NIST TechBeat
A biweekly tip sheet for journalists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Транслировать эту RSS ленту на своем сайтеThree Organizations Selected for 2008 Baldrige National Quality Award
NIST announced today that three organizations are the recipients of the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest Presidential honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence.
NIST Awards $24 Million in Grants for New University Research Facilities
NIST has awarded grants totaling more than $24 million to three universities to provide cost-shared support for the construction of new scientific research facilities for precision quantum measurements, oceanography and ecology.
Rescue Robot Exercise Brings Together Robots, Developers, First Responders
NIST held a rescue robot exercise in Texas last week in which about three dozen robots were tested by developers and first responders in order to develop a standard suite of performance tests to help evaluate candidate mechanical rescuers.
NIST 'Stress Tests' Probe Nanoscale Strains in Materials
Researchers at NIST have demonstrated their ability to measure relatively low levels of stress or strain in regions of a semiconductor device as small as 10 nanometers across. Their recent results not only will impact the design of future generations of integrated circuits but also lay to rest a long-standing disagreement in results between two different methods for measuring stress in semiconductors.
Saying 'Cheese' for More Effective Border Security
Researchers at NIST have found that several simple steps can significantly improve the quality of facial images that are acquired at border entry points such as airports and seaports
Bright Idea Illuminates LED Standards
Researchers at NIST have proposed a new, economical method to allow LED and lighting manufacturers to obtain accurate, reproducible, and comparable measurements of LED brightness and color.
Neutron Researchers Discover Widely Sought Property in Magnetic Semiconductor
Researchers working at NIST have demonstrated for the first time the existence of a key magnetic property of specially built semiconductor devices that raises hopes for even smaller and faster gadgets that could result from magnetic data storage in a semiconductor material.
NIST Releases Final WTC 7 Investigation Report
NIST last week released its final report on the Sept. 11, 2001, collapse of the 47-story World Trade Center building 7 (WTC 7) in New York City.
NIST Leads Revision of International Coordinate Measuring Machine Standard
A new testing procedure just published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) represents the final step in a decade-long effort led by NIST to unite the United States with the rest of the world in evaluating the performance of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs).
Final Strategic Plan for Earthquake Hazard Studies Published
The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) has just published a new strategic plan to guide the activities of the four federal agencies that participate in the program for the next five years
NIST Physicist Wins OSA's First Walther Award
NIST physicist David Wineland will receive the inaugural Herbert Walther Award in recognition of his 'seminal contributions to quantum information physics and metrology, and the development of trapped ion techniques for applications to basic quantum phenomena, plasma physics and optical clocks.'
Cold Atoms Could Replace Hot Gallium in Focused Ion Beams
Scientists at NIST have developed a radical new method of focusing a stream of ions into a point as small as one nanometer, a versatile ion source that is expected to have broad application in nanotechnology both for carving smaller features on semiconductors than now are possible and for nondestructive imaging of nanoscale structures with finer resolution than currently possible with electron microscopes.
'Femtomolar Optical Tweezers' May Enable Sensitive Blood Tests
NIST has licensed a patented 'optical tweezers' technique for detecting and measuring very small concentrations of a biological substance, such as a virus on a surface.
Nanoparticles in the Home: More and Smaller Than Previously Detected
Extremely small nanoscale particles are released by common kitchen appliances in abundant amounts, greatly outnumbering the previously detected, larger-size nanoparticles emitted by these appliances, according to new findings by NIST researchers.
Improved Measurements Could Mean Safer, More Reliable Electroshock Weapons
Electroshock weapons, such as stun guns and other similar devices that temporarily incapacitate a person by delivering a high-voltage, low-current electric shock, have helped law enforcement officers safely subdue dangerous or violent persons for years. Researchers at NIST are working toward a standard method for accurately assessing the electrical output of these devices, the results of which can be used in establishing baselines for future medical and safety studies.
