Materials Measurement Science Division

Welcome to the Materials Measurement Science Division (MMSD)

We conduct a mixture of mission-based fundamental research, standards production and applied science and engineering to enable innovation in U.S. Industry and address measurement science needs of our various other agency (OA) partners.

Mission — We aim to strengthen personal safety and economic security for the Nation. We develop purposeful solutions to critical, uniquely challenging materials science problems. We leverage an inspired, scientifically and technically diverse workforce to conduct rigorous metrology-focused research.
Core Values — We embrace Excellence, Rigor, Objectivity, and Passion.
Technical Expertise — We have significant expertise in multiscale materials characterization, atomic and nanoscale metrology, and we leverage our growing expertise in computational science, artificial intelligence, and data science.
Primary Focus Areas — We are guided by our historical expertise and evolve over time to address national priorities and support critical and emerging technologies.
Organization — We are organized into eight Groups according to technical and programmatic expertise.

Primary Focus Areas

Safety and Security

The division’s work in the Safety and Security Program Area provides the underpinning measurement science needed to advance threat detection...

Forensics and Public Health

Forensic science has been a prominent pillar of research at NIST since the release of 2009 National Academies of Sciences report...

Micro and Nano Plastics

Our efforts are focused on the measurement science needed to improve detection, identification, and quantification of plastic particles in...

Semiconductors

The Material Measurement Science Division has a long history of working with stakeholders in the semiconductor industry to develop new...

Illustrated cube has crystal framework in gray with red balls interspersed in the open spaces.

Industrial Gas Separation and Purification

Gas separation technology has widespread applications across a broad array of industrial sectors, including energy generation, chemical...

Ceramic Additive Manufacturing

Development and commercialization of additive manufacturing (AM) have been a national priority since the 2012 White House We Cannot Wait...

Press Coverage

Two men in suits stand behind a display table displaying a laptop and a low cost materials science robot.

NIST Staff Demonstrate Low-Cost Self-Driving Lab at U.S. Senate Robotics Showcase on Capitol Hill

Maryland Energy Innovation Institute

April 30, 2024

Senate Robotics Demo Day: On April 30, 2024, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Material Measurement Laboratory, in

Why you should think twice before opting for a valved N95 mask

Popular Science

November 12, 2020

NIST's Matthew Staymates uses Schlieren imaging to illustrate why valved masks don't stop the spread of exhaled droplets.

Nanoscale LED shines brighter

Physics World

September 16, 2020

"An innovative fin-shaped design for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could not only overcome the devices’ limited brightness, it could also help turn them into

Visualizing Coughs, the Schlieren Way

Optics and Photonics News

August 25, 2020

NIST's Matthew Staymates talks about his videos showing breath plumes from masked and unmasked coughs.

News and Updates

A black and white image of the aluminum alloy under a microscope. Most of the image is light grey, but there are many small black spots that have lines extending out from them like cracks.

Rare Crystal Shape Found to Increase the Strength of 3D-Printed Metal

April 7, 2025

NIST researchers have found special atomic patterns called quasicrystals in 3D-printed aluminum alloys.

A scientist wearing safety glasses stands in front of a monitor in her lab.

NIST Database Can Help Increase Recycling of Textiles and Clothing

January 7, 2025

Picture this: You have a bag of heavily used clothes that can no longer be donated taking up space in your closet, so you drop it off at your local recycling

A large circle with a smaller circle in the middle. The small circle says "protect the American public from the dangers of illicit drugs" and has an icon of a mountain with a flag on top. The outer larger circle has icons and titles as follows: customs & border interdiction (passport icon), public health & harm reduction (hand with heart icon), law enforcement & first responder (shield icon), forensic science (beaker icon), emergency medicine (red cross icon), medical examiner & coroner (footprint icon),etc

NIST Report Outlines Challenges and Strategic Opportunities to Enhance Drug Detection and Data Sharing

October 24, 2024

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published the Drug Detection, Analysis, and Monitoring Workshop Report , which identifies

MMSD Staff Release Version 5.2 of SRD31, Phase Equilibria Diagrams (PED)

September 25, 2024

The third Series-5 release of SRD31 is now commercially available and provides users with processing information for more than 200 material systems not

Blog Posts

Briana Capistran wears safety glasses as she poses smiling in the lab with computers and other equipment in the background.

Speeding Up the Wheels of Justice: How NIST Resources Can Help Crime Labs Work Faster

January 8, 2025

Forensic science is not as easy as it looks on TV. But NIST resources are helping crime labs examine evidence more efficiently — so the justice system can work

Your Future Medications Could Be Personalized for You on a 3D Printer

June 12, 2024

Your future medications could be made on a 3D printer, and a NIST researcher is working to make sure that process is safe.

Diana Ortiz-Montalvo, wearing safety glasses and holding a small circular filter with tweezers, poses with Abigail Lindstrom in the lab.

Microplastics Mystery: Sampling Airborne Microplastics at a Recycling Facility

October 11, 2023

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, a NIST researcher shares how her upbringing in Puerto Rico inspired her to study air quality.

A person in a baseball cap and face mask stands at a computer surrounded by scientific equipment, including a curving black plastic tube.

NIST Partnership Helps Communities Manage Unknown Dangers in Common Street Drugs

March 16, 2023

When you buy a medication at a pharmacy, you know what’s in it. When someone buys street drugs, they have no idea what they’re really getting.

Camila Espina Young poses outdoors for a head shot

Hurricane Maria Recollections, Software Nostalgia, The Brothers Engineering: A Sample of Stories on NIST Social Media

November 9, 2022

The work happening at NIST can often be described as more than simply “work.”

$Micrograph shows fractures appearing at junction of enamel and dentin.$

Teeth: From Materials Science to Dentistry and Evolutionary Biology

February 2, 2022

As a happily retired materials scientist from NIST, I have continued a long-standing interest in how materials deform and fracture under high stress. My

Improving Forensic Chemistry: A Q&A With NIST's Ed Sisco

May 5, 2021

Ed Sisco has been a research chemist within the Surface and Trace Chemical Analysis Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since

Internships in the Time of COVID: A Q&A With Shelby Platner and NIST's Zach Trautt

February 4, 2021

Across the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), internships are a very important experience for students and staff members alike. But for most

My Stay-at-Home Lab Shows How Face Coverings Can Slow the Spread of Disease

June 11, 2020

Editor’s note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing face coverings in public settings. Since COVID-19 spreads mainly from person to

How Robots Could Teach Us to Trust AI

April 28, 2020

The influence of artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere in our lives. It helps us pick movies to stream, recommends old friends to reconnect with, and

A Step in the Right Direction: Building a Better Army Boot

February 4, 2020

Perhaps for as many as 40,000 years, people have been protecting their feet with some type of covering, initially using animal hides and fur. Today, footwear

Better Image-Quality Measurements for Bomb Squads

May 18, 2017

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

Carbon Nanotubular: SURFing into the Sciences

May 5, 2017

I’m a bit of a romantic when it comes to science. When anyone asks what inspires me to be a scientist, I tell them that it’s amazing to add to the collective

Taking a Closer Look at Old Photos

February 16, 2017

My mom is a painter, so I grew up in a messy house full of brushes, twisted tubes of paint, pots of ink, plaster busts of various Romans, rolls of papers, and

A Smart Window to Sustainable Development: A Scientist’s Story

December 1, 2016

I think curiosity is at the root of all scientific careers. That, and insecurity. In my formative years, I felt compelled to assign a rational explanation to

Materials Measurement Science Division

Welcome to the Materials Measurement Science Division (MMSD)

Primary Focus Areas

Press Coverage

News and Updates

Blog Posts

Awards

Contacts

Division Chief

Deputy Chief

Division Safety Representative

Administrative Officer

Division Office Manager