Taking Measure Blog: Composition and structure

Composition and structure

Close-up shows shiny metal patches with areas of green corrosion and open holes.

Houston, We Have the Engine Remnants: How My Lab Pieced Together a Forgotten Part of an Apollo Rocket

March 13, 2024

Like many people, I had dreams of flying into space as an astronaut when I was a child. That interest in aerospace and space exploration has continued

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

Diana Ortiz-Montalvo, wearing safety glasses and holding a small circular filter with tweezers, poses with Abigail Lindstrom in the lab.

Microplastics Mystery: Sampling Airborne Microplastics at a Recycling Facility

October 11, 2023

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, a NIST researcher shares how her upbringing in Puerto Rico inspired her to study air quality.

Internships in the Time of COVID: A Q&A With Shelby Platner and NIST's Zach Trautt

February 4, 2021

Across the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), internships are a very important experience for students and staff members alike. But for most

$an opalescent close up of Roman glass. There is a clear semi-circular fracture in the center of the piece.$

Ancient Roman Glass, Perceiving Color in LED, 3D Mapping for Public Safety, SRMs in Space: A Sample of Stories From the Social Sphere

May 26, 2020

Photos of culinary masterpieces, opinions on world events, memories from the good times … we share a lot on social media to feel connected and together

How Neutrons and Gamma Rays Can Reveal Our Cultural Heritage

January 7, 2020

Most people think that understanding and preserving our cultural heritage is mainly the concern of the social sciences and humanities, such as archaeology and

a stylized rendering of the periodic table

The Periodic Table: It's More than Just Chemistry and Physics

May 28, 2019

This is the International Year of the Periodic Table, and while I’ve been (accurately) accused of being a physics fanboy, I’m here to tell you that this famous

cartoon illustration that explains how communicating science is a key part of NIST Center for Neutron Research Director Rob Dimeo's job

My Visual Crutch for Communicating Science

April 18, 2019

Chasing Paper: Adventures in Fiber Analysis

March 19, 2019

Growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana, I had no scientific aspirations as a child. I do remember being entertained by science, relishing public television

The Test of Time: NIST’s Wall of Many Stones

January 16, 2018

Frequented by more deer than people, the NIST stone test wall lives a fairly isolated existence. Out among the trees and the grass on the south end of the

Taking Measure