Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences

The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences(CNMS) was the first to open of the five Nanoscale Science Research Centers the United States Department of Energy sponsors. The Center's location is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The CNMS is a collaborative nanoscience user research facility for the synthesis, characterization, theory/ modeling/ simulation, and design of nanoscale materials and is co-located with Spallation Neutron Source.

Overview

The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is one of five nanoscience research centers (NSRCs) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Scientific User Facilities Division. It provides a diverse user community – predominantly in the US but also internationally - with access to state-of-the-art nanoscience research capabilities, expertise, and equipment. The scientists at the CNMS also drive a world class science program with emphasis in theory and simulation, nanofab¬rication, macromolecular synthesis and characterization, and understanding of structure, dynamics and functionality in nanostructured materials using scanning probe microscopy, neutron scattering, optical spectroscopy, and soft-matter electron and helium ion microscopy. The CNMS annually hosts more than 400 unique users who respond to its biannual proposal calls. The vibrant and growing CNMS user community conducts research addressing a vast array of science and technology questions, drawing on support from an equally broad array of funding agencies. Members of the community represent academia (>50%); national laboratories (~35%); international institutions (~10%); and industry (~4%).

Materials science

The interdisciplinary field of materials science, also commonly known as materials science and engineering, involves the discovery and design of new materials, with an emphasis on solids. The intellectual origins of materials science stem from the Enlightenment, when researchers began to use analytical thinking from chemistry, physics, and engineering to understand ancient, phenomenological observations in metallurgy and mineralogy. Materials science still incorporates elements of physics, chemistry, and engineering. As such, the field was long thought of as a sub-field of these related fields. In recent years, materials science has become more widely recognized as a specific and distinct field of science and engineering. Many of the most pressing scientific problems humans currently face are due to the limitations of the materials that are available and, as a result, breakthroughs in materials science are likely to have a significant impact on the future of technology.