MsRI-Planning Workshop: X-ray and Neutron Instrumentation

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With support from the Divisions of Chemistry (CHE); Materials Research (DMR); Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB); Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI); and Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET), Professors Gerald Schneider and Les Butler at the Louisiana State University are organizing a workshop to identify new frontiers of combined X-ray and neutron instrumentation. Neutron and X-ray methods probe the structure and dynamics of materials at the atomic scale and can provide insight into a host of scientific and technological problems. Many of these problems require high resolution and non-destructive techniques that can study the same sample over long periods of time, from hours to weeks, and there are currently no combined X-ray and neutron scattering and imaging facilities capable of performing these measurements. Establishing such a facility could advance our understanding of a broad array of problems, many of which are central to problems facing society, including the chemistry of lithium battery degradation and how plant roots seek water and chemical nutrients.This workshop will engage approximately 100 thought-leaders from academic, industrial, and governmental sectors with expertise in the chemical sciences and related areas, such as energy, biological chemistry, materials science, and cultural artifacts, as well as experts in X-ray and neutron sciences to discuss a potential facility that could fill this gap. Participants will define the roadmap and relationships between instrumentation and the demanding and evolving requirements of the scientific applications. The workshop will explore how to efficiently align a university-based X-ray and neutron facility with the world-class instrumentation available at NIST-, NSF- and DOE-supported national facilities, as well as how to advance existing X-ray and neutron sources to meet the current and future needs of the research community. Areas for collaborations will be identified by the participants with a goal of advanced convergent research, education, and instrumentation objectives. The workshop will also explore opportunities such a facility would provide in training students in combined X-ray and neutron instrumentation development, as well as crafting advanced experimental protocols for studying complex systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.