ORNL’s National Neutron Scattering School prepares next generation

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) welcomed 60 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to its campus for the second annual National Neutron Scattering (NNS) School, held at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) Aug. 29-Sept. 4.

Attendees were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants interested in expanding their fields of study to include neutron techniques.

Jon Taylor, associate laboratory director for ORNL's Neutron Sciences Directorate, welcomed students on the school's first day.

"Neutron science is a critical part of the lab's broad scientific portfolio, and we are here to do big science with great impact," Taylor said. "You are the next generation of scientists. You're here this week to better understand neutrons and what the data means, and the hope is that in 20-30 years, you'll be the ones making impactful discoveries to help society and progress humanity."

ORNL Neutron Scattering Division Director Mark Lumsden welcomed the students with an overview of the lab's user facilities. Growing the user community means training the next generation of neutron scientists now, he said.

"Generally speaking, neutron science relies on a healthy ecosystem of the facilities, and we've been working on a neutron roadmap to integrate more university-based facilities," Lumsden said. "Students like you are essential and critical to the growth of our community."

The school's agenda included a series of lectures and seminars presented by researchers from academia, industry and national laboratories, as well as basic tutorials on the application of scattering methods to a variety of scientific subjects.

"We had people from research groups who have never used neutron scattering before to groups who are experts," said Michelle Dolgos, ORNL's user program outreach lead and organizer of this year's school. Dolgos explained that the school offers graduate students a very wide breadth of lectures where they learn different neutron scattering techniques.

Students' familiarity with neutron science varied, with some students relatively new to the field and others, like Ahmad Raza, a graduate research assistant at Florida State University, with some experience.

"I was here over the summer with my group where we performed experiments at three different instruments, but the school has given me an opportunity to explore even more areas of research that can be done here," said Raza.

Some students who were already familiar with neutrons but new to the lab, like Palani Ganesh Karthikeyan, a doctoral student from Mississippi State University, were excited for the chance to perform experiments.

"It's a great experience for me to be here and learn much more about the instruments that before I was just seeing online," said Karthikeyan.

He said he would recommend others apply to next year's school. "The school grants access to something many people can't get in universities, like such sophisticated instruments and entry to a national laboratory. These kinds of opportunities should definitely be considered by students so that they will get real hands-on exposure that will help them in their future careers."

The school also gave attendees the chance to meet other students and experts in the field of neutron scattering.

Michelle Sandag, a doctoral student from the University of Delaware, said this was her first time at a neutron scattering facility. "I really wanted to get more information on how to do the experiments and what we can measure out of them. My favorite part was the Rheological Small Angle Scattering experiments, because that's the kind of experiment that I work with. It was very helpful to get tips and tricks from a real expert."

For Jyotimala Jadhav, a graduate research assistant at Wayne State University, she appreciated the connections the school provides.

"The way the program is arranged, we have so many opportunities to network with fellow students as well as with scientists from each department," said Jadhav. "Through these connections, we're creating potential opportunities that we otherwise wouldn't have."

For more information about NNS, click here to visit the NNS website. You can also watch a video about this year's school here.

SNS and HFIR are Department of Energy Office of Science user facilities. In 2026, HFIR celebrated 60-plus years of operating at full power and SNS celebrated 20 years of safe operations and scientific achievements.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. - Kaeli Dickert