Nanotechnology

NIST biomedical engineer Laurie Locascio places a water sample on a highly sensitive, inexpensive "lab-on-a-chip"

One of NIST’s Most Prolific Inventors Is Also Our Director — and She’s Still an Inventor at Heart

May 22, 2024

Before she was the director of NIST, Laurie E. Locascio invented materials that make us healthier.

Two people wearing coveralls in a "clean room" lab look up at a disk-shaped object that one of them is holding.

Agents of Contrast, Software Runaway Hit, Our Early Universe: A Sample of Stories on NIST Social Media

September 6, 2023

Curious? It’s time to get you caught up on a few of the summer happenings at NIST.

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.

Foiled! NIST Unwraps What’s Baking Under Aluminum in Its Labs

April 5, 2023

Here at NIST, we do a different kind of baking, but we often use the same foil you use in your own kitchen.

The Twelve Days of Metric

December 20, 2022

As we approach the end of 2022, we wanted to share with our readers a NISTified version of a classic seasonal song about a topic that is near and dear to our

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.

Ming Zheng stands outside smiling and holding a model of a nanotube made of a lattice of smaller tubes.

To See Life in a Drop of Blood

July 13, 2022

A NIST researcher shares his excitement about the promise of a hybrid molecule that can detect disease.

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

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

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

cartoon illustration that explains how communicating science is a key part of NIST Center for Neutron Research Director Rob Dimeo's job

My Visual Crutch for Communicating Science

April 18, 2019

What To Do When Measurement Methods Produce Different Answers

April 2, 2019

What are you looking to measure? This is one of the central questions for a metrologist (a measurement scientist) and is usually answered before measurements

An Invention in Focus: When Science Gets Real

June 18, 2018

As a research scientist, I often face a difficult problem when discussing my work with family or friends. Everyone seems initially fascinated that I am a

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

Man and woman in lab gear in front of computer screen in clean room

A NanoFabulous Student Research Opportunity

July 5, 2016

If I told you my job required a hair net, a “bunny suit,” and a million-dollar piece of equipment, would you have any idea what I do? Do I sound like a mad

Taking Measure