UK and China to Bring Together Neutron Expertise

An agreement has been signed to promote collaboration between STFC’s ISIS Neutron Source and the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The CSNS is currently under construction in Dongguan city, Guangdong Province and is set to become China’s national facility in 2018.

The memorandum of understanding commits the two facilities to establishing a series of cooperative research programs in various technologies relating to pulsed spallation neutron sources, with the aim of sharing development tasks to make the most efficient use of resources. Examples of shared areas of development could include neutron choppers, shielding and optics, detectors, targets, moderators and instrument control software. The agreement is initially for five years.

Professor Robert McGreevy, ISIS Director, says, “I’m delighted in the signing of this MoU with China – the China Spallation Neutron Source will be a valuable addition to the international neutron community and we look forward to helping them deliver a cutting edge facility. In return ISIS will benefit in working with Chinese scientists and engineers on shared engineering projects.”

Professor Hesheng Chen, Director of the China Spallation Neutron Source, says, “ISIS are a world-leading facility and so their expertise will be invaluable in building a world-class facility to support the Chinese scientific community.”