Ron Cowen

Ron Cowen has been a science writer and editor at NIST since 2016. When not working at NIST, he’s a freelance writer specializing in physics and astronomy.

Mon, 08/31/2020 - 12:03
Lithium Batteries May Help Unravel Mystery of Ancient Papyrus Scrolls Nondestructive readings of writings from Herculaneum
Tue, 10/13/2026 - 12:02
Four years ago, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researcher Cyrus Daugherty developed an algorithm to virtually unroll the tightly wrapped layers of a cylindrical lithium-ion battery. Daugherty’s software transformed X-ray…
Twisted Science: NIST Researchers Find a New Quantum Ruler to Explore Exotic Matter Graphene gets interesting when you start stacking it in layers
Tue, 10/24/2023 - 12:02
A single atom-thick sheet of carbon known as graphene has remarkable properties on its own. But things can get even more interesting when you stack up multiple sheets. When two or more overlying sheets of graphene are slightly misaligned—twisted at…
Minding Your Peas and Carrots: Please Try This at Home What happened when a physicist recalibrated his oven sans manufacturer’s directions
Mon, 08/31/2020 - 12:03
NIST physicist Zachary Levine doesn’t cook that often, but when he does, it can easily turn into a science experiment. Two years ago, after he and his wife had endured a week of under-baked cookies and chicken that took forever to roast, Levine…