What do gas pumps, truck scales, blood-cholesterol tests, DNA chips, industrial lasers, satellite antennas, aircraft altimeters and closed captioning have in common? These diverse tools and technologies owe their reliable performance to an indispensable federal agency known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurement, standards and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade and improve the quality of life.