Oak Ridge National Laboratory
High Flux Isotope Reactor
HFIR is a scientific user facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory sponsored by DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences Program. Operating at 85 MW, HFIR is the highest flux reactor-based source of neutrons for research in the United States, and it provides one of the highest steady-state neutron fluxes of any research reactor in the world. The thermal and cold neutrons produced by HFIR are used to study physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and biology.
Spallation Neutron Source
SNS is a scientific user facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory sponsored by DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences Program. SNS is a one-of-a-kind research facility providing the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development. SNS produces neutrons with an accelerator-based system that delivers short (microsecond) proton pulses to a target/moderator system, where neutrons are produced by a process called spallation. State-of-the-art experiment stations provide a variety of capabilities for researchers across a broad range of disciplines, including physics, chemistry, materials science, and biology.
BER Resources at SNS/HFIR
The Center for Structural Molecular Biology (CSMB) develops instrumentation and methods enabling users to perform structural studies of biomolecular systems using capabilities at two Oak Ridge National Laboratory user facilities—the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS).
Co-located DOE Office of Science User Facilities
- Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) was established at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2004 with the mission of accelerating scientific discovery and engineering progress by providing outstanding computing and data management resources to high-priority research and development projects.
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) integrates nanoscale science with neutron science; synthesis science; and theory, modeling, and simulation. Operating as a national user facility, CNMS supports a multidisciplinary environment for research to understand nanoscale materials and phenomena.