In the hands of a cop or utility department employee, an improperly calibrated sensor might cost you an unjustified speeding ticket or an unexpectedly high gas bill for the month. The stakes are much higher for the sensors for scientific research and military surveillance. The path of an incoming hurricane could be miscalculated. A hidden stash of chemical weapons could be overlooked.

As the result of an agreement with the National Institute for Standards and Technology, USU Space Dynamics Lab scientists will be setting the standards for the world's most sensitive sensors and helping to ensure that they are calibrated on the same page.

As SDL deputy director Harry Ames puts it, "If I decided a foot was a certain length, and you decided it was another length, and we were trying to build a bridge across a canyon, and you were using your measurement and I was using mine, we would be in big trouble."
Renowned for their development and calibration of remote infrared sensors, SDL scientists will help tune up measuring devices so they can predict where a hurricane will hit next or lock onto a missile's intended target. The sensors designed for global climate research and national defense are so finicky; they have to be tested in a vacuum or under extreme cold temperatures in a chamber.

The collaboration with NIST will turn SDL into a research center for space scientists around the world and a teaching center for students seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees in a specialized field of engineering.
-Jane Koerner