Assessment of the Center for Neutron Research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology

At the request of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has, since 1959, annually assembled panels of experts from academia, industry, medicine, and other scientific and engineering communities to assess the quality and effectiveness of the NIST measurements and standards laboratories. The NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) is one of six major research organizational units consisting of five laboratories and one user facility at NIST. It is one of only three neutron scattering user facilities in the United States, with 30 instruments, supporting roughly one-third of the U.S. neutron scattering instruments and users. This report assesses the scientific and technical work performed by the NCNR, as well as the portfolio of scientific expertise within the organization and dissemination of program outputs.