The Department of Energy issued the CD-4b resolution approving
the start of full operations on October 1, marking the completion of
the process of supplying and furnishing Argonne's newest user facility.
“The CNM building opened for research in May 2006, but the
time since has been spent largely setting up the facility, including
hiring,” said Katie Carrado Gregar, manager of the CNM's User
and Outreach Programs.
“The CNM will provide access to some of the most
advanced nanoscience technology in the world, for roughly 200 users a
year from around the nation and the world who will come to Argonne to
take advantage of its unique resources,” she explained.
Approximately 50 user projects have been able to take
advantage of the facility so far, and the recent completion of the hard
x-ray nanoprobe beamline this summer and the installation of a
Beowulf-class supercomputer array with 12 teraflop capacity for
computational and experimental nanoscience is expected to engender more
interest in the CNM's facilities.
"The past 17 months were devoted to hiring world-class
researchers, installing major pieces of equipment, laboratory
instrumentation, IT networks, and office furniture," Gregar said. "It
has been an extraordinarily busy time to fully equip the building, but
at the same time we have been committed to allowing both basic research
and user programs to take place as facilities were commissioned."
With the assembly of the facility complete, employees at the
CNM will now be able to focus entirely on their research and on
facilitating the nearly 90 new user projects that were submitted during
the July 2007 call-for-proposals.
Argonne National Laboratory, a renowned R&D center,
brings the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find
exciting and creative new solutions to pressing national problems in
science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne
conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in
virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely
with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal,
state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific
problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the
nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations,
Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of
Energy's Office of Science.