Brookhaven National Laboratory

Founded in 1947, Brookhaven National Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Brookhaven Science Associates, a non-profit research company.

At Brookhaven, a staff of approximately 3,000 scientists, engineers, and technical support staff work alongside an additional 4,000 scientists and engineers who annually visit the facilities located on Long Island, New York.

Although research at Brookhaven impacts both basic science and national security related science issues, following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Brookhaven established an interdisciplinary working group to tackle specific issues related to counter-terrorism. The focus of the group is to oversee the development of technologies devoted to prediction, detection, and preemption, of terrorism.

An important component of Brookhaven projects is the development of sensors useful in detecting nuclear, chemical, and biological agents. For example, highly sensitive chemical sensors can detect explosives, and radiation detectors are useful in detecting contact with nuclear materials. Highly sensitive detectors are capable of measuring trace amounts in concentrations so small that the sensors can provide evidence of prior contact with suspect materials—even if the materials are no longer physically present.

Facilities at Brookhaven include a thermal neutron imaging camera that can detect radiation source emanation at distances up to approximately 200 feet. In addition, Brookhaven sensor systems utilize a number of physical properties—from laserscattering patterns to microwave probes—to interrogate unknown materials.

Biotechnology research at Brookhaven includes the development of vaccines to combat the deleterious effects of a broad spectrum of biological weapons and chemical nerve gas agents. Antidote treatment research includes the development of topical creams that contain enzymes capable of degrading nerve agents.

To facilitate rescue of individuals in debris of collapsed buildings, Brookhaven engineers designed devices to help remove debris and to image debris fields. Magnetic imaging equipment can locate damaged structural elements (e.g., iron girders) and allow rescue personnel to evaluate structural integrity and identify possible areas of survival.

Brookhaven scientists and engineers developed the Mini-Raman Lidar System (MRLS) that is capable of detecting trace amounts of dangerous chemicals (including illegal narcotics and other drugs). Laser scattering devices can also detect distinct chemical profiles or "fingerprints." MRLS allows investigators to detect those chemical associated with the processing of nuclear fuels. Because MRLS is highly sensitive, inspectors can examine questionable objects from safer distances. In many cases, MRLS can accurately detect trace molecules at distances ranging from three to ten feet. Given the proper environmental controls, MRLS can detect trace molecules at far greater distances.

Another recent national security related project at Brookhaven National Laoratory involved the development of the Large-Volume Radiation Detector that uses compressed xenon as part of a portable, battery powered, room-temperature spectrometer unit. The spectrometer is very sensitive and offers high discrimination and resolution at levels that allow investigators the ability to distinguish between isotopes used in medical products and those associated with prohibited nuclear activities. Investigators are hopeful that the success of the small scale detector will allow construction of larger units using similar technology that are capable of rapidly examining large cargo loads (e.g., bulk cargoes at truck terminals, ports, etc.) at safer "standoff" distances.

Other research facilities include a relativistic heavy ion collider, alternating gradient synchrotron, synchrotron light source, tandem Van de Graaff accelerators, high-field MRI, positron emission tomograpahy (PET) facilities, transmission electron (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscopes, a laser electron accelerator facility (LEAF), and other accelerator test facilities including 60-inch and 40-inch cyclotrons.

Further Reading

Electronic

United States Department of Energy, Office of Science. National Laboratories and User Facilities. <http://www.sc.doe.gov/Sub/Organization/Map/national_labs_and_userfacilities.htm> (March 23, 2003).

United States Department of Homeland Security. Research & Technology. <http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=27&content=374> (March 23, 2003).

Brookhaven National Laboratory. March 26, 2003. <http://www.bnl.gov/world/> (April 2, 2003).

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Motto	"Passion for discovery"
Established	1947
Research Type	Nuclear physics, material physics and chemistry, environmental and biological research
Budget	US$510 million (2007)
Staff	3,000
Location	Upton, New York
Campus	21 km² (5265 acres)
Operating Agency	Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC
Website	www.bnl.gov

Aerial view of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The RHIC ring is visible in the background.

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base. Its name stems from its location in the greater area of the Town of Brookhaven.

Contents 1 Operation 2 Major programs 3 Cancelled programs 4 Major facilities 5 Off site contributions 6 Visitation 7 Nobel Prizes 7.1 Nobel Prize in Physics 7.2 Nobel Prize in Chemistry 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Operation

Brookhaven, which originally was owned by the Atomic Energy Commission, is now owned by the Commission's successor, the United States Department of Energy, which subcontracts the actual research and operation to universities and research organizations. It is currently operated by Brookhaven Science Associates LLC, which is an equal partnership of Stony Brook University and Battelle Memorial Institute. It was operated by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), from 1947 until 1998 when Associated lost the contract in the wake of a scandal when tritium leaked into the Long Island Central Pine Barrens groundwater on which it sits.^[1]

Co-located with the laboratory is the Upton, New York forecast office of the National Weather Service.

BNL is staffed by approximately 3,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel, and hosts 4,000 guest investigators every year. Discoveries made at the lab have won six Nobel Prizes.

The laboratory has its own police station, fire department, and postal code (11973). In total, the lab spans a 5,265-acre (21 km²) area.

Major programs

Although originally conceived as a nuclear research facility, its mission has greatly expanded. Its foci are now:

• Nuclear and high-energy physics^[2]
• Physics and chemistry of materials ^[3]
• Environmental^[4] and energy research^[5]
• Nonproliferation^[6]
• Neurosciences and medical imaging^[7]
• Structural biology^[8]

Cancelled programs

• Rare Symmetry Violating Processes

Major facilities

• Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) (until 2008 the world's biggest particle accelerator) that was designed to research quark-gluon plasma^[9]
• Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) for study nanoscale materials^[10]
• National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) (the lab's most popular machine which is said to have attracted more researchers in the world than any other machine)^[11]
• Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (particle accelerator that was used in three of the lab's Nobel prize research)^[12]
• Accelerator Test Facility (generates, accelerates and monitors particle beams)^[13]
• Tandem Van de Graaff (once the world's largest electrostatic accelerator)^[14]

Beamline at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Off site contributions

It is a contributing partner to ATLAS experiment, one of the four detectors to be located at a new powerful nuclear accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is currently under construction near Geneva, Switzerland.

Brookhaven is also responsible for the design of the SNS accumulator ring in partnership with Spallation Neutron Source in Oakridge, Tennessee.

Visitation

The lab is open to the public on Sundays during the summer for tours and special programs, helping its connection with the surrounding community. The program is referred to as 'Summer Sundays' and takes place from mid-July to mid-August. It features, most notably, a science show and a tour of the facilities. The laboratory also hosts science fairs, science bowls, and robotics competitions for schools in the surrounding area. Per year the Lab estimates that it enhances the science education of roughly 24,000 kindergarten to 12th grade LI students, more than 100 undergraduates, and 550 teachers from across the nation.

Nobel Prizes

Nobel Prize in Physics

• 1957 - Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee - parity laws ^[15]
• 1976 - Samuel C. C. Ting - Psi particle^[16]
• 1980 - James Cronin and Val Logsdon Fitch - CP-violation^[17]
• 1988 - Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz, Jack Steinberger - ^[18] - Neutrino
• 2002 - Raymond Davis, Jr. - Neutrino^[19]

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

• 2003 - Roderick MacKinnon - Ion channel^[20]

See also

• First Video Game [1] [2]

References

1. ^ Atomic Laboratory on Long Island to Be Mighty Research Center - New York Times - March 1, 1947
2. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/physics/
3. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bes/default.asp
4. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/des/
5. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/est/main_e.asp
6. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/nns/
7. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/ctn/
8. ^ http://www.biology.bnl.gov/
9. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/rhic/
10. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/cfn/
11. ^ http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/
12. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/facilities/AGS.asp
13. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/facilities/ATF.asp
14. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/facilities/TVdG.asp
15. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_57.asp
16. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_76.asp
17. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_80.asp
18. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_88.asp
19. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_02.asp
20. ^ http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/history/nobel/nobel_03.asp

• "Dr. Strangelet or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Big Bang"

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brookhaven National Laboratory

• Brookhaven National Lab Official Website
• Physics Today: DOE Shuts Brookhaven Lab’s HFBR in a Triumph of Politics Over Science
  • Summer Sundays 2005 tour at Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Annotated bibliography for Brookhaven Laboratory from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
• Headlines

Coordinates: 40°52′24″N 72°52′19″W / 40.873346°N 72.872057°W / 40.873346; -72.872057

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