Grant: Major Resources Support Program - Infrastructure

The Canadian Neutron Beam Centre (CNBC) is a Major Resource for materials research, operated by the National Research Council of Canada at Chalk River Laboratories. This laboratory is centred around five neutron scattering instruments, each with a capital replacement value of about $5M. The neutron instruments are attached to the NRU research reactor, which is operated by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). Over 80% of neutron instrument time is devoted to research projects led by external users: scientists, engineers and students from over 50 departments in universities across Canada, industries, government labs and more than 100 foreign research institutions. Canadian academic research carried out at the neutron beam laboratory spans disciplines such as condensed-matter physics, chemistry, biophysics, materials science and engineering. Neutron scattering experiments provide unique and important knowledge about materials at the molecular or nano-structure scales. Access to the neutron beam laboratory is granted on the basis of scientific merit. Proposals are reviewed by subject-oriented committees, whose members are drawn from the Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering (CINS). CINS represents over 400 individual members and 15 institutional members. It oversees the management of NSERC MRS funds by the CNBC, supports outreach events (such as a neutron scattering summer school), and provides leadership and advocacy for funding proposals associated with this Major Resource.