Serve as a National User Facility

As a National User Facility, the NCNR serves researchers from industry, academia, NIST, and other government agencies by developing and providing access to neutron-based measurement technology. Measurement technology is developed to support the following areas of scientific research:

• Materials Research
• Neutron Imaging
• Chemical Analysis
• Neutron Standards
• Dosimetry
• Radiation Metrology

Access

University researchers, companies, and government scientists can apply for access to NCNR facilities and work directly with NCNR staff. This broad access has increased demand for neutron measurements beyond a small expert community, making NCNR a national resource for research and training. It has also helped to create a pipeline of new users, students, and collaborators who then promote the benefits of neutron measurements with colleagues in other laboratories, universities, and industries. Other methods of access are available to institutions seeking direct partnerships with the NCNR or requiring protections for proprietary or sensitive work.

Capabilities

The user facility maintains a broad technical and equipment portfolio that enables researchers to work across these fields. The properties of neutrons, facility staff, and advanced instrumentation combine to measure the chemical structure, atomic motions, composition, and internal stresses of a wide range of materials under various conditions. As a result, many scientific problems can be addressed in a single location rather than in many separate specialty laboratories. This has increased both the scope and accessibility of neutron-based measurements for researchers working in physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and materials science.

Support

The NCNR proposal system helps direct beam time to the most promising experiments while staff support, instrument control, and data analysis software, user laboratories, and practical training help researchers perform those experiments at a high level. Together, these systems make neutron measurements more reliable, reproducible, and impactful by helping users design stronger experiments, collect higher-quality data, and analyze results more quickly and effectively.