The National Neutron Scattering School, held earlier this fall at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, welcomed 50 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers chosen from a highly competitive pool of applicants.
“At ORNL, we are committed to the importance of informing tomorrow’s scientists about the power of neutrons and their many applications,” said Jon Taylor, ORNL’s Neutron Scattering Division Director. “Neutrons enable critical insights into materials essential for addressing areas like the nation’s energy needs and national security. At the lab, we are always thrilled with the prospect of introducing neutron scattering to a young researcher’s toolbelt.”
The school’s agenda included a series of lectures and seminars presented by researchers from academia, industry and national laboratories, as well as basic tutorials on the application of scattering methods to a variety of scientific subjects.
“The students were very excited to learn, and they came to the lectures with well-defined questions about their own research,” said Rana Ashkar, an NNS lecturer and associate professor of physics in the Physics Department at Virginia Tech. “They would say things like, ‘These are the results that I’ve got in my lab. How can I use neutrons to answer some of these questions?’”
Amid the lectures, seminars and workshops, students were invited to conduct short, in-person experiments on instruments at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR).
NNS lecturer Bruce Gaulin, a professor of Physics & Astronomy at McMasters University in Canada, said school is an essential step for preparing the next generation of neutron scatterers. The lectures are important, but it’s the combination of lectures with hands-on learning that makes it a great school.
“My group has some experience with neutron experiments, but me, personally, I haven’t been able to do any of those experiments yet. I wanted to attend this year’s school to learn different techniques,” said NNS attendee Elena Priesen Reis, a materials science doctoral candidate at the California Institute of Technology. “Also, speaking directly to the beamline scientists and hearing their stories about how they landed in their position has been really helpful since I’m trying to decide whether or not I want to go into academia or into a national lab research position.”
Some students are already well-acquainted with neutron research before attending the school, like NNS attendee Deva Prasaad Neelakandan, a doctoral candidate in materials engineering at Auburn University. “I was definitely familiar with neutron research before attending the school,” said Neelakandan. “I’ve actually got some beamtime lined up at (the) VENUS and VULCAN (instruments) later this year.”
While the school welcomes students pursuing experimental research or degrees where neutron techniques are integral, it also focuses on educating those who may not be aware of the need for a variety of neutron experimental techniques in their work.
“I had no neutron experience coming into this, but my group uses neutron techniques a lot,” said NNS attendee Laila Reimanis, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “It’s been great to see a whole survey of what’s possible while also learning the depths about techniques that I know I’ll be using.”
NNS attendee Emmanuel Osei, a doctoral student at Indiana University Indianapolis., said he’s been studying things he didn’t know would be helpful with his experiments.
The school also provided an opportunity for students to connect with one another, offering time for networking and potential future collaborations among their peers in the neutron scattering field.
“One of my favorite parts has been meeting new people and connecting with those who are already in the field,” said NNS attendee Yarielis Lopez, a graduate student at the University of Washington in St. Louis. “They’ve given me different perspectives on what to do with my project, as well as how to continue pursuing my career and better understand what I’m doing.”
She said she would recommend the school to those thinking of applying. “I feel like this is a great experience and if you have the chance to do it, do it. You end up learning a lot and taking away a lot of things.”
This year’s distinguished lecturers included scientific experts from ORNL, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Los Alamos National Laboratory and several universities in North America.
For more information about NNS, click here to visit the NNS website.
SNS and HFIR are Department of Energy Office of Science user facilities.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. – Kaeli Dickert
