The NIST/NSF Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering

该奖项来自材料研究部的国家设施项目，为美国国家标准与技术研究院中子研究中心(NCNR)的高分辨率中子散射中心(CHRNS)的继续运营提供资金。CHRNS开发和运营最先进的冷中子散射仪器，在材料研究中有广泛的应用，供一般科学界使用。每年有400多名科学家、博士后研究员和研究生使用CHRNS仪器。CHRNS的科学工作人员为用户提供帮助，领导和合作开展关于CHRNS仪器的研究项目，并努力提高仪器的测量能力，将用户计划扩展到新的领域。CHRNS由六个设施组成：两个小角中子散射(SANS)仪器，用于表征材料中纳米到微米级的结构；以及四个冷中子谱仪，用于探测特征时间从100纳秒到千分之一纳秒的材料中的动态过程。这六个设施覆盖的长度和时间范围与世界上任何一个中子研究中心一样广泛。该奖项允许CHRNS保持对用户的高水平使用、可靠性和支持，同时继续改进以扩展其测量能力。其中一些新功能包括亚毫秒分辨率的时间分辨SANS测量，这将首次实现对材料(如电流变液和肌肉组织)的中子衍射研究，这些材料对这些时间尺度上的刺激做出反应。还为NIST年度暑期学校、本科生暑期实习、网络教程以及相关教育和推广活动提供支持，以增加美国研究人员社区的广度和多样性，这些研究人员在他们的研究工具集合中包括中子散射。这包括计划与教育组织结成联盟，致力于让人数不足的群体更多地参与科学和工程，并扩大其教育和外联活动的影响。与纳米技术有关的研究的增长将加速对CHRNS提供的确定纳米级结构和动力学的技术的需求。生物技术和自旋电子学的新发展是冷中子技术预计将发挥越来越重要作用的两个例子，因为它们分别对含氢材料和磁性材料具有独特的敏感性。CHRNS将在使美国研究人员能够将这些工具广泛应用于聚合物科学、结构生物学、材料化学、表面活性剂和胶体科学以及磁性和超导等领域的前沿研究方面产生重大影响。

This award from the National Facilities program in the Division of Materials Research provide funds for continued operation of the Center for High Resolution Neutron Scattering (CHRNS) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). CHRNS develops and operates state-of-the-art cold neutron scattering instrumentation, with broad application in materials research, for use by the general scientific community. Over 400 scientists, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students use the CHRNS instruments each year. The scientific staff at CHRNS provide assistance to users, lead and collaborate on research projects carried out on the CHRNS instruments, and strive to improve the measurement capabilities of the instruments in ways that expand the user program into new areas. CHRNS comprises six facilities: two small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instruments for characterizing the nano- to micron scale structure in materials ; and four cold neutron spectrometers that probe dynamic processes in materials with characteristic times from 100 nanoseconds to a fraction of one thousands of a nanosecond. These six facilities cover as wide a range of length and time scales as any neutron research center worldwide. This award allows CHRNS to maintain the high level of use, reliability and support for users while continuing to make improvements that extend their measurement capabilities. Some of the new capabilities include time-resolved SANS measurements with sub-millisecond resolution which will for the first time enable neutron diffraction studies of materials, such as electro-rheological fluids and muscle tissue, that respond to stimuli on these time scales.Support is also provided for the NIST annual summer schools, summer internships for undergraduates, web-based tutorials and related education and outreach activities, to increase the breadth and diversity of the U.S. community of researchers who include neutron scattering in their collection of research tools. This includes plans to develop alliances with educational organizations committed to increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering, and to broaden the impact of its education and outreach activities. The growth in research related to nanotechnology will accelerate demand for the techniques provided by CHRNS to determine nanoscale structure and dynamics. Emerging developments in biotechnology and spintronics are two examples of areas where cold neutron techniques are expected to play an increasingly important role due to their unique sensitivity to hydrogenous and magnetic materials, respectively. CHRNS will have significant impact in enabling U.S. researchers to bring these tools to bear on a broad cross section of forefront research in areas such as polymer science, structural biology, materials chemistry, surfactant and colloidal science, and magnetism and superconductivity.