National Institute of Standards and Technology
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125 Years of Driving Innovation
From developing precise atomic clocks to creating encryption standards to supporting manufacturing, NIST plays a crucial role in advancing technology.
America’s national measurement institute
NIST is the National Metrology Institute for the United States, also known as an NMI. Everything you use in your everyday life works because of measurements. Without precise measurements, your car wouldn’t run, your phone wouldn’t work, and hospitals couldn’t function. We maintain the measurements that make industry and society work. Learn more about our unique role in the national — and global — economy.
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