Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research

The Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research (JIHIR) is a unique institution in the world of nuclear physics. Conceived at Vanderbilt University in 1975, it is the result of a joint effort of Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), the University of Tennessee (UT), and Vanderbilt University (VU) to build a special university-like visitor environment at a national laboratory. In the process, the success of the JIHIR has occurred because of a new type of relationship between universities and a national laboratory, and a special collaboration between the federal government and the State of Tennessee. The purpose of this paper is to recount the history of JIHIR over the past decade, to review its programs in recent years, and to look forward to the role of this institute in the future evolution of Holifield. It is hoped that the successes of the Joint Institute will provide a model for future examples of university-national laboratory collaborations