News and Updates

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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

SURF student Zainab Altamimi, who wears a hijab, stands in a lab with safety glasses and gloves on as she holds a micropipette in one hand and a vial in the other.

Spotlight: SURF Student Zainab Altamimi Spends Her Summer Researching the Capsules and Tablets in 3D Drug Printing

August 6, 2024

From antibiotics to insulin, there have been shortages of many lifesaving drugs in recent years, requiring doctors and patients to adapt treatment plans. But

$Diagram shows X-rays diffraction during 3D printing, with colorized microscopic image showing the orientation of different grains within the material.$

By Cracking a Metal 3D-Printing Conundrum, Researchers Propel the Technology Toward Widespread Application

March 20, 2023

Gaps in our understanding of what happens within metal during the process have made results inconsistent. But a new breakthrough could grant an unprecedented

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

Animal Tranquilizer Floods Illicit Drug Markets in Maryland

March 16, 2023

NIST study shows alarming changes in the illegal drug supply.

SRM 3461: An Accurate and Precise Force Calibration Artifact

January 18, 2023

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a popular technique for interrogating surfaces on the micro and nano scales. The most common use for AFM is imaging; however

Side-by-side micrographs show elongated grains inside 3D-printed stainless steel.

Researchers Uncover How to 3D-Print One of the Strongest Stainless Steels

September 22, 2022

High-energy X-rays lit a path forward.

Side-by-side photos show twin brothers posing with arms crossed in lab or office settings.

Spotlight: Two Brothers, One Passion for Mechanical Engineering

September 20, 2022

This is a tale of two brothers who both found a passion for mechanical engineering research, separated to pursue their own interests in graduate school, and

A close-up view of two green lizards climbing a tree branch.

Gecko Feet Are Coated in an Ultra-Thin Layer of Lipids That Help Them Stay Sticky

July 6, 2022

Scientists already understood the mechanics of gecko adhesion. Now they have a clearer picture of the molecular structures that give the animal its grip.

Ultraviolet Light Can Clean N95 Masks for Reuse Without Hindering Performance, NIST Study Shows

March 25, 2022

To combat COVID-19 amid supply shortages in 2020, health care facilities across the U.S. resorted to disinfecting personal protective equipment (PPE), such as

Collaborating to Design Disinfectant Technology through Light

January 11, 2022

When Babak Nikoobakht arrived at Georgia Tech to begin his PhD studies, he knew the field of research he wanted to devote his academic focus. Babak worked in

Sneezes, Rain Clouds and Ink Jets: NIST Improves the Ability of Optical Microscopes to Measure the Volume of Microdroplets

December 20, 2021

Sneezes, rain clouds, and ink jet printers: They all produce or contain liquid droplets so tiny it would take several billion of them to fill a liter bottle

First-Ever Reference Material for Measuring Conversion of Heat to Electrical Energy at High Temps

May 27, 2021

Standard Reference Material (SRM) 3452 enables, for the first time, instrument validation and interlaboratory data comparison to support the research

NIST, Collaborators Develop New Method to Better Study Microscopic Plastics in the Ocean

May 20, 2021

If you’ve been to your local beach, you may have noticed the wind tossing around litter such as an empty potato chip bag or a plastic straw. These plastics

Study Indicates That Humidity in Breath Makes Cotton Masks More Effective at Slowing the Spread of COVID-19

March 9, 2021

Researchers have come up with a better way to test which fabrics work best for masks that are meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. By testing those fabrics

A picture of vials of SRM 1992 and SRM 1993

NIST Collaboration Yields First Certified Reference Materials for Zeta Potential

January 19, 2021

Two new Standard Reference Materials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology give researchers and manufacturers a way to check the performance

An illustration for AI shows a silhouette of a human head containing icons for computer networks.

NIST AI System Discovers New Material

November 24, 2020

When the words “artificial intelligence” (AI) come to mind, your first thoughts may be of super-smart computers, or robots that perform tasks without needing

New Airflow Videos Show Why Masks With Exhalation Valves Do Not Slow the Spread of COVID-19

November 10, 2020

Many people wear masks in public to slow the spread of COVID-19, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, masks with

A woman wearing safety goggles reaches under a scientific device.

Spotlight: Ran Tao's Investigation Into the Flow of Our World

October 27, 2020

To make a difference in the world, understand the flow, but don’t go with it. The work that NIST guest researcher Ran Tao conducts in rheology, the study of how

A glowing purple bar representing the LED is attached to a green surface by a yellow metal contact.

A Light Bright and Tiny: NIST Scientists Build a Better Nanoscale LED

August 14, 2020

A new design for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) developed by a team including scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may hold the

$an opalescent close up of Roman glass. There is a clear semi-circular fracture in the center of the piece.$

Materials Measurement Science Division