Radiation and Biomolecular Physics Division

The Radiation and Biomolecular Physics Division, part of the Physical Measurement Laboratory at NIST, develops, maintains and disseminates the measurement standards for ionizing radiations and radioactivity in the United States.  We also pursue research in the fundamental physical interactions of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation with matter, including developing and using the key physical measurements needed in the study of biological systems and their function. Our theoretical and experimental efforts support radiation and nuclear applications in health care and worker protection, advance spectroscopic methods to enable biotechnology and medical applications, enhanceenvironmental protection, and support national security and defense.

In addition to our mission to realize the Système International (SI) units for absorbed dose (the gray) and activity (the becquerel), we maintain active research programs in biological and neutron physics, radiation dosimetry, and radionuclide metrology. We are also active in over-arching programmatic efforts in medical physics to support medical imaging and therapeutics, standards and test procedures for chemical/biological/radiation/nuclear/explosives countermeasures in homeland security, measurement assurance and standards to support the nuclear energy and radiation industries, and physical imaging technologies for the study of macromolecular systems.  We promote the accurate and meaningful measurements of dosimetric quantities pertaining to ionizing radiation (x and gamma rays, electrons, and energetic, positively charged particles) and provide measurement services, standards, and fundamental research to support neutron technology and neutron physics for industrial research and development through neutron dosimetry, calibration of neutron survey instruments, and development of neutron sources.  We are also responsible for developing metrological techniques to standardize new radionuclides for research and for exploring radiation and nuclear applications, and conductresearch in the development and use of advanced spectroscopic methods, imaging technologies, and theoretical models to study biomolecular and cellular structure, function, interactions, dynamics, and the affects from ionizing and non-ionizing radiation.