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.

Measurement

As part of its mission, NIST supplies industry, academia, government and other users with over 1,300 Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) of the highest quality and metrological value. These artifacts are certified as having specific characteristics or component content, making them valuable as calibration standards for measuring equipment and procedures, quality control benchmarks for industrial processes, and experimental control samples for all kinds of laboratories. For example, NIST SRMs for the food manufacturing sector include:

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• Typical Diet (SRM 1548a, $624)
• Non-Fat Milk Powder (SRM 1549, $318, 100 g)
• Oyster Tissue (SRM 1566b, $540, 25 g)
• Wheat Flour (SRM 1567a, $418, 80 g)
• Rice Flour (SRM 1568a, $390, 80 g)
• Bovine Liver (SRM 1577b, $261, 50 g)
• Tomato Leaves (SRM 1573A, $332.00, 50 g)
• Natural Water (SRM 1640, $198.00, 250 mL)
• Peanut butter (SRM 2387, $501, three 6 oz (170 g) jars)

NIST manages some of the world?s most specialized measurement facilities—including an unmatched and extraordinarily cost-effective National Center for Neutron Research user facility where cutting-edge research is done on new and improved materials, advanced fuel cells, and biotechnology. NIST recently dedicated its new Advanced Measurement Laboratory (AML), considered the most technically advanced research facility of its kind in the world. The AML offers American researchers unparalleled opportunities for making the most sensitive and reliable measurements. That?s increasingly important as new technologies become more complex and smaller—and more dependent on the most accurate possible measurements in order to move from theory, proof of concept, and prototypes into products.

Related Topics:
National Center for Neutron Research - Advanced Measurement Laboratory

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