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Taking Measure

Just a Standard Blog

Standards

Journeying From Laboratory Research to Documentary Standards

March 24, 2020

“Wow, that’s cool, but the meter was defined a long time ago, so what is really there for you to do?” This is the response I get from people when I tell them

Manufacturing Standards for Biopharmaceuticals: A Q&A With NIST’s Sheng Lin-Gibson and Vijay Srinivasan

January 28, 2020

Biopharmaceuticals, also known as biological drugs or biologics, are manufactured from living organisms or contain living organisms that have been genetically

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

Getting Food on Our Tables From the U.S. and Around the World, Safely and Less Wastefully

November 13, 2019

I’m still amazed to see strawberries, avocados and watermelons in my grocery store out of their “normal” season. As amazing as this is, I know it means that my

Making Radioactive Lung and Liver Samples for Better Human Health

October 29, 2019

It was 1978, and the United States was embroiled in a Cold War. Nuclear weapons were being produced and numerous countries were carrying out atmospheric nuclear

When Standardized Data Can Help Save Lives

July 30, 2019

When you email a friend, you don’t have to worry about whether they use Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or some other email provider. You just enter their email address

Human DNA Standard: A Q&A With NIST’s Becky Steffen

July 16, 2019

How do you solve a crime using DNA? First, you have to find biological evidence — such as blood, other bodily fluids, or maybe just a few skin cells that might

The 'Gang of Five' and the SI Revolution

May 20, 2019

Although I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, I was never a gang member there. My gang membership came much later and in an entirely unexpected way. No, more

Defending Against Nuclear and Radioactive Threats: A Q&A with NIST's Leticia Pibida

May 9, 2019

Leticia Pibida, a physicist in the Radiation Physics Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been chosen as a finalist for a

Linking the World Through Chemical Measurements

April 23, 2019

Our modern world depends on global connections. For instance, how can you be sure that the nutrition labels are correct on imported food products such as that

One Statistical Paradigm to Rule Them All?

April 9, 2019

Now, if you’re familiar with either statistics or J.R.R. Tolkien, I know the title grabbed your attention. And if not, don’t worry, all will become clear in

The Cybernetic Revolution: The Influence of Metrology on the User Experience in Human-Robot Interaction

May 1, 2019

I was told there would be robots. We are living in a world in which we are surrounded by technology tailored to our needs. Our clothes are treated with

Genome in a Bottle: Spelling Out DNA’s ‘Dark’ Sequences

March 13, 2019

When the Human Genome Project began 20 years ago, its consortium of researchers at 20 research institutes spent more than $1 billion to sequence that first

The Case for Building Beautiful Instruments

March 26, 2019

I discovered my affinity for attractive instruments while working a job previous to my coming to NIST. My boss then had a love affair with the common hose clamp

For All Times, For All Peoples: How Replacing the Kilogram Empowers Industry

November 27, 2018

Two unusual things happened on Nov. 16, 2018. Fifty-four nations from every continent (except Antarctica) agreed on something, and metrology, the science of

Reason and Measurement, Suits and Ties: My Personal Journey to the New SI

October 30, 2018

On Nov. 16, 2018, the General Conference on Weights and Measures, the governing body of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, will hold a gathering

The Next Big Health Care Merger: Biomedical Imaging and Artificial Intelligence

May 22, 2018

Two worlds just collided at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. On May 16, 2018, experts from the medical

Riding the Carousel of Progress to Tomorrow’s Internet (of Things)

October 18, 2017

Every few years, my family takes a trip to Walt Disney World. After all, when you live on the East Coast and have two kids, it’s easy to make an excuse to visit

More Power to You, Wonder Woman!

June 16, 2017

First, let me say that I’m totally energized by the good press my dear acquaintance Wonder Woman has been receiving lately. It’s absolutely electrifying to see

7 Ways Measurements Help You Get Around

May 19, 2017

With International Firefighters’ Day behind us and World Turtle Day looming, you might not think you’ve got time for another international day in May. But don’t

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

Measuring Up to the Task

March 3, 2017

Even though I have spent my entire professional career at NIST, until a year ago it would never have entered my mind that I would become the chief of the NIST

Making 'The Technology' for Exoskeletons a Reality

February 28, 2017

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

Saving Marie Curie’s Last Radium Standard

February 22, 2017

Marie Curie is perhaps the most famous woman of 20th-century science. Major motion pictures and best-selling biographies have chronicled her discovery of the

Women’s Body Armor: Staying Ahead of the Curves

August 1, 2016

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

Know Nukes: Reference Materials for Nuclear Forensics

July 25, 2016

Legwarmers, preppies, yuppies, Molly Ringwald, nuclear paranoia … the 1980s were my favorite decade. I was in junior high school in New Jersey when I saw The

Building a Firearms Toolmark Database

July 22, 2016

Although they are mass produced, every firearm is unique, and when fired, they leave unique markings called toolmarks on the bullet and cartridge casing. Law

Going the Distance on National Tape Measure Day

July 14, 2016

Whether they’re made of leather or metal, people have been using tape measures for a long time. The first spring-loaded metal tape measure was invented and

Additive Manufacturing Equals Excitement

June 23, 2016

I research additive manufacturing, which some people call solid freeform fabrication, but most people know as 3-D printing. Additive manufacturing covers a wide

Celebrating World Accreditation Day

June 9, 2016

Want to pique interest in a subject area? Throw a party — right? Enter 2008 and World Accreditation Day. It was Monday, June 9, to be exact. I would love to be

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