National Bureau of Standards Cold Neutron Research Facility

In 1984 a National Academy of Sciences committee was set up to review the need for major facilities in the area of materials and condensed matter science. The report specifically mentioned the National Bureau of Standards Reactor (NBSR) as one of the places that should develop a cold neutron research facility (CNRF). NBS was able to obtain funding from congress to develop the NBS CNRF. The facility will cost approximately $25,000,000, including the guide hall, ten major instruments, and eight guide tubes. The cost does not include the cold source itself, which was funded separately. The cold source configuration is shown. This project has been funded to provide a national center for neutron research. Some fraction (one-third to two-thirds) of all the new facilities will be made available to outside users at no charge. The facilities will be staffed adequately to provide needed assistance to outside users to assure that they can perform their experiments effectively and efficiently. The prioritization of outside proposals will be performed by an independent review committee that will base their recommendations on the scientific merit of each proposal