Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research

The National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST] Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) is a national user facility whose mission is to ensure the availability of neutron measurement capabilities in order to meet the needs of U.S. researchers from industry, academia, and government agencies.

A panel of experts from the National Research Council evaluated the NCNR by the following criteria: (1) the technical merit of the current laboratory programs relative to the current state of the art worldwide; (2) the adequacy of the laboratory facilities, equipment, and human resources, as they affect the quality of the laboratory technical programs; and (3) the degree to which the laboratory programs in measurement science and standards achieve their stated objectives and desired impact.

This book finds that NCNR is an extremely reliable and comprehensive neutron scattering facility. Even as the other neutron source in the nation-the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)-becomes increasingly operational and the Oak Ridge High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) comes back online, the NCNR will continue to be a vital resource for meeting the broad spectrum of user needs for and scientific objectives related to neutron scattering.