LANSCE sponsors-neutron scattering school on structural materials

"No place quite like Los Alamos’s Spallation Neutron Source"

August 10, 2010—At this year's Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) School on Neutron Scattering, 34 graduate students and postdocs from all over the world are learning about "Structural Materials." The event began August 5 and runs until Friday (August 13). 

James Rhyne, deputy director of LANSCE’s Lujan Neutron Scattering Center, said he’s very excited about the neutron scattering school. “We are very proud of this school and the educational opportunity it presents for future generations of neutron scattering researchers. The feedback we get is very positive,” he said. 

"Critical impact"

Neutron scattering makes a “critical impact” on a multitude of science-related fields, and there’s no place quite like Los Alamos’s Spallation Neutron Source, one of the world’s most intense neutron sources, for students to learn about it, Rhyne continued. 

Every year, organizers select one focus area that Lab researchers have technical expertise in from a list that was developed by a Lab-external advisory committee, he explained. Organizers then invite leading researchers to present the latest breakthroughs in the area, tie them to current events, and provide hands-on applications. Past topics have included "Phase Transformations," "Magnetism and Neutron Scattering," "Soft Matter and Biological Structures," and "Hydrogen in Materials," he said. 

Breakthrough science

This year’s school on structural materials describes how neutron scattering methods can provide unique insights in areas such as shaping memory alloys, intermetallics, super-alloys, and bulk metallic glass composites. Seventeen lecturers provide overviews, discuss a series of case studies, and describe exciting new opportunities deriving from new Department of Energy-funded instruments and from the next-generation spallation neutron source, Rhyne said.

The schools are geared toward graduate students and postdocs, and since their inception in 2004 have brought together some of the best and brightest researchers in the nation and the world to gain an in-depth knowledge of specific science topics to which neutron scattering makes valuable contributions. Because of its more specific focus, LANSCE’s school differs from other neutron scattering schools, such as Argonne National Laboratory’s National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering and the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Center for Neutron Research Summer School, which provide a general overview of scattering or have an instrumentation focus. “Our more specific focus ensures that we don’t duplicate other schools’ programs,” Rhyne said. “Greater emphasis on individual topics also tends to draw researchers who are further along in their studies, which results in a more focused group,” he noted. 

Hands-on experiments

The school lasts for nine days and includes both lectures and an experimental portion that allows every student to conduct about five hands-on neutron experiments on Lujan Neutron Scattering Center instruments. At the end of the week, students are asked to choose their favorite experiment, team up with others who also picked it that particular experiment, and give a talk on it. “I suspect the students must stay up all night to prepare their talks,” Rhyne said. “They’re that outstanding, that well prepared.” 

Making time for fun

But the school is not just all work and no play! Last Sunday, students visited Bandelier National Monument and the Bradbury Science Museum. On Monday, organizers took them to Los Alamos ski hill to hike the trails and enjoy a catered barbecue. 

The school is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences. It is tuition-free and assistance for travel, lodging, and subsistence is available.