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OCR for page 14
5
The Center as a User Facility
The NIST Center for Neutron Research 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. The NCNR user community is
robust and eager to obtain access to the NCNR facilities, routinely submitting more than 600
proposals per year. In the most recent call for proposals, more than 1,800 days of beam time
were requested, corresponding to an average instrument oversubscription of 2.0. The new option
to mail in samples for the powder diffractometer is being exercised, providing a good alternative
to costly travel and difficult scheduling issues.
As indicated to the panel, in 2008 about 800 users came to the NCNR, and the
productivity of the instruments was estimated to be more than 50 users per instrument, a figure
on par with European sources. Users from universities make up 68 percent of the total, 8 percent
are from other NIST laboratories, 5 percent are from industry, and 14 percent come from other
national laboratories. The balance of beam time allocation―two thirds of beam time for the user
program and one third for in-house instrument use―has been excellent for meeting the needs of
users and maintaining outstanding instrument scientists. The flexibility allows NCNR services
to be provided to the broad neutron scattering community; to industrial users, who frequently
need fast turnaround times; and to users from other NIST laboratories; it also offers rapid access
for high-impact scientific research, as well as a means to bring in new users who do not have
previous experience in neutron scattering techniques.
To further increase the number of industrial users, the NCNR staff lowers barriers to
instrument access through the collaborative access mechanism and provides robust support
during measurements. Another mechanism for increasing the number of industrial users is
through collaborative participating research teams. The PRT involving the Neutron Imaging
Facility BT2 instrument has fostered excellent industrial participation and has provided crucial
information on the operation of membrane fuel cells. To promote additional industrial
interactions, an industry-university-government consortium led by the NIST Polymers Division
is being developed to operate the new 10 m SANS instrument as part of the Expansion Project.
Current users of the NCNR are highly satisfied with the quality and support of the facility
and personnel. The NCNR User Group surveys users approximately every 3 years. The most
recent survey, conducted in 2007, included responses from students and postdoctoral researchers,
staff members, and external principal investigators. Discussion by the panel with the head of the
NUG confirmed that users rate the quality and reliability of instruments and support from the
NCNR personnel as “excellent.” The variety of sample environments and ease of proposal
submission are also regarded highly by users. Adequacy of office space for visiting scientists
and user amenities received relatively lower marks, but these will be improved substantially by
the addition of the new office building as part of the facility expansion. The NUG chair noted
that more timely and detailed acquisition of users’ impressions from their NCNR facility
experience could be obtained by converting the user exit survey to be Web-based. Such a change
to a more efficient information collection method would help the facility adjust to perceived
needs of the users more quickly.
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Other concerns raised by users in the 2007 survey were primarily associated with the
availability of specialized sample environments, the need for easy access to their data after
leaving the facility (on the World Wide Web, for example), the availability of software and
associated tutorials for data analysis, and more time-effective health physics training. In addition,
the NUG chair commented that users were apprehensive that the Expansion Project would result
in further delays in upgrading the thermal instruments. As noted on the NCNR Web site, a
project to modernize the older neutron scattering instruments in the confinement building will be
implemented over the next few years (http://www.ncnr.nist.gov/instruments/therminstr.html).
Subsequent NRC assessment panels should examine the progress of this plan.
To increase the pool of specialized sample environments, the NCNR initiated a Small
Grants Program in 2007. One proposal has been funded from the 2008 call. Although previous
NRC panels were enthusiastic and supportive of this creative means of increasing the range of
ancillary equipment available, it remains to be determined whether this will be an effective
method of increasing the sample environment capabilities of the facility. NCNR management
should seek out additional schemes for augmenting the ancillary equipment, because often the
availability of one or more of these pieces of equipment, rather than neutron flux alone, makes
the crucial difference in carrying out experiments in a competitive field.
A significant advance in SANS analysis software based on the IGOR-Pro software tool
was developed in-house by an NCNR staff member. The 2006 paper detailing the software1 has
been cited 60 times, and Web-based video tutorials have greatly facilitated the use of the
software, which has also been adopted at other facilities. Similarly, the user-friendly MSLICE
data-reduction module is being broadly employed at U.S. and international facilities. Two NCNR
personnel also contribute to the analysis software being developed through the Distributed Data
Analysis for Neutron Scattering Experiments (DANSE) project. A critical need of users is for
well-documented and well-maintained software. NCNR management is to be commended for
these contributions to the scattering community.
Another noteworthy development is the greater ease of conducting polarized neutron
scattering experiments based on 3He flippers. In 2008 more than 20 separate experiments were
conducted. Additional growth and expansion to two additional instruments are planned for 2009.
A proposal for a deuteration facility has been submitted to the NIST Innovations in Measurement
Science Program; the facility would be located at the Center for Advanced Research in
Biotechnology, a joint institute of the University of Maryland and NIST. If funded, deuterium
labeling may be an especially attractive means of encouraging more biomedical research at the
facility.
A common criticism of similar facilities is the lengthy time required for safety training.
The NCNR, whose safety record has been superb, has taken welcomed steps to further streamline
this process while increasing the depth of information for users. Facility access remains a
growing challenge. To its credit, in contrast to some government installations whose security
apparatus impedes contact with the outside, the NCNR is trying to maintain a rational security
program in order to allow efficient use of the facility. Two people are employed to facilitate user
access. Foreign visitors are required to apply for permission 35 days before arriving at the
NCNR; the 35-day period is on a par with or shorter than the lead time required at similar
national facilities. The present system seems to meet all security requirements while keeping the
spirit needed in a center of learning. However, this area requires ongoing attention.
1
S.R. Kline, “Reduction and Analysis of SANS and USANS Data Using IGOR Pro,” Journal of Applied
Crystallography 39 (2006): 895-900.
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The NCNR Expansion Project will greatly affect users during the shutdown of the facility
and through the increased scientific capacity after its completion. Because users will be
challenged to obtain sufficient neutron scattering time during the shutdown, NCNR management
is thoughtfully working on implementing upgrades, transitioning instruments to new beam lines,
and implementing new instruments in ways that reflect attention to minimizing the necessary
downtime.
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