Electronics

What’s in a Name? The Magnetic Weber

October 23, 2024

Dr. Wilhelm Weber gets the distinction of having the unit of magnetic flux, the weber, named in his honor. Magnetic flux measures the total magnetic field that

NIST Physicist’s Once Obscure Work Is Now Helping Researchers Learn About the Origins of the Universe

May 1, 2024

A NIST researcher worked in obscurity for years — until his work was needed to help us understand the origins of our universe.

Melinda Kleczynski poses sitting at her desk, with a monitor showing data and graphs behind her.

From Diamonds in Your Computer to Safer Medications, NIST Researchers Look at What’s Next for 2024 and Beyond

January 3, 2024

Our up-and-coming researchers look ahead to 2024 and beyond — and tell us how their work will impact the world.

A researcher wearing safety glasses reaches into a box of circuitry and other equipment, which emits a green glow.

Think You Know What a Second Is? It Will Likely Change in the Next Decade.

November 8, 2023

As the world has modernized and our pace of life has increased, our relationship to time has changed.

Drawing of Nikola Tesla with his chin propped on his hand.

What’s in a Name? The Tesla

July 10, 2023

Do you enjoy flipping on the light switch? Well, you can thank Nikola Tesla — born 167 years ago today.

From Escaping a War to Becoming a Mom of 3 at Once, Science Has Always Been There for Me

July 26, 2023

I learned as a young adult not to get attached to material things; they can be gone in an instant. But there were some things I knew no one could take — an

Christine McGinn wears safety glasses as she handles plastic bottles and other materials in the lab.

My Science Project Collapsed, but My Science Career Was Just Getting Started

June 7, 2023

Representation and mentors are key to promoting diversity in America’s science and technology workforce into the future.

Being a Mom Helps Me Protect Our Communication Infrastructure

May 10, 2023

Jeanne Quimby's kids are the reason she came up with her team’s idea for how to detect cybersecurity events on our U.S. critical communication infrastructure.

NIST researcher Justyna Zwolak reads a book about Ada Lovelace to her young daughter

Ada Lovelace: The World’s First Computer Programmer Who Predicted Artificial Intelligence

March 22, 2023

During Women’s History Month, I am remembering Ada Lovelace’s contributions and thinking about the impact she had on me as a scientist and mathematician.

On a rooftop overlooking a waterfront town, an equipment box is attached to a pole anchored with concrete blocks.

Data in Demand: How the U.S. Navy’s Bandwidth Can Boost Your Data Speed

January 25, 2023

What would we do if the world ran out of room in the radio-frequency spectrum? It’s something NIST and our partners are working to prevent through spectrum

Team image of ARCC at the NIST PSCR 2021 First Responder UAS 3.1: FastFind Stage 3 Live Demonstration

It Takes a (Worldwide) Village to Improve Drone Technology for First Responders

October 19, 2022

The research continues because the need continues.

A person in coveralls and white gloves holds out a circular wafer of reflective silicon chips.

Why NIST Is Putting Its CHIPS Into U.S. Manufacturing

October 7, 2022

The CHIPS Act aims to help U.S. semiconductor manufacturers grow, and NIST is going to play a big role in this effort.

NIST and the Titanic: How the Sinking of the Ship Improved Wireless Communications for Navigating the Sea

April 13, 2022

If you’ve seen the movie Titanic starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, then you’ve watched the star-crossed lovers’ untimely end and the tragic sinking

A woman stands smiling in front of a large device with many metal parts and wires.

My First Semiconductor Standards Were a Bust … or Were They?

January 12, 2022

Silicon is the most important semiconductor in the world. It forms the chips that are used for memory and processors in high-end computers, everyday consumer

A white telescope dish is surrounded by wooded mountains in autumn colors.

In Case You Missed It From NIST: 2021 Edition

December 21, 2021

While the pandemic still grips the world, researchers at NIST continue their work on COVID-19 related research, as well as the wide range of other science and

Making Measurements With a Fine-Toothed Comb

September 22, 2021

To many people, a measurement sounds mundane, like marking ticks on a ruler or reading the line on a thermometer. It’s a piece of data. And they tend to think

Creating and Commercializing a Human ‘Body Cube’ for Testing New Drugs

May 28, 2021

Growing up, I always had a love for living things, so I went off to college and got an undergraduate degree in biology. After that, I realized I wanted to

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

May 7, 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

From 1901 to 2021: Measurements Then and Now

March 3, 2021

A lot has changed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the past 120 years. For one thing, we were known as the National Bureau of

The NIST Summer Undergraduate Fellowship Program Goes Virtual

February 2, 2021

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) designed the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program to inspire undergraduate students

Is Your Qubit Better Than My Qubit?

February 10, 2021

I had been studying superconducting quantum computing for seven years before I was stumped by this seemingly simple question: How do I know if my qubit is

Lightweight Crypto, Heavyweight Protection

January 13, 2021

Logic puzzles, brain teasers and mathematical riddles fascinated me throughout my childhood, so I feel lucky that I ended up with a career that never lacks for

Developing an Exposure Notification System to Blunt the Spread of COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

November 10, 2020

I am part of a grassroots effort at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that is developing an exposure notification system for pandemics

Paving the Way for Electronic Organs-on-a-Chip

November 25, 2020

It may sound like science fiction, but “organ on a chip” systems — devices capable of imitating the interaction of cells in a specific organ such as the lungs

The Virtuous Cycle of Making and Measuring Nanostructures

October 9, 2020

In his 1959 lecture “ There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom,” Richard Feynman invited us to enter a new field of physics. He envisioned, with remarkable

‘The Last Artifact’ Brings Metrology to TV

September 10, 2020

Remember that documentary you saw that finally explained metrology and why measurements are critical to practically every aspect of modern life? Yeah, neither

How NIST Helped Hero Pilot Jimmy Doolittle Fly

August 19, 2020

As portrayed by movie star Spencer Tracy in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, pilot James (Jimmy) Doolittle led the 1942 air raid on Japan that lifted American spirits

NIST’s Role in TV Throughout the Decades

July 28, 2020

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences today announced nominations for the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards, which recognize some of the best TV shows of the year

Keeping Time at NIST

June 23, 2020

Einstein is reported to have once said that time is what a clock measures. Some say that what we experience as time is really our experience of the phenomenon

Ebb and Flow: Creating Quantum Dots Automatically With AI

June 2, 2020

Even though research on artificial intelligence (AI) goes back to the 1960s , it wasn't until the past decade that AI really became an integral part of our

Taking Measure