National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (or NIST) formerly known as The National Bureau of Standards is a non regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce?s Technology Administration. The institute's mission is to develop and promote measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life.

Facilities

NIST's headquarters are located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It also has laboratories in Boulder, Colorado. NIST has four major programs through which it helps U.S. industry: the NIST Laboratories (physics, information technology, chemical science and technology, electronics and electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, manufacturing enginering, and building and fire research); the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (HMEP), a nationwide network of centers to assist small manufacturers; the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), a grant program where NIST and industry partners cost share the early-stage development of innovative but high-risk technologies; and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program, the nation's highest award for performance and business excellence.

Related Topics:
Gaithersburg, Maryland - Boulder, Colorado - Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership - Advanced Technology Program - Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program

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NIST's Boulder laboratories are best known for NIST-F1, the world's most accurate atomic clock. NIST-F1 serves as the source of the nation's official time. From its precise measurement of the natural resonance frequency of cesium—which is used to define the second—NIST broadcasts time signals via longwave radio station WWVB at Fort Collins, Colorado, and shortwave radio stations WWV and WWVH, located at Fort Collins, Colorado and Kekaha, Hawaii, respectively.

Related Topics:
Cesium - Time signal - Longwave - WWVB - Fort Collins, Colorado - Shortwave - Radio station - WWV - WWVH - Kekaha, Hawaii

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