[Neutron] LANSCE-November 2010 User Program Headlines

[Aundrea]

November 24,2010


Colleagues,



Hope you are finding the monthly letter useful.  If you would like to  
be removed from the LANCE Users Letter or have any suggestions for  
future topics , please contact Aundrea Espinosa, e-mail  
aundrea at lanl.gov.



Science Highlight: Automated sample changer – HIPPO Instrument

Science Highlight: Fission Time Projection Chamber

Announcement: Proton Radiography Proposal Call

Announcement: Rosen Prize



Science Highlight

  A versatile automated sample changer for texture measurements on the  
high pressure-preferred orientation at LANSCE
In the business of hosting neutron diffraction users, efficiency is  
paramount. Short count times per sample on modern neutron  
diffractometers allow for high sample throughput. In order to optimize  
the usage of available neutron flux and reduce the instrument downtime  
due to closing and opening of shutters as well as alignment of  
samples, an automation of sample changes is essential. An automated  
sample changer with an Eulerian cradle for neutron texture  
measurements is in operation at LANSCE-LC for the HIPPO (high pressure- 
preferred Orientation) instrument. The system was developed and  
improved by H. M. Reiche (NMSU and LANSCE-LC) and S. C. Vogel (LANSCE- 
LC). The device has been successfully measuring over 2300 texture and  
almost 400 powder samples at ambient conditions since it became  
operational. A detailed review of the instrument and sample automated  
charger is published in the Review of Scientific Instrumentation  
(REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 81, 093302 (2010)).




Science Highlight

First beam tests with the Fission Time Projection Chamber


Because conventional techniques for measuring fission cross sections  
are limited to 3-5% uncertainty, scientists proposed a new approach–a  
Time Projection Chamber (TPC)–to meet the uncertainty requirement. The  
Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE)  
collaboration, which includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,  
Los Alamos, Idaho National Laboratory, and six university partners; is  
developing the detector. A prototype TPC was shipped from Livermore to  
Los Alamos in July, and was installed on a beam line at LANSCE. The  
prototype has two out of 192 segments instrumented, which allows 64  
channels to be read out. Proton recoil induced by the neutron beam  
interacting with the gas in the TPC chamber created the measured  
track. As part of the NIFFTE project, two LANSCE summer students, Dana  
Duke and Nicholas Fuller, won a poster award in the Physics Category  
at the recent Student Symposium for their research on the TPC gas  
handling system.

Announcement

FY12 Proton Radiography Proposal Call

LANSCE is issuing a Call for Proposals for experiments to be carried  
out at the Proton Radiography Facility (pRad) during FY12 (October 1,  
2011 – September 30, 2012) with consideration for extensions into  
FY13. All experiments whether they are dynamic, static, classified, or  
unclassified must have a corresponding proposal submitted to the  
Program Advisory Committee (PAC). All proposals that cover work that  
is continuing or are an extension of work being done this year (FY11)  
must attach either a progress report, a final shot report, or a  
published paper on the results of that work. To submit a proposal,  
please visit the web link http://lansce.lanl.gov/prad/. Proposal  
deadline is January 25, 2011.


Announcement


Rosen Prize deadline extended to December 20, 2010

The deadline for the 23rd Louis Rosen Prize. The Prize, consisting of  
$1000 and a plaque, is awarded for the outstanding Ph.D. or M.S.  
thesis based on experimental or theoretical research performed at  
LANSCE. The thesis must have been completed between April 1st 2007,  
and Oct 1st 2010, to be eligible. To nominate a thesis for the Rosen  
Prize, the following information must be received by December 20th  
2010: (1) a PDF of the thesis, (2) the student’s curriculum vitae, (3)  
a one page statement from the student describing his/her contribution  
to the research, an assessment of the importance of the research, and  
publications resulting from the research, and (4) a statement from the  
student’s research director describing the student’s role in the  
research and its scientific impact.
Submissions should be emailed to: Aundrea Espinosa, LANSCE User  
Office, e-mail: aundrea at lanl.gov









-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://neutronsources.org/pipermail/neutron/attachments/20101124/b94bede0/attachment-0002.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: user-news-banner-3.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 13468 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://neutronsources.org/pipermail/neutron/attachments/20101124/b94bede0/attachment-0002.jpg>