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.

Mon, 03/09/2026 - 11:01
There’s More to AI Bias Than Biased Data, NIST Reports Rooting out bias in artificial intelligence will require addressing human and systemic biases, too

Wed, 03/30/2022 - 12:02
As a step toward improving our ability to identify and manage the harmful effects of bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommend widening the scope of where we look…
NIST Announces Funding Opportunities for MEP Centers in Four States Awards available in Kentucky, Nebraska, Rhode Island and South Dakota
Wed, 03/23/2022 - 12:21
(NIST: Gaithersburg, Maryland) — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is accepting applications from eligible organizations to operate Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers in Kentucky,…
How Do You Know You’re Getting What You Pay For at the Grocery Store? The short answer: Standard weights, rigorous procedures, and state inspectors ensure measurements are fair and accurate
Mon, 03/21/2022 - 12:03
Whether it’s bananas, olives, potato salad, or cereal, many products are priced according to their weight. That weight is likely determined on a scale tested and certified by a specially trained state or local inspector. Weights and measures…
NIST Imaging System Spotlights Tiny Mechanical Hearts at Core of Every Cellphone Movies of minuscule vibrations reveal how well 5G and other mobile networks are operating.
Tue, 03/08/2022 - 12:02
Inside every cellphone lies a tiny mechanical heart, beating several billion times a second. These micromechanical resonators play an essential role in cellphone communication. Buffeted by the cacophony of radio frequencies in the airwaves, the…
Sneezes, Rain Clouds, and Ink Jets NIST improves the ability of optical microscopes to measure the volume of microdroplets
Wed, 01/12/2022 - 12:02
Sneezes, rain clouds, and ink-jet printers: They all produce or contain liquid droplets so tiny it would take several billion of them to fill a liter bottle. Measuring the volume, motion, and contents of microscopic droplets is important for…
NIST Prize Challenge Launches Research for Unmanned Aircraft in Search and Rescue First Responder UAS Triple Challenge focuses on using optical sensors and data analysis to improve image detection and location
Wed, 08/04/2021 - 09:48
(NIST: Boulder, CO)— The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched a new prize competition to advance the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in first responder search and rescue operations…
New Research Could Help Manufacturers Avoid 3D-Printing Pitfall For destressing printed metal parts, ‘island scanning’ may not be the cure-all after all
Wed, 06/09/2021 - 12:03
Aresearch team has found that a method commonly used to skirt one of metal 3D printing’s biggest problems may be far from a silver bullet. For manufacturers, 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, provides a means of building complex-shaped parts…
NIST AI System Discovers New Material CAMEO algorithm identifies new compound potentially useful for photonic devices and biologically inspired computers
Tue, 12/22/2020 - 12:01
When the words “artificial intelligence” (AI) come to mind, your first thoughts may be of super-smart computers, or robots that perform tasks without needing any help from humans. Now, a multi-institutional team including researchers from the…
MIT, NIST Create First Room-Temp ‘Magnon Switch’ With Industrially Useful Properties Build approach could lead to new and more efficient logic switches for computer chips
Tue, 07/14/2020 - 12:02
Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated a potentially new way to make switches inside a computer’s processing chips, enabling them to use less…
NIST Researchers Boost Microwave Signal Stability a Hundredfold For more accurate time, navigation, communication, and higher-resolution imaging for radar and astronomy
Wed, 06/24/2020 - 12:01
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used state-of-the-art atomic clocks, advanced light detectors, and a measurement tool called a frequency comb to boost the stability of microwave signals a hundredfold.…