Designing Tiny Filters to Solve Big Problems

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In his lab at MIT, Zachary Smith is designing membranes with tiny pores that can filter tiny molecules based on their size. Here, Smith holds a “membrane coupon,” which is a small piece of polymer that can filter gas molecules selectively.

For many industrial processes, the typical way to separate gases, liquids, or ions is with heat, using slight differences in boiling points to purify mixtures. These thermal processes account for roughly 10% of the energy use in the United States.

Surface-Based Sonar System Rapidly Maps Ocean Floor at High Resolution

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Stephen Murray, Jason Valenzano, David Kindler, Paul Ryu, and Andrew March deploy their 8 m × 8 m sonar-array test bed, held together by a metal frame, in Boston Harbor for sea tests. Photo courtesy of Lincoln Laboratory.

On June 18, 2023, the Titan submersible was about 90 minutes into its two-hour descent to the Titanic wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean when it lost contact with its support ship.

Talk NISTy to Me

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Right now, the U.S. and Germany have different approaches to defining, or realizing, as the researchers call it, the kilogram. Here, NIST researcher Darine Haddad looks on as German researcher Beatrice Rodiek places a sphere on NIST’s highly accurate weighing machine, known as the Kibble balance. The goal of the research is to get closer to the same definition using the different methods. Credit: B. Hayes/NIST

NIST is unique as the national measurement science institute. We are the U.S. agency responsible for maintaining measurement standards, from the second to the kilogram.

How the Metrology Office Will Evolve in the Next 10 Years

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If data are currency, we must invest in tools that grow the investment and put data to work in the most effective way. Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

W ith the rapid digital transformation of manufacturing, including technologies like cloud solutions, digital twins, next-generation devices, automation, and AI, the role of metrology is poised for a transformative evolution.

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