Purpose of the NSSA

The purpose of the Society shall be the advancement of neutron scattering research in the United States.  Pursuant to this purpose, the society shall undertake the following:

    (a) Identify and bring together the neutron scattering community of the U.S.A.

    (b) Identify the needs of the neutron scattering community, including future requirements for instrumentation and sources, and to represent these needs to the neutron facilities and funding agencies.

    (c) To stimulate, promote, and broaden the use of neutron scattering in science and technology.

    (d) To carry out educational activities that support the above goals.

    (e) To engage in other activities deemed appropriate and necessary for attaining the objectives of the Society.

From the Preamble to the Constitution of the NSSA:

Over the past 40 years the unique characteristics of the neutron as a probe of condensed matter has transformed much of our fundamental understanding of the physics and chemistry of materials. During the last two decades new generations of cold, thermal and epithermal neutron instruments have been developed that have extended the wave vector range and energy resolution of neutron scattering experiments by orders of magnitude. These developments, along with more powerful research reactors and pulsed spallation sources, have opened up new research possibilities in physics and chemistry, and greatly expanded the applications of neutron scattering into other areas, especially materials science, polymer science, and biology.

Concomitant with these exciting developments, the Neutron Scattering Society of America is formed to provide a forum to discuss scientific issues, major facilities and instrumentation needed for world-class research in neutron scattering. The main goal of the Society is to stimulate, promote and broaden the use of neutron scattering in science, engineering and technology.