NIST News

Photo of the NIST chip-scale magnetometer. The sensor is about as tall as a grain of rice. The widest block near the top of the device is an enclosed, transparent cell that holds a vapor … more

Common house dust may be an important source of a potentially dangerous class of chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), according to an exploratory study* by researchers at the … more

Experiments aimed at improving emergency radio communications will be performed by researchers from the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the old … more

Senior executives of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration and the U.S. automotive industry today signed a memorandum of agreement establishing a new partnership to … more

Ninety-six employees of the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards (NIST) were honored with the Departmental Bronze Medal and other NIST awards in ceremonies held Dec. 1, … more

NIST physicists Dietrich Leibfried and David Wineland in the laboratory where they have developed a method for correcting data handling errors for quantum computing. ©Geoffrey … more

President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Don Evans today announced four organizations as recipients of the 2004 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s only … more

[Top] Scanning electron microscope image shows rows of horizontal zinc-oxide nanowires grown on a sapphire surface. The gold nanoparticles are visible on the ends of each row. Click … more

The Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a real-time magnetic imaging system that enables criminal investigators to "see" signs … more

Leading Collapse Sequence for Each WTC Tower The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today released the latest findings from its building and fire … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a public meeting starting at 1 p.m. (EST) on April 5, 2005, at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan (1605 Broadway, Times … more

Fire Resistance Testing of WTC Floor System, Aug. 25, 2004, Presentation by S. Shyam Sunder (Note: Presentation is presented in .pdf. To read this file, you can download Adobe Acrobat Reader … more

The heart of a minuscule atomic clock—believed to be 100 times smaller than any other atomic clock—has been demonstrated by scientists at the Commerce Department’s … more

The first sighting of atoms flying in formation has been reported by physicists at the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of … more

The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plans to sponsor a fire test of a World Trade Center (WTC) tower floor system as part of its building and fire … more

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is basing its review, analysis, modeling, and testing work for the World Trade Center (WTC) Investigation on a solid foundation of … more

As part of its building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster, the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today … more

The challenge of determining whether thin films—some no thicker than a single molecule—are strong enough for a growing number of important technology jobs just got easier and … more

Computerized systems that automatically match fingerprints have become so sophisticated that the best of them are accurate more than 99 percent of the time, according to the most comprehensive … more

A pinch of iron dramatically boosts the cooling performance of a material considered key to the development of magnetic refrigerators, report researchers at the Commerce Department’s … more

Research Environment Among World’s Best for Nanotech, Leading-Edge Science NIST’s new Advanced Measurement Laboratory is the most technically advanced research … more

Fact Sheet of Key Interim Findings Presentation by S. Sunder (.pdf) Progress Report The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today issued its … more

© Geoffrey Wheeler NIST physicist David Wineland adjusts an ultraviolet laser beam used to manipulate ions in a high-vacuum "ion trap" used to 'teleport' the … more

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but it may take only a thin coating of freeze-dried sugar to keep insulin, vaccines and other heat-sensitive, protein-based drugs working reliably … more

By exploiting the weird quantum behavior of atoms, physicists at the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new technique that … more

Report makes recommendations for strengthening U.S. international competitiveness through coordination with Commerce, industry and other federal agencies WASHINGTON, D.C. – Commerce … more

The fastest known cryptographic system based on transmission of single photons—the smallest pulses of light—has been demonstrated by a team at the Commerce … more

Background on Quantum Key Distribution Quantum encryption systems use lasers to generate individual pulses of light called photons. Each photon is sent in one of two modes, either … more

Field within and around a 60 nm radius gold nanoring. Enhanced fields inside the nanoring would make the nanoring a useful container for precision nanoexperiments. Gold rings … more

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Acting Director Hratch Semerjian has named four distinguished industry and business experts to serve on … more

Fact Sheet: Key Findings and Recommendations for Improvement; NIST Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire Presentation on Draft Report on The Station Nightclub Fire Given at March 3, 2005 … more

Fact Sheet: Key Findings and Recommendations for Improvement; NIST Investigation of The Station Nightclub Fire Presentation on Draft Report on The Station Nightclub Fire Given at March 3, 2005 … more

Location: New York Marriott Financial Center Hotel, 85 West Street, New York, NY Meeting agenda The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has scheduled a … more

The National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee, the panel of 10 building and fire experts established to advise the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards … more

More on FY 2005 budget request FY 2005 budget briefing by Undersecretary for Technology Phillip Bond and NIST Director Arden Bement (pdf) President Bush outlined his continued support for science … more

Good morning. I am delighted to be here today to tell you about some exciting new results from our lab. I will start with a brief description of what we see in these experiments after which I will … more

Left to right Deborah Jin, Markus Greiner, Cindy Regal ©Geoffrey Wheeler To obtain a high-resolution copy of this image Gail Porter. Opening Statement from Press … more