(National Institute of Standards & Technology, Gaithersburg, MD) NIST is the standards-defining agency of the U.S. government. It was created in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards and renamed in 1988. A branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST is devoted to advancing American economic growth through the use of technology.
Although not a regulatory agency, NIST collaborates with private industry to set standards that are essential for current and future development of all technical innovation. NIST also cooperates with its counterpart organizations worldwide. See
ACTS and
NIST binary.