US Census Bureau

From automated teller machines and atomic clocks to mammograms and semiconductors, innumerable products and services rely in some way on technology, measurement and standards provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Founded in 1901, NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the United States Commerce Department's Technology Administration. NIST'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 the quality of life. NIST carries out its mission in four cooperative programs: the NIST Laboratories, Baldrige National Quality Program, Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Advanced Technology Program. NIST has an operating budget of about $930 million and operates in Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo.

The historic mission of the United States Department of Commerce is to foster, promote and develop the foreign and domestic commerce of the United States. This has evolved, as a result of legislative and administrative additions, to encompass broadly the responsibility to foster, serve and promote the nation s economic development and technological advancement. The department participates with other government agencies in the creation of national policy, through the president s cabinet and its subdivisions. It promotes and assists international trade. U.S. Department of Commerce is also responsible for strengthening the international economic position of the United States, promoting progressive domestic business policies and growth, improving comprehension and uses of the physical environment and its oceanic life. U.S. Department of Commerce is headquartered in Washington, D.C.