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Taking Measure

Just a Standard Blog

A Scientific Christmas Tale

Title card reads "A Scientific Christmas Tale" with the NIST logo in a wreath and flashing holiday lights.
Credit: NIST

’Twas the night before Christmas; NIST staff had gone home.
Our director was left to reflect all alone.
She thought about NIST and the breadth of its work,
from AI to fire to even the quark.

Our impact, she knew, was broad and widespread,
and triumphs of measurement danced in her head.
Examples abounded of great innovation
spurred by NIST work for the good of the nation.

A smiling woman stands with two smiling men, holding up a small device. Two their right is a large cylindrical metal instrument, lying horizontally.
NIST's Alexander Staron (left), William McGehee and Gabriela Martinez worked together on a new chip-scale version of an atomic beam clock, a tiny fraction of the size of the original instrument shown here.
Credit: NIST

When people pump gas or buy food at the store,
NIST helps to ensure they get what they paid for.
And when they’re online and making transactions, 
NIST-backed encryption means safer interactions.

There are frameworks that help with cyber hygiene.
And something we call the million-pound deadweight machine.
What else to her adoring eyes should appear,
but a Lego watt balance and a weathering sphere.

A large, intricate metal measurement device is in a dark room with blue light.
NIST’s Kibble balance, which originally was known as the watt balance
Credit: NIST

With increasing precision, we’re known for our clocks,
which measure the time with atomic ticktocks.
Their uses are many; they’re worth all the hype.
So she whistled, and shouted, and called them by type:

“Now, CHIP SCALE! Now, FOUNTAINS! Now HYDROGEN MASERS!
On, BEAM CLOCKS! On, OPTICAL! On, many bright LASERS!
You help us keep time! You keep us on track!
You even are used to give bio feedback!”

Purple light shines from a circular opening with metal frame like a porthole.
JILA’s strontium optical atomic clock
Credit: NIST

For measuring light, there’s our frequency comb.
We also lay claim to a net-zero home.
We’ve helped create training for drones others fly,
and samples for testing that have been freeze-dried.

And now, when it’s needed, we’re working on chips.
We’re advancing the ways you can scan fingertips.
And when business needs help with a factory task,
our MEP Centers will answer the ask. 

A researcher in a white coverall stands over a metal container with freezing vapor floating out in a lab lined with similiar containers.
NIST biorepository
Credit: NIST

If you’re looking to work at the nanotech scale,
our Nanofab tools may be your holy grail.
But if toys that test broadband are more your speed,
Boulder’s NBIT is just what you need.

Neutrons — how they measure! We can look deep inside!
From smokestacks to vaccines, their uses are wide.
We also do work exploring the genome,
and helped with the mapping of the Y chromosome.

Two men prepare equipment in a room with gridlike walls of white boxes. Blue cone-shaped objects line the floor. An American flag is painted on the back wall.
The National Broadband Interoperability Test Bed facility supports studies in wireless coexistence metrology and standards.
Credit: NIST

The sensors we make measure things out in space.
We crafted the box where the Charters are placed.
Our SRM warehouse remains quite extensive,
and yes, we’re aware the peanut butter’s expensive.

We’ve found ways to measure GHG emissions,
and also indoor air quality conditions.
Our phantoms are how imaging tools are assessed,
and we help create standards for bulletproof vests.

A woman wearing a mask stands over a yellow sphere at a lab bench.
This phantom is used for calibrating MRI machines.
Credit: NIST

If it’s data you need, then give us a look.
Our resources include a chem-focused WebBook.
From REFPROP to functions to the NVD,
we update our datasets pretty constantly.

She sat at her desk, to the staff she gave praise.
“Look at all you accomplished. I’m ever amazed.”
She finished her email, leaned back in delight —
“HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!”

About the author

Robin Materese

Robin Materese is the director of web content at NIST. An aspiring journalist in college, she fell into science communications when she took a job promoting general interest science books at the National Academy of Sciences. She has also worked for a literary agency, a small PR firm, Choice Hotels, Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health. She has published three short stories in literary journals and anthologies and had a 10-minute play she wrote performed at the Source Theater in Washington, D.C. She lives in Maryland along with her husband, daughter, three dogs and two lizards.

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Comments

Love the Scientific Christmas Tale, Robin! Great read.

Oh my goodness, this is awesome. What a wonderful way to express all that is done here at NIST. I am pleased to work for such a wonderful and exciting organization.

And we did it all, without missing a beat,
Working from home, sure beats the traffick

pretty pretty pretty good

A wonderful way to capture the amazing work of so many NIST people.

Thank you for the tale.
Have a great Christmas all.

Well done! 😃👍 Merry Christmas! 🎄

A beautiful poem and tale, Robin! Loved it and it was a great read! :) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I loved it! Great job, Robin. Thank you for sharing!

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