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Center for Functional Nanomaterials

Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials

Research at Brookhaven National Laboratory

• The foundation on which Brookhaven Lab’s role as a leading center of scientific research is built (and what distinguishes it from most university and corporate research centers) is its strength in designing, developing, building, and operating major research facilities such as the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) – and in part on its expertise in using these world-class facilities to address complex scientific challenges.

• The work done at Brookhaven Lab spans a wide range of basic and applied research in fundamental physics, basic energy sciences and energy technology, the life sciences, nanoscience and nanotechnology, environmental sciences and national security.

• Brookhaven Lab’s strength in these and related areas is reflected in the fact that twelve scientists in the last half-century have been awarded seven Nobel Prizes based on research conducted at the Laboratory.

• More than 3,000 university, corporate, and government researchers – including nearly 700 from universities, companies, and public agencies in New York State – used NSLS, RHIC, CFN and other facilities at Brookhaven National Laboratory in fiscal year 2009 to conduct their own research. Stony Brook University is the single largest source of outside researchers using Brookhaven Lab facilities – accounting for about eight percent of all outside users in fiscal year 2009 and 37 percent of all New York State-based users.

Breadth of Research and Potential Benefits

Research currently or recently conducted at Brookhaven Lab – by its own scientists and by researchers who come to Brookhaven from around the world to use its facilities – illustrates both the breadth of the Lab’s scientific enterprise and its potential benefits. Some examples include:

•  Research that uses RHIC to recreate conditions thought to have existed a microsecond following the Big Bang at the beginning of the universe, helping physicists better understand both the evolution of the universe and the nature of matter;

• Development of superconducting materials that can conduct electricity much more efficiently than conventional copper cables;

• Research that will enhance the productivity and efficiency of plants that could be a source of biofuels in the future;

• Development of a new type of accelerator-driven thorium-based nuclear reactor that would be cleaner, safer, and more secure than uranium-based reactors;

•  Research using biological imaging technology, some of which was developed at Brookhaven Lab, to study the mechanisms of drug addiction, obesity, and other diseases, potentially leading to new and more effective treatments; 

• Development of new types of radiation detectors that will be more efficient and easier to deploy at ports, airports, and other locations that might be vulnerable to radiological attack; and

• Development of new techniques for extracting mercury from contaminated soil.

Global Reach

Although Brookhaven Lab is a national laboratory, its reach is global. For example:

• About 100 institutional partners from 50 countries collaborate on various research programs using RHIC.

• Since 1997, Brookhaven Lab has partnered with RIKEN, one of Japan’s leading scientific institutions, through the RIKEN-BNL Research Center, which is located on the Laboratory campus.

•  The Laboratory also engages in collaborative research with major international companies such as Bayer and Toyota. Researchers from non-U.S. institutions and companies account for about one-sixth of all external users of the Lab’s research facilities.


Fiscal Year 2009 Highlights

By the numbers...

$704 Million

in economic impact generated by Brookhaven Lab and its visitors

$75.2 Million

in goods and services purchased from
New York State companies, including

$62.7 Million

from Long Island companies

$74.7 Million

invested in new facilities and renovations

$45.1 Million

paid to New York State contractors, including

$34.9 Million

to Long Island contractors

$573 Million

in total funding

3,000

employees,

98%

living on Long Island

314

jobs directly supported in construction and related industries in New York State inluding

238

with Long Island contractors

5,400

jobs created throughout New York State

3,000+

visiting researchers from university, corporate and government institutions, nearly

700

from New York State

12%

growth in employment from 2006 to 2009