Founded in 1901 as the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and renamed by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory, federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. 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 our quality of life.