International Materials Institutes [IMI],Advanced Neutron Scattering Network for Education and Research [ANSWER]: With a Focus on Mechanical Behavior of Materials

Abstract

Neutron scattering is one of the most powerful characterization techniques available for materials research, and its proven capabilities and anticipated potentials justify the 1.4-billion dollar construction of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as well as a number of multi-million dollar facility upgrades at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS), and High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) in the US, and at ISIS, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in UK. However, while the multi-billion dollar constructions are on-going all around the world, currently there is no concerted effort within the US in advancing the science and education in the application of neutron scattering in materials research, specifically in the study of mechanical behavior of advanced materials. To be better positioned in the scientific research at the international level, it is important to develop a network with international counterparts. Therefore, a group of the most active researchers in the neutron-scattering materials-research field will form an international network through the International Materials Institutes (IMI)-Advanced Neutron Scattering netWork for Education and Research (ANSWER) with a focus on mechanical behavior of materials. The IMI provides a synergistic effort in advancing the fundamental understanding of mechanical behavior of materials at the atomic level using state-of-the-art neutron sources in the world.