HFBR Research Accomplishments

Biology and Medicine

The structure of the "protein factory" of the cell, the 16-part ribosome, was first discerned at the HFBR, as was the structure of myelin, the protein that coats nerve cells. New uses of radioactive isotopes were developed at the HFBR for treating cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and other medical disorders. One new chemical compound for relieving the excruciating pain of advanced cancer that has spread to the bone was tested in clinical trials of 45 patients. The treatment significantly reduced or totally eliminated the pain in 75 percent of the patients. Preliminary research at the HFBR on preventing recurring cardiovascular disease indicated that short-range radiation, affecting only the arteries in question, could be applied.

Condensed Matter Physics

The understanding of one-, two-, and three-dimensional magnets near their critical temperatures gained at the HFBR helped scientists formulate and test Nobel prize-winning theories of cooperative ordering in large collections of atoms. HFBR scientists addressed the riddle of superconductivity at temperatures above 90 degrees kelvin in high temperature superconductors, demonstrating a relationship between this phenomenon and magnetism. Physicists also used the HFBR to study unusual behavior, such as superfluidity, found in quantum liquids and solids, materials with a kinetic energy that nearly equals their binding energy even at low temperatures.

Nuclear Physics

Nuclear physicists have looked for regularities in the often complex structural organization of protons and neutrons in nuclei. Other experiments yielded data on the lifetimes and decays of many unstable, neutron-rich nuclei. Among these is zinc-80, an isotope important to astrophysicists in the study of supernovae. HFBR scientists created many useful nuclear isotopes, such as copper-64,used to create positrons and positronium beams. These probes are valuable in examining surfaces to look for trace impurities in the semiconducting materials used in the electronics industry.

Chemistry

The HFBR allowed researchers to study the basic nature of chemical structures, including the hydrogen bond that holds much of nature together. HFBR scientists determined the structures of the 23 amino acids, which make up every protein in every cell in living things.

Awards for Research Conducted at the HFBR

American Physical Society Buckley Awards

• G. Shirane, Phonons and Structural Instabilities
• R. Birgeneau, Low-Dimaensional Magnetism

American Crystallographic Association Warren Awards

• J. Axe and G. Shirane, Structural Phase Transformations
• R. Birgeneau and P. Horn, Low-Dimensional Phase Transformations

DOE E.O. Lawrence Awards

• M. Blume, Theiry of Magnetic Neutron Scattering
• B. Schoenborn, Appication of Neutrons to Structural biology

Alexander Von Humboldt Awards

• G. Shirane, Neutron Scattering Studies
• R. Casten, Nuclear Structure Studies

DOE Material Sciences Awards

• J. Axe, Structural Phase Transformations
• L. Tanner, S. Shapiro, J. Larese, B. Yang, D. Schryvers and S. Moss, Neutron Studies of Martensitic Alloys
• J. Tranquada, G. Shirane, R. Birgenau & M. Kastner, Spin Dynamics of High Temperature Superconductors

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE’s Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

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