NIST

Sources and Online Definitions

Smart Computing

"A nonregulatory U.S. federal agency, the NIST promotes aspects of new technology and played a major role in the development of the Internet. The NIST is an agency of the Technology Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its mission is “to develop and promote measurements, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life.”

Within the Internet world, the NIST may be better known as the agency that housed the National Information Infrastructure Task Force, which created the Internet structure we have today. . .

In the early 1990s, the ’Net was no longer under the management of the Department of Defense and was being run by the National Science Foundation. The Internet was still to be used exclusively for government, educational, and scientific purposes, but the Clinton administration wanted what it called a National Information Infrastructure, open to the public and the business community. It was to be a democratic network, without any agency managing it but run cooperatively by many organizations. The job of developing the plan and working out the critical issues went to the National Information Infrastructure Task Force, operating within the NIST."

Wikipedia

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), known between 1901–1988 as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce. The institute's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve quality of life.

As part of this mission, NIST scientists and engineers continually refine the science of measurement, making possible the ultra precise engineering and manufacturing required for today’s most advanced technologies. They also are directly involved in standards development and testing done by the private sector and government agencies. U.S. technological innovation and progress depend on NIST’s unique skills and capabilities, especially in four key areas: biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology and advanced manufacturing.