NIST

An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce

Founded in 1901, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a nonregulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. With headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland, NIST’s mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.

Wed, 10/29/2025 - 12:03
NIST Workshop Gets a ‘Grip’ on Robotics Challenge Seeking robotic hands as dexterous as the human variety
Thu, 07/11/2013 - 11:22
Even though modern industrial robots are becoming more nimble and capable, they still need to get a good grip on things, literally, with the equivalent of hands that are as agile and dexterous as the human variety. How to tackle this thorny…
Quantum Dot Technique Combines Optical and Electron Microscopy Evades two problems in nanoscale microscopy
Wed, 06/26/2013 - 08:54
Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—called cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale…
Microscopy Technique Could Help Develop 3D Computer Components As designers pack more onto chips, the only direction left to build is upward
Wed, 06/26/2013 - 08:49
A technique developed several years ago at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for improving optical microscopes now has been applied to monitoring the next generation of computer-chip circuit components, potentially providing…
The Better to See You With Scientists build record-setting metamaterial flat lens
Wed, 05/29/2013 - 12:07

For the first time, scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses ultraviolet (UV) light in such an unusual way that it can create ghostly, 3D…
Don’t Miss the NACMA @ NIST Workshop and Conference Aug. 27–30, 2013, in Gaithersburg, MD
Wed, 05/29/2013 - 09:11

(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is hosting and co-organizing the 2013 North American Coordinate Metrology Association (NACMA) meeting, Aug. 27–30, 2013, at NIST in Gaithersburg, Maryland…
Get a Whiff of This Innovative Spectroscopy Technique Different frequencies pass through gas in a few milliseconds
Wed, 05/15/2013 - 12:02
Detecting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could soon become far easier with the help of an innovative technique developed by a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists have overcome an issue preventing…
NIST Measurement Tool on Target for Fast-Growing MEMS Industry Test chips promote greater interoperability among different brands of consumer electronics
Wed, 05/01/2013 - 16:47

The market for miniature, hybrid machines known as MEMS, which are microelectromechanical systems, is diversified, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has introduced a long-awaited measurement tool that will help…
Reliably Wireless in Urban Topography NIST demonstrates improvements to emergency radio communications in New York
Thu, 04/18/2013 - 11:13

Given recent events--the Boston Marathon bombings and the huge fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas--the editors thought it would be interesting to highlight the recent efforts by NIST and others to improve the communications technology…
Landmark NIST Study Evaluates Crew Sizes in High-Rise Fires The 14 critical fire-fighting tasks are done more effectively with larger crews
Thu, 04/18/2013 - 10:47

When responding to fires in high-rise buildings, firefighting crews of five or six members—instead of three or four—are significantly faster in putting out fires and completing search-and-rescue operations, according to a multiphase study…
NIST Microscope Measures Nanomagnet Property Vital to ‘Spintronics’ Uniform spin waves could dramatically reduce the energy required to write a bit
Fri, 03/15/2013 - 10:51
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscope able to view and measure an important but elusive property of the nanoscale magnets used in an advanced, experimental form of digital memory.…