About NIST
The National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) was founded in 1901 and is now part of the
U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST is one of the nation's oldest physical
science laboratories. Congress established the agency to remove a major
challenge to U.S. industrial competitiveness at the time—a second-rate measurement
infrastructure that lagged behind the capabilities of the United Kingdom,
Germany, and other economic rivals.
From the smart electric
power grid and electronic health records to atomic clocks, advanced
nanomaterials, and computer chips, innumerable products and services rely in
some way on technology, measurement, and standards provided by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology.
Today, NIST measurements
support the smallest of technologies to the largest and most complex of
human-made creations—from nanoscale devices so tiny that tens of thousands can
fit on the end of a single human hair up to earthquake-resistant skyscrapers
and global communication networks.