The 80,000-square-foot building will house CNMS staff and users and will be located adjacent to the Spallation Neutron Source, a neutron-scattering facility also under construction at ORNL.
Work on the CNMS is expected to begin in August 2003 and to be completed in March 2005. The CNMS will be fully operational in September 2006, following installation of technical equipment required to make and characterize nanoscale materials.
Nanoscale refers to the size of clusters of small numbers of atoms, and research at the CNMS will provide understanding of the unique physical, chemical, and biological properties that emerge at this small scale. Nanoscale research is expected to benefit many different fields, including biotechnology, medicine, electronics, transportation, energy generation and efficiency, the environment, national security and many others.
Developed in partnership with the future scientific user community, the CNMS will provide a multidisciplinary environment for scientists and researchers from the United States and abroad who are engaged in nanoscale research. The research will integrate nanoscale science with neutron science, synthesis science and theory/modeling/simulation-bringing together four areas in which there are clear international research needs.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.