NIST Center for Neutron Research

Since it became operational in the late 1960s, the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) has developed into the nation’s premier neutron research center and ranks among the leading facilities of its kind in the world. The facility’s capabilities—and international stature—were enhanced dramatically in the 1990s with the addition of a source for low-energy neutrons and a new instrumentation hall. In 2001, more than 1,700 scientists relied on the NCNR (a fourfold increase since 1990) and half of the 400 neutron-related research papers with U.S. authors were based on work done at this unique DOC facility. The NCNR’s success is the product of effective partnerships with industry, universities, and other government agencies.

A recently released OSTP study confirms that the NCNR is the “highest performing” neutron center among the four such facilities in the United States. It demonstrates the benefits of the “cooperative stewardship” model, an approach to managing and supporting major components of the nation’s research infrastructure, as recommended in a 1999 National Research Council study and endorsed by the OSTP report.

Managing the NCNR as a national user facility, NIST continues to enhance its capabilities while seeking to serve the largest possible research community. New advanced cooling technology installed this past spring, for example, nearly doubles the number of very-long-wavelength neutrons available for experiments on a broadening array of topics—from fuel cells to cell membranes and from superconductors to nanotubes.

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Date created: 08/07/02
Last updated: 08/07/02
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