IIST Students and CPS Team Leaders Visit NIST

How cool will it be for a STEM student to step into an immersive virtual reality environment where he can observe how quantitative information is gathered from sensors implanted on the human body? Sixteen IIST (Integrated Information, Science and Technology) students had that experience when they visited the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) main facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland last March.

The visit was part of a series of visits sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and coordinated by the IIST program and CPS Career Services. Accompanied by CPS faculty and staff, the students visited two specialty labs at NIST. The Body Area Network (BAN) Project investigates wearable and implantable sensors that continuously gather a variety of important health and/or physiological data wirelessly. The BAN Project scientists are working to create standards for sensor communication, networking interoperability and sensor information security. Their work has the potential to significantly advance healthcare IT and telemedicine. Brian Combs, an IIST student, remarked: "The Body Area Network (BAN) project was simply amazing. The virtual reality demonstration of how sensor technology is improving healthcare is a direct correlation to those GW IIST students on Health IT track."

The second lab visited by the students, works on Smart Grid Technology. The Smart Grid is a planned nationwide network that uses information technology to deliver electricity efficiently, reliably and securely. The Smart Grid represents a leap from a one-way, analog system of disconnected power suppliers to a two-way, digital, interoperable national network. Students witnessed a demonstration on current efforts at developing a standard for timing synchronization, which is critical to the success of the Smart Grid project. "This visit proved to be an incredibly invaluable experience for students to gain exposure to the research side of technology and interact with successful investigators at the forefront of research with enormous impact potential" said Derek Haseltine, Director, CPS Careers.
 
Founded in 1901, and now part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, NIST is one of the nation's oldest physical science laboratories. Today, NIST measurements support the smallest of technologies-nanoscale devices so tiny that tens of thousands can fit on the end of a single human hair-to the largest and most complex of human-made creations, from earthquake-resistant skyscrapers to wide-body jetliners to global communication networks.