Nuclear Science and Technology

One of the main missions of the Department is to advance the core intellectual disciplines necessary to achieve new, beneficial applications of nuclear and radiation science and technology. The methods used for bio-molecular structure determination, medical imaging, radiation-based therapy, contraband detection, determining the chemical and physical properties of nano- and meso-scopic systems, and the engineering of such systems for applications in quantum information processing, and many others all rely on nuclear methods, instruments and analysis techniques for these and other nuclear applications. By necessity these are multi-disciplinary endeavors. Nuclear Science and Technology applications to Biology is a research field where advances in microscopic radiation delivery and detection are coupled with advances in biochemistry to enable new understanding of processes at the biochemical level. We have active research programs in macroscopic radiation biology, NMR microscopy, isotope imaging, molecular contrast agents for MR imaging, and selective delivery of radiation cells. The knowledge gained through these studies has direct applications in neuroscience, understanding the mechanisms of radiation damage, and cancer therapy.

Quantum Information Processing (QIP) is an emerging field where the ability to engineer controllable quantum systems can lead to significant increases in computational power, secure communications bandwidth, and the understanding of multi-body physics. New technology and methodology permits the control and observation of the phase radiation and particle characteristics. This in turn introduces the possibility of more precise measurements and quantum information processing. The control of nuclear spins is proving to be essential in all solid state approaches to QIP and we are the leaders in developing the understanding, methodologies and engineering for controlled spin manipulations. Nuclear Science and Technology applications to Nano-science are exploding as new photon and neutron sources come on line with greater intensity and energy resolution. The distance and time over which chemistry and physics can be explored are being pushed out further, and new methods and instrumentation are developed to take advantage of this. The new instruments provide us with experimental data, and new methods of multi-scale simulations will enable us to integrate it into an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the unique properties of nano-scale structures and devices. Applications include biomolecular structure determination, materials science and the design of materials with novel properties.