Bert Coursey, a retired NIST employee and chair of the NIST Alumni History Committee, will lead the presentation. It will include period photos, will focus on the reasons for the move, the people (scientific staff, administrators and architects) and the construction of the facilities in Gaithersburg.
NIST is now part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and 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.
To view the Montgomery History presentation, register at Webinar Registration - Zoom.
