MsRI-Planning Workshop: X-ray and Neutron Instrumentation

在化学(CHE)、材料研究(DMR)、分子和细胞生物科学(MCB)、土木、机械和制造创新(CMMI)以及化学、生物工程、环境和运输系统(CBET)等系的支持下，路易斯安那州立大学的Gerald Schneider教授和Les Butler教授正在组织一次研讨会，以确定X射线和中子组合仪器的新领域。中子和X射线方法在原子尺度上探测材料的结构和动力学，并可以提供对一系列科学和技术问题的洞察。其中许多问题需要高分辨率和非破坏性技术，可以在很长一段时间内研究同一样品，从几个小时到几个星期不等，目前还没有能够进行这些测量的X射线和中子散射和成像设施。建立这样的设施可以增进我们对一系列广泛问题的了解，其中许多问题是社会面临的问题的核心，包括锂电池降解的化学作用以及植物根如何寻找水和化学营养。这次研讨会将有大约100名来自学术、工业和政府部门的思想领袖参加，他们拥有化学科学和相关领域的专业知识，如能源、生物化学、材料科学和文物，以及X射线和中子科学的专家，讨论可能填补这一空白的设施。与会者将确定仪器与科学应用的苛刻和不断变化的要求之间的路线图和关系。研讨会将探讨如何有效地将大学的X射线和中子设施与NIST、NSF和能源部支持的国家设施提供的世界级仪器相结合，以及如何改进现有的X射线和中子源，以满足研究界当前和未来的需求。合作领域将由参与者确定，目标是先进的融合研究、教育和仪器目标。研讨会还将探索这样一个设施将在培训学生进行X射线和中子仪器组合开发方面提供的机会，以及为研究复杂系统制定先进的实验方案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.