News and Updates

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NIST Provides Update on Champlain Towers South Investigation

September 12, 2024

Work continues to determine cause of the 2021 tragedy and to develop science-based recommendations to improve building safety.

Tornadoes Are Deadly. These New Building Codes Will Save Lives.

July 9, 2024

NIST research has led to the first building code provision for tornado resilience.

Grid of six B&W images of asbestos fibers taken by scanning electron microscopy

NIST Researchers Identify a Cheaper, More Convenient Method to Detect Asbestos

June 25, 2024

Researchers have verified that scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a highly accurate way to test air samples for the presence of asbestos.

Spotlight: NIST Researchers Are Helping Make Communities More Resilient Through Wind Tunnel Testing of Building Models

June 11, 2024

NIST researchers are helping by evaluating building structures through wind tunnel testing.

NIST Industrial Wireless Team Publishes Research Report on Wireless Deployment Challenges in Construction – A 5G Strategy

June 1, 2024

In the construction context, integrating 5G networks presents numerous challenges. The NIST Industrial Wireless Team has published an article in the online

UV Disinfection Lights Can Cause Indoor Air Pollution

May 30, 2024

Further research is needed to understand how to minimize the unintended byproducts of ultraviolet light.

An elongated test instrument with steel cylinders that rapidly heats and applies force to a material.

Spotlight: Test Instrument Puts Materials Under Forces at High Speeds to Mimic Many Instantaneous Situations in the Real World

March 16, 2024

This elongated test instrument, the first of its kind in the world, puts materials under two extreme conditions in fractions of seconds.

Two men stand a table in a warehouse space, looking at a broken piece of concrete that one is holding.

NIST to Provide Public Update on Hurricane Maria and Champlain Towers South Investigations During Advisory Committee Meeting March 6-7, 2024

March 4, 2024

The meeting will be livestreamed each day.

NIST Engineer Glenn Bell Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

February 26, 2024

Bell specializes in forensic engineering, or the study of structural failures.

University, NIST Researchers Create Residential Building Models to Evaluate Fairness of Electricity Tariffs

January 1, 2024

The increased adoption of energy technologies like smart meters, solar panels, and battery storage has led to a rise in electricity pricing plans with costs

A researcher wearing a face mask gestures to a Christmas tree set up in a metallic box with a large spotlight shining on it.

Live Christmas Trees Affect Indoor Air Chemistry, NIST Researchers Find

December 22, 2023

Many families enjoy the fresh fragrance of a real tree. That smell comes from chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

A slab of concrete with ragged edges sits on a warehouse floor as researchers use equipment to extract core samples.

NIST Provides Update on Investigation Into the Collapse of Champlain Towers South

September 7, 2023

Preliminary evaluations show additional deviations from design in pool deck construction, no underground voids.

NIST Earthquake Engineering Group Members Conduct a Preliminary Earthquake Reconnaissance Mission to Turkey

August 31, 2023

In the early morning hours of February 6, 2023, a M W 7.8 earthquake occurred in Turkey, followed by four additional earthquakes throughout the day with MW of 5

NIST researcher Jared Strait with a prototype hand-held KDFR

MEASURING UP: Kibble Dynamic Force Reference

July 18, 2023

Static force, such as the weight of a person standing motionless on a bathroom scale or the force that an office full of equipment exerts on a high-rise floor

A woman in a NIST hard hat and other safety gear stands inside a warehouse holding a plastic bag labeled "Evidence."

New Videos Available on the NCST Champlain Towers South Investigation

June 23, 2023

See new video interviews of team members and footage from recent sample concrete coring.

Photo on top showing researchers studying a large concrete structure on a wall; image on bottom showing a heat map of forces on a similar simulated structural column.

New Building Standard Paves the Way for Collapse-Resistant Structures

June 5, 2023

A new building standard can help engineers prevent the worst.

University, NIST Researchers Develop Strategy for Cutting Home HVAC Electricity Costs

June 1, 2023

To help reduce electricity consumption and its costs, university and NIST researchers proposed a strategy for controlling residential heating, ventilation, and

Concrete columns lay on their sides inside a warehouse with lots of space around each one.

May 31, 2023, Champlain Towers South Investigation Update: Second Warehouse Will Allow New Phase of Testing

May 31, 2023

On May 11, 2023, the MDPD and the NCST finished moving a portion of evidence retrieved from the Champlain Towers South building into a second warehouse.

AI Could Set a New Bar for Designing Hurricane-Resistant Buildings

March 29, 2023

Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.

A flatbed truck with equipment on the back sits in a puddled parking lot near the remains of a demolished building foundation, with two figures in safety gear nearby and palm trees in the background.

Sept. 29, 2022, Update: Champlain Towers South Investigation Completes Site Testing, Announces Next Advisory Committee Meeting

September 29, 2022

This summer, members of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) completed testing at the former site of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside

Engineer in a lab. Screen that shows her face on the left. On the right is a robot.

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