Description
The federal government recently announced its decision to shut down the NRU reactor in 2018. The National Research Universal (NRU) reactor commenced operation in 1957, to provide neutrons for several missions simultaneously, including the production of neutron beams to support fundamental experimental research on solids and liquids, advancing knowledge of condensed matter physics. Today, the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre manages six thermal neutron beam lines at the NRU reactor, and sustains a team of scientific and technical experts who enable collaborative research projects to be performed effectively by students and scientists from over 30 Canadian universities, as well as over 100 foreign institutions from about 20 countries. The Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering has organized a meeting for Canada’s physics community to consider whether and how the imminent loss of this unique Canadian resource should be addressed. This presentation will provide historical context and details of the current situation, as background for an informed conversation about options and actions over the next few years.
Primary author
John Root
(Canadian Nuclear Laboratories)
