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Material Measurement Laboratory

News and Updates

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Call for Comments: A Strategic Plan for the Materials Genome Initiative

June 27, 2014

The federal government is looking for public comment on a draft strategic plan for the Obama administration's Materials Genome Initiative (MGI). The draft 2014

Shown here are the tools for testing arson samples using NIST's new PLOT capillary method.

NIST Analytic Technique Offers Arson Investigators Faster, More Accurate Results

June 17, 2014

A research group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has demonstrated a new method for detecting ignitable liquids that could change

High school student Jessica Young checking the packing density of random aggregates of plastic spheres in a cylinder.

Snowballs to Soot: The Clumping Density of Many Things Seems to Be a Standard

June 10, 2014

Particles of soot floating through the air and comets hurtling through space have at least one thing in common: 0.36. That, reports a research group at the

Lithium Sulfur: A Battery Revolution on the Cheap?

June 3, 2014

Whip together an industrial waste product and a bit of plastic and you might have the recipe for the next revolution in battery technology. Scientists from the

$Acrylic fracture image$

Better Materials for Safer Sports: Time to Use Our Heads

May 30, 2014

On May 29, 2014, at the White House Healthy Kids and Safe Sports Concussion Summit, President Obama highlighted both the need for greater national awareness of

Capillary Device Significantly Improves Manufacture of Quality Liposomes

May 20, 2014

When the English author Sir Francis Bacon wrote "The world's a bubble" in 1629, it's a safe bet he wasn't thinking about microfluidics. However, for a research

NIST's Simple Microfluidic Devices Now Have Valves

April 2, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have added yet another innovation—miniature valves—to their ever-growing collection of

Purified DNA fluorescing orange under ultraviolet light.

How Well Did You Sequence that Genome?

February 25, 2014

In December 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first high-throughput DNA sequencer (also known commonly as a "gene sequencer"), an

Sample Deposit on Piezoelectric Quartz Crystals

NIST Microanalysis Technique Makes the Most of Small Nanoparticle Samples

February 24, 2014

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have demonstrated that they can make

NMR data showing the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) over time in yeast cells at rest (top) and under oxidative stress (bottom).

New NIST Method Evaluates Response to Oxidation in Live Cells

February 11, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new method for accurately measuring a key process governing a wide

Images of the same basic cell type grown on two different bioscaffolds

Shape-Sifting: NIST Categorizes Bio Scaffolds by Characteristic Cell Shapes

February 7, 2014

Getting in the right shape might be just as important in a biology lab as a gym. Shape is thought to play an important role in the effectiveness of cells grown

Scanning electron micrograph of Gardnerella vaginalis bacteria

NIST Cell Membrane Model Studied as Future Diagnostic Tool

January 29, 2014

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and in Lithuania have used a NIST-developed laboratory model of a simplified cell

MML Researcher R. Joseph Kline Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

January 15, 2014

Material Measurement Laboratory researcher R. Joseph Kline was recently named among the 102 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists

NIST Researchers Develop a Novel Approach for the Measurement of a Crucial DNA Repair Enzyme in Human Cells

January 7, 2014

NIST researchers, in collaboration with researchers at the National Institute on Aging, NIH, recently reported a novel approach for identifying and quantifying

NIST Analysis Helps the U.S. Chemical Safety Board Pinpoint Root Cause of Pressure Vessel Failure

January 7, 2014

In 2009, a violent rupture of a 50-foot pressure vessel used to produce synthetic crystals at the NDK Crystal facility in Belvidere, Illinois fatally injured a

A New NIST Online Database: The NIST Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Structure Index

January 6, 2014

Recently, a new website containing a wealth of information on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was made publicly available by NIST. PAHs are compounds

New NIST Tests Explore Safety of Nanotubes in Modern Plastics Over Time

December 17, 2013

Who cares about old plastic? Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) do, so that you won't have to years down the road, when

$25 Million NIST Award Represents Major Milestone for the Materials Genome Initiative

December 3, 2013

Officials at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today an award of $25 million over five years to a Chicago-based consortium

NIST Announces New Center for Materials Research to Advance Manufacturing and Innovation

December 3, 2013

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced today that it has selected a consortium led by Northwestern University to establish a new

Three NIST scientists standing in front of the OCPW building

NIST Scientists Contribute to Nobel Peace Prize Winning Efforts on Chemical Weapons Detection

November 5, 2013

Innovative chemical weapons detection technologies developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have played a key role

Allan Harvey Elected ASME Fellow

October 22, 2013

Allan Harvey, a chemical engineer in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Material Measurement Laboratory, has been elected as a fellow of

Want to better understand the accuracy of your human genome sequencing?

September 18, 2013

As new high-throughput "Next Generation" DNA sequencing methods are moving into clinical applications, understanding accuracy of variants is critical. Numerous

NIST Nose a Hit When They Smell It: A New Generation of Odor-Releasing Materials for Training Dogs

September 17, 2013

Traditionally, the training of bomb-sniffing dogs has been a hazardous job, but newly developed odor-releasing materials could take the risk out of that work

Dirty Job Made Easier: Microfluidic Technique Recovers DNA for IDs

September 17, 2013

A team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA, Alexandria, Va.) has demonstrated

Frenkel and Chirico in front of a stack of books

Beyond Peer Review: NIST and Five Journals Find a Way to Manage Errors in Research Data

September 9, 2013

Traditional peer review is not enough to ensure data quality amid the recent boom in scientific research findings, according to results of a 10-year

Advanced communications
-Open Radio Access Network (Open-RAN)
-Quantum communications
-Spectrum sharing
-Wireless (RF)
Bioscience
-Bioeconomy
--Biological data
-Bioimaging
-Bioinformatics
-Biomanufacturing
-Biomaterials
-Biometrology
-Biosecurity
--Biosurveillance
--Genomic cybersecurity
--Nucleic acid sequence screening
-Cell measurements
-Engineering / synthetic biology
--Biofabrication
--Cell-free systems
--Genome engineering
--Protein engineering
-Gene delivery systems
-Genome editing
-Genomics
-Glycomics
-Metabolomics
-Microbial measurements
-Proteomics
-Transcriptomics
Buildings and Construction
-Building codes and standards
-Building control systems
-Building damage and repair
-Building economics
-Building materials
-Energy efficiency
-Heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment
-Indoor air quality
-Structural engineering
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Chemistry
-Analytical chemistry
-Chemical engineering and processing
-Chemical thermodynamics and chemical properties
-Molecular characterization
-Theoretical chemistry and modeling
-Thermochemical properties
Electronics
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-Organic electronics
-Semiconductors
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Energy
-Alternative energy
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-Electric power / smart grid
-Fuels
Environment
-Air / water / soil quality
-Climate Measurements
-Environmental health
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-Marine science
-Sustainability
Fire
-Fire detection
-Fire dynamics and science
-Fire fighting
-Fire modeling
-Fire risk reduction
-Materials flammability
-Structural fire resistance
-Wildland urban interface fire
Forensic Science
-Digital evidence
-Drugs and toxicology
-Firearms and toolmarks
-Forensic biometrics
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Health
-Biopharmaceuticals
-Cell and gene therapy
-Clinical diagnostics
--Cancer
--Medical imaging
-Food and nutrition
-Human microbiome
-Precision medicine
-Regenerative medicine and advanced therapy
--Flow cytometry
Information technology
-Artificial intelligence
--AI measurement and evaluation
--Applied AI
--Fundamental AI
--Hardware for AI
--Machine learning
--Trustworthy and responsible AI
-Biometrics
-Cloud computing and virtualization
-Complex systems
-Computational science
-Conformance testing
-Cyber-physical systems
--Smart cities
-Cybersecurity
--Cryptography
--Cybersecurity education and workforce development
--Cybersecurity measurement
--Identity and access management
--Privacy engineering
--Risk management
--Securing emerging technologies
--Trustworthy networks
--Trustworthy platforms
-Data and informatics
--Human language technology
--Information retrieval
--Natural language processing
-Federal information processing standards (FIPS)
-Health IT
-Internet of Things (IoT)
-Interoperability testing
-Location based services
-Mobile
-Networking
--Mobile and wireless networking
--Network management and monitoring
--Network modeling and analysis
--Network security and robustness
--Network test and measurement
--Next generation networks
--Protocol design and standardization
--Software defined and virtual networks
-Privacy
-Software research
--Software testing
-Usability and human factors
--Accessibility
-Video analytics
-Virtual / augmented reality
-Visualization research
-Voting systems
Infrastructure
Manufacturing
-Additive manufacturing
-Factory communications
-Factory operations planning and control
-Interoperability in manufacturing
-Machining
-Manufacturing economics
-Manufacturing quality assurance
-Manufacturing systems design and analysis
-Monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics
-Process improvement
-Process measurement and control
-Product data
-Robotics in manufacturing
--Agility and adaptability
--Collaborative robots
--Dexterous grasping
--Manipulation
--Mobility and industrial autonomous vehicles
--Navigation / actuation / control
--Sensing and perception
-Supply chain
-Sustainable manufacturing
-Systems engineering
-Systems integration
-Technology commercialization
Materials
-Ceramics
-Composites
-Concrete / cement
-Materials characterization
--Composition and structure
--Mechanical properties
--Thermal properties
-Metals
-Modeling and computational material science
-Polymers
-Superconductors
Mathematics and statistics
-Experiment design
-Image and signal processing
-Modeling and simulation research
-Numerical methods and software
-Statistical analysis
-Uncertainty quantification
Metrology
-Amount of substance
-Dimensional metrology
-Electrical / electromagnetic metrology
-Flow metrology and rheology
-Force metrology
-Humidity metrology
-Ionizing radiation metrology
-Mass metrology
-Metric
-Optical / photometry / laser metrology
-Pressure and vacuum metrology
-Thermometry metrology
-Time and frequency metrology
-Weights and measures
Nanotechnology
-Nanobiotechnology
-Nanochemistry
-Nanoelectronics
-Nanofabrication / manufacturing
--Lithography
--Self-assembly
-Nanofluidics
-Nanomagnetics
-Nanomaterials
-Nanomechanics
-Nanometrology
-Nanophotonics
-Nanophysics
-Nanoplasmonics
Neutron research
Performance excellence
-Assessment tools and services
-Baldrige award
-Baldrige examiners
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-Best practices
-Leadership development
Physics
-Atomic / molecular / quantum
-Biological physics
-Condensed matter
-Electron physics
-Magnetics
-Nuclear physics
-Optical physics and communications
-Quantum information science
-Radiation
-Spectroscopy
-Thermodynamics
-Time and frequency
Public safety
-Chemical / Biological / Radiological / Nuclear / Explosives (CBRNE)
-First responder preparedness
-Law enforcement
-Public safety communications research
-Response robots
Resilience
-Community resilience
--Recovery
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-Disaster and failure studies
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Standards
-Accreditation
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Technology transfer
Transportation
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