A
new report issued by the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy finds that neutron probes are becoming
increasingly indispensable research tools in fields ranging
from biology to materials science, but concludes that only
one U.S. facility—the NIST Center for Neutron Research
(NCNR)—provides a broad range of world-class capabilities.
Even
with the addition of the Spallation Neutron Source, now
being built at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, the shortfall in resources for neutron-scattering
experiments will not be eliminated. "The number of
neutron scattering instruments available in the United States,
now and in the future, will be less than half that available
in Europe and less than available in Japan," writes
the federal agency working group that prepared the report.
Patrick
Gallagher, head of Research Facilities Operations at the
NCNR, chaired the working group.
The
OSTP report makes four recommendations for improving the
number and quality of instruments at U.S. neutron facilities
and for broadening access to scientists. It calls for partnership
approaches and coordinating mechanisms aimed at "maximizing
the overall effectiveness of the nation's neutron resources."
Funding
and developing a "robust suite of instruments"
at the SNS was the working group's top priority for implementing
its recommendations. The report also called for increased
support and improvements in the neutron source and instrumentation
at the NIST facility, the working group's second priority.
"The
NCNR is the highest performing and most used neutron facility
in the United States," the report says. The number
of scientists who use the NCNR has quadrupled over the last
decade, an increase accommodated by improvements and upgrades.
The report points out that additional support would enable
the NCNR to "fully exploit" its capability and
increase access to the general user community.
The
71-page Report on the Status and Needs of Major Neutron
Scattering Facilities and Instruments in the United States
can be downloaded (as a PDF file) from the OSTP web site
at: www.ostp.gov/html/neutron.pdf.
(Note:
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