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Taking Measure Blog Posts

First responder preparedness

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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16
a collage including images of a radio tower, a handheld radio, a fire engine, and the word Connection

How 9/11 Changed Me and First Responder Communications

August 11, 2021
Dereck Orr
If you remember Sept. 11, 2001, that day is most likely imprinted on your mind like no other day. You remember what you were doing and who you were with. You may remember feeling confused and a sense of utter disbelief as you watched the results of the first plane’s impact on 1 World Trade Center
Adam Jacoff in the NIST Robot Test Facility in the obstacle course with a robot

Search and Rescue Robotics: A Q&A With NIST's Adam Jacoff

April 28, 2021
Adam Jacoff has been a robotics research engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 1988. His research has focused on developing a variety of new robotic capabilities and designing comprehensive suites of tests to foster innovation throughout the robotics community
multi-bladed drone in flight

Flying Drones Compete to Complete Unprecedented Feat

August 1, 2018
Richard Wilkinson
Whether it’s the effort to redefine the kilogram or researching the Harry Potter realm of quantum mechanics where things can somehow be in two or more places at one time, quite a bit of the science carried out at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) can be hard for the average
top left: circuit board; top right: materials from HHCIII; bottom left: leaf; bottom right: 3-D atomic clock

Twelve Ways NIST Is Working for You: 2017 Edition

December 29, 2017
Ben P. Stein
As managing editor in the NIST Public Affairs Office, I learn every day how our researchers tackle important societal issues in their work. As 2017 comes to a close, I’d like to share how our news during the last year has connected to many of this year’s current events. Protecting Our First
X-ray test setup for bomb detection

Better Image-Quality Measurements for Bomb Squads

May 18, 2017
Jack Glover
I’ve been interested in science ever since I was a child. If you had told 8-year-old me that I was going to be a physicist, then I would have been very excited. Had you told me that my lab would be filled with a bevy of bombs, and that my typical work day might involve blasting those bombs with X
Diagram of green and gray human-shaped mechanical figures

Making 'The Technology' for Exoskeletons a Reality

February 28, 2017
Bill Billotte
I grew up in a small farming community in southern Georgia. My main exposure to new technology was through the annual farm equipment exposition, science fiction books and television. One of my favorite shows was The Six Million Dollar Man. Do you remember the famous opening lines? "Steve Austin
three weapons on a blue checked background

Women’s Body Armor: Staying Ahead of the Curves

August 1, 2016
Jennifer Huergo
As I peer into the cardboard box NIST researcher Amanda Forster holds out for me, I can’t help thinking that this mild-mannered materials scientist has an impressive collection of shivs. The handmade prison weapons include a ballpoint pen with a razor embedded in the shaft and a toothbrush
white ambulance with red trim and letters on side with lights flashing as it responds to a call

Safety Standards for Ambulances — STAT

May 9, 2016
Jennifer Marshall
For as long as we have had automobiles, we have had traffic accidents. Even the vehicles that we depend on to take care of us in the event of an accident—ambulances—get into accidents nearly every day. Because ambulances are basically a small emergency room on wheels, the occupants in the back are
Woman with safety glasses and purple gloves working in lab. In her left hand she has a device with a tube attached to it. The tube is running into a small vial. In her right hand she holds a coiled tube leading from the vial.

Chemical Detective Hot on the Vapor Trail

April 20, 2016
Tara Lovestead
Today in Taking Measure we asked Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) recipient Tara Lovestead a few questions about her life and work. Tara was recognized for her extensive application of new methods to rapidly and inexpensively detect trace levels of chemicals in