U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Taking Measure Blog Posts

Computational science

Put exact phrase in quotes (e.g., "artificial intelligence")

Subscribe

Get Taking Measure blogs
delivered to your inbox.

GovDelivery
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
Lady on left and man on right at desks facing lab equipment

The Pioneering Life of Programmer Ethel Marden

March 22, 2016
Richard Wilkinson
Over the course of its 100-plus year history, NIST has had some colorful characters who were also pioneers in their fields. For computer scientist Karen Olsen, one who stands out was Ethel Marden. In the 1950s, Marden wrote programs for the nation’s first internally programmed digital computer: the
Goat surfing

Ida Rhodes and the Problem with ‘Water Goats’

March 16, 2016
Katie Rapp
As a professional reference librarian and amateur history buff at NIST, I have had the opportunity to become acquainted with all kinds of extraordinary individuals. In particular, I have been struck by the number of women who made important contributions to the development of the earliest electronic