Taking Measure Blog: Environment

Environment

A researcher in a lab coat and safety glasses poses next to a large piece of lab equipment.

The Insulation That Melts in Your Walls — and Could Reduce Your Energy Costs

February 26, 2025

Wherever humans go, we take some form of insulation with us to keep us at just the right temperature. But just because the idea is old doesn’t mean that there

From Safer Skies to Fewer Fires: 10 Ways NIST Impacts Your Daily Life

December 19, 2024

If you’ve ever had a medical test, flown on an airplane, or needed to check the time, NIST’s work affects your life every day.

Esther Baumann leans over a lab table, surrounded with wires and scientific equipment.

A Laser Could Offer a Peek Into the Insides of Our Muscles or Look Through Fire

November 20, 2024

A NIST-developed laser system might someday check your muscle health when you flex your arm. These lasers can also see how an object changes during heat

Line drawing labeled "Industrial Symbiosis" shows a circle of arrows over a factory with smokestacks and a cooling tower with a leaf design.

Nature’s Lessons: Creating a Greener Future for Manufacturing

November 13, 2024

What if one manufacturer’s trash could be another’s treasure? A NIST researcher looks to nature for answers to this question.

Two men sit at a table in a lab, facing each other and smiling as they talk and gesture toward their computer screens.

Can Nanotechnology Help Solve Climate Change?

October 9, 2024

When we think about the climate crisis, we tend to think big. But two NIST researchers are thinking of small ways to help our planet — as in technology 1,000

Four people sitting outside on a green tarp wear eclipse glasses as they peer up into the sky.

NIST Researchers Measure Greenhouse Gases During the Solar Eclipse

June 5, 2024

Check out some of the things happening at NIST during the past few months through the lens of social media.

NIST Research Is Setting the Standard to Help Buildings Withstand Tornadoes

May 8, 2024

Two NIST researchers have been recognized for their work to create new standards for buildings that can better withstand tornadoes.

Brad Sutliff wears safety glasses as he stands in the lab in front of a computer monitor.

From Trash to Cash: How AI and Machine Learning Can Help Make Recycling Less Expensive for Local Governments

May 15, 2024

Can AI help us recycle better? A NIST researcher is working to make that happen.

Samuel Márquez Gonzalez leans forward to look through a microscope in the lab.

From Pokémon to Physics: My Journey of Perseverance Into Research

February 14, 2024

A childhood love of video games led Samuel Márquez Gonzalez to a career in science and a NIST internship program for early career researchers.

A small orange is packaged in a plastic container with a lid.

A Polymer Scientist Wrestles — Literally and Figuratively — With the Frustrations of Plastic Packaging

January 24, 2024

If you’ve resolved to be a more eco-conscious consumer this year, learn about how NIST’s circular economy lead thinks about plastic packaging in our everyday

Taking Measure