Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Welcome to the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR)

NCNR buidling view

The NCNR is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Its activities focus on providing neutron measurement capabilities to the U.S. research community.

It is a national center for research using thermal and cold neutrons, offering its instrumentation for use by all qualified applicants. Many of its instruments rely on intense beams of cold neutrons emanating from an advanced liquid hydrogen moderator.

Our mission is threefold:

  1. To operate the NCNR safely as a cost-effective national resource.
  2. To conduct a broad program of research using neutron techniques, and to develop and apply new neutron measurement techniques.
  3. To operate the NIST Center for Neutron Research as a national resource for researchers from industry, university and other government agencies.

 

Created March 15, 2017, Updated December 2, 2019