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, 10/07/2020 - 12:01
Historic Vote Ties Kilogram and Other Units to Natural Constants at the 26th General Conference of Weights and Measures
Wed, 12/05/2018 - 12:54
A convocation of delegates representing 60 countries voted last month in Versailles, France, to implement the most significant change to the International System of Units (SI) in more than 130 years. For the first time, all measurement units will be…
Historic Vote Ties Kilogram and Other Units to Natural ConstantsThe change could inspire new technologies and reduce the cost of calibrating industrial processes and scientific instruments
Wed, 12/05/2018 - 12:01
A convocation of delegates representing 60 countries voted last month in Versailles, France, to implement the most significant change to the International System of Units (SI) in more than 130 years. For the first time, all measurement units will be…
Five Role-Model Organizations Win 2018 Baldrige National Quality AwardHonorees are role models for success in business and commerce
Thu, 11/29/2018 - 12:01
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the 2018 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will be given to two educational institutions, an organ donor group, a hospital, and a project management firm. A presidential-level honor, the award…
New NIST Instrument Will Give Scientists a Window on Change at the Nanoscale
Thu, 10/04/2018 - 12:00
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) introduces the VSANS Very Small Angle Neutron Scattering (VSANS) instrument that will help scientists at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) explore…
You’ve Been Phished!Context plays a critical factor in why users click on a phishing email
Thu, 08/16/2018 - 12:02
Organizations worldwide stand to lose an estimated $9 billion in 2018 to employees clicking on phishing emails. We hear about new phishing attacks regularly from the news and from our friends. So why do so many people still click? NIST research has…
NIST-Led Standard Evaluates 3D Scanners Critical for ManufacturingScanner runoff event pushes new standard toward the finish line
Mon, 07/09/2018 - 12:01
Story update 7/13/2018: This story was updated with a link to the released version of standard E3125–17. Large-volume 3D laser scanners play an essential role in manufacturing large products (e.g., airplane wings), making measurements for large-…
NIST Updates Risk Management Framework to Incorporate Privacy Considerations Helps organizations assess and manage risks to their information and systems
Mon, 06/11/2018 - 12:01
Augmenting its efforts to protect the nation’s critical assets from cybersecurity threats as well as protect individuals’ privacy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued a draft update to its Risk Management Framework (…
A Turning Point for Humanity Redefining the world’s measurement system
Tue, 06/05/2018 - 12:03
I n November 2018, in Versailles, France, representatives from 57 countries are expected to make history. They will vote to dramatically transform the international system that underpins global science and trade. This single action will finally…
Silicon ‘Lenses’ Enable Neutron Beams to See Details Inside ObjectsScanning technique could reveal details from 1 nanometer up to 10 micrometers
Wed, 04/18/2018 - 12:01
You can’t see well without lenses that can focus, whether those lenses are in your eye or the microscope you peer through. An innovative way to focus beams of neutrons might allow scientists to probe the interiors of opaque objects at a size range…
NIST’s ‘Charpy’ Test: A Precise Impact on Industrial Materials Decades-old impact test about to be significantly improved
Tue, 04/10/2018 - 12:01
A decade before an iceberg shattered the hull plates of the Titanic and half a century before a plague of brittle fractures started sinking Liberty ships during World War II, scientists in the United States and France had devised a novel, and…