished earthquake experts have been named to serve on the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR) of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) by … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated its popular guide to radio-controlled clocks. Many millions of radio-controlled clocks, watches, and other timepieces are … more

Planned and potential expansions and new facilities across campus, the addition of 400-500 kilowatts in power from solar panels, and increasing already heavy employee use of alternative … more

NIST Deputy Director Pat Gallagher photo credit: D. Anderson/NIST View hi-resolution image On Sept. 10, the White House announced President Barack Obama’s intention to … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a new ruler, and even for an organization that routinely deals in superlatives, it sets some records. Designed to be the most … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with private industry and other government agencies, have produced a new reference material for beryllium. … more

Diamonds, it has long been said, are a girl's best friend. But a research team including a physicist from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently found* that the … more

A research team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) studying sugar-coated nanoparticles for use as a possible cancer therapy has uncovered a delicate balancing act that … more

The NIST "on-demand" single-molecule drop dispenser: Water flows through a microfluidic channel, roughly 35 microns wide, and enters a narrow constriction where it breaks up into … more

NIST to Host Detailed Briefing Following Report’s Unveiling WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will … more

NIST to Host Detailed Briefing Following Report’s Unveiling WASHINGTON—U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will … more

From left to right: Patrick Gallagher, Deputy Director, NIST; Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Gary Locke, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; Jerry Sanders, … more

Roadmap Features New Buildings, Energy, Environmental Improvements GAITHERSBURG, Md.—Planned and potential expansions and new facilities across campus, the addition of 400-500 kilowatts … more

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama today announced his intent to nominate physicist Patrick Gallagher to be the 14th director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s National … more

The Baldrige National Quality Program recently published “blinded” (anonymous) scoring data on 1,033 applicants for the Baldrige National Quality Award during the years … more

Two publications from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describe new capabilities for authentication systems using smart cards or other personal security devices within and … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a new request for "white papers" that outline or help define potential new funding competitions under the … more

SRM 2905, Trace Particulate Explosive Simulants, consists of four different test substances designed to simulate trace residues of C-4 plastic explosives and TNT. Seen through a pair of … more

If you wanted to know if your child had a fever or be certain that the roast in the oven was thoroughly cooked, you would, of course, use a thermometer that you trusted to give accurate readings at … more

Just as health-food manufacturers work on developing the best possible sodium substitutes for low-salt diets, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have acquired … more

A chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a relatively simple, inexpensive method for detecting and measuring elusive hazards such as concealed … more

Ongoing Effort Aims to Aid Understanding, Mitigation of Wildfires in Urban Areas The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has sent two experts … more

High-performance optical networks are susceptible to degrading effects that can change over time. Knowledge of the degradation can be used to diagnose the network, repair the damage, drive a … more

On Oct. 6, 2009, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) will sponsor a technology transfer and commercialization showcase for bio-imaging technologies developed by the National … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Security Agency (NSA) are cosponsoring the Biometric Consortium Conference 2009 on Sept. 22-24 at the Tampa (Fla.) … more

Airline travelers are used to being instructed to turn off computers and cell phones during takeoffs and landings as a precaution against interfering with the plane's navigational equipment, … more

In what may prove to be a major development for scientists in fields ranging from forensics to quantum communications, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued three new certified reference materials for soil. Intended for use as controls in testing laboratories, the new Standard … more

The flip-chip lamination method creates an ultra-smooth gold surface (left), which allows the organic molecules to form a thin yet even layer between the gold and silicon. Gold surfaces … more

A new publication that recommends best practices for the next generation of portable biometric acquisition devices--Mobile ID--has been published by the National Institute of Standards and … more

The century-old challenge of transporting acetylene may have been solved in principle by a team of scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). A NIST research … more

Chemists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have issued a new certified reference material--a standardized sample backed by NIST--for determining the concentrations of … more

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today that EnerNex Corporation, Knoxville, Tenn., … more

Dr. Craig Brown, an instrument scientist for the Disk Chopper Spectrometer at the NIST Center for Neutron Research, will receive a PECASE award for showing scientific excellence at an early stage … more

As a result of a major inter-laboratory study, the standards body ASTM International has been able to update its guidelines for a commonly used technique for measuring the size of nanoparticles in … more

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new calibration technique that will improve the reliability and stability of one of NIST's most versatile … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have published a report on the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Energy Standards … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released its final version of a publication that represents a major step toward building a unified information security framework for … more

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated sustained, reliable information processing operations on electrically charged atoms (ions). The new work, … more

An experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms is about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that of the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, … more

NIST physicists demonstrated sustained, reliable quantum information processing in the ion trap at the left center of this photograph, improving prospects for building a practical quantum … more

A new, high-performance research and measurement laboratory is under construction at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colo. The $102.2 million Precision … more

NIST’s work on standards and cyber security for a nationwide “smart” electric power grid was featured in recent congressional testimony. On July 21, Cita Furlani, … more

On July 20, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the award of new grants totaling more than $55.5 million to four universities to provide cost-shared support for the … more

(Top) The NIST microfluidic palette. The mixing area is the pin-sized chamber bordered by three holes in the center of the top layer. (Bottom) For each of the three dyes injected into … more

Intelligent machines of the future will turn custom designs into finished products quickly and efficiently, save lives in catastrophes, and minimize complications caused by surgeries. Researchers … more

A guide* for designing buildings using steel moment frames to resist earthquakes has been published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of its support for the … more

A new class of economically viable solar power cells - cheap, flexible and easy to make - has come a step closer to reality as a result of recent work* at the National Institute of Standards and … more

NIST physicist Ian Spielman has been profiled at washingtonpost.com as “This Week’s Federal Player”, a regular feature created by the Washington Post Web site and the … more

Commercial process-design software that incorporates NIST’s thermophysical and thermochemical property data sets will receive a 2009 R&D 100 award, R&D Magazine has … more

Every year, the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory (MSEL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology appoints 10 to 15 new postdoctoral research fellowships under a program … more

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced a third major stakeholders workshop as NIST expedites the … more

Robert Celotta, Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), welcomed eight new staff members in July 2009. C. Stephen … more

Dianne O'Leary and G. W. (Pete) Stewart, Faculty Appointees in the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division, have been named Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied … more

A short movie entitled "Simulation of Non-Newtonian Suspensions: Shear Thinning Case" developed by ITL's Scientific Applications and Visualization Group in collaboration with … more

The U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today that it is awarding grants totaling more than $55.5 million to four universities to provide … more

On July 16, the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) issued a new policy statement that provides "guidance regarding the development of a smart grid for the nation's electric … more

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have overcome a hurdle in quantum computer development, having devised* a viable way to manipulate a single "bit" … more

To explore the structure and dynamics of novel materials, the more than two dozen scientific instruments at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)'s Center for Neutron … more

Responding to concerns about the quality and accuracy of methods used by testing laboratories to measure levels of vitamin D in the body, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and … more

If your organization is eager to learn about how the Baldrige Criteria can help chart a course toward innovation and performance excellence, then a new brochure from the Baldrige National Quality … more

Three scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have won Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the nation’s highest honor … more

The Baldrige National Quality Program (BNQP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) collects suggestions throughout the year on opportunities for improving the Baldrige … more

A recently released New York City Police Department (NYPD) report designed "to aid the New York City building community by providing information on how to prevent and mitigate the effects of a … more

If the shiny new software on your computer or mobile phone runs without crashing, you may have another computer program to thank--a static analyzer. Static analyzers try to find weaknesses in other … more

The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society approved formation of a new Technical Committee entitled "Performance Evaluation and Benchmarking of Robotic and Automation Systems" (TC-PEBRAS) … more

Oscilloscopes are routinely used to measure the properties of a wide variety of pulsed waveforms, including digital data streams in computers and in electrical and optical communications. Accurate … more