Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory

Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory

Established	1965 (1965)
Research type	Nuclear Physics
Director	Arthur Champagne
Staff	100
Location	Durham, North Carolina, United States
Campus	TUNL is located on Duke University's West Campus
Operating agency	Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University
Website	tunl.duke.edu

The Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory, abbreviated as TUNL (pronounced as "tunnel"), is a tripartite research consortium operated by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. The laboratory is located on the West Campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. TUNL now draws researchers from from several other universities in addition to members from the founding universities.

TUNL viewed from behind, exposing the concrete wall of the usually obscured lab level

Research at TUNL is focused on nuclear physics, including studies on Nuclear structure, Nuclear astrophysics, and Hadron structure. TUNL also conducts applied research, investigating the applications of nuclear physics to topics such as National security, Public health, and Plant physiology.

Equipment used at TUNL includes two Van de Graaff accelerators: an FN Tandem accelerator capable of a terminal voltage of 10 megavolts (the centerpiece of the lab), and a 1 megavolt single-ended JN accelerator used for nuclear astrophysics studies. Experiments involving the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with nuclear matter are frequently conducted at a neighboring facility, the Duke Free Electron Laser Laboratory; along with collaborative efforts, TUNL is increasingly involved in off-site experiments, such as proposed research activities at the Kimballton mine in Virginia.

History

The Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory was established in 1965, with a $2.5 Million grant from the United States Atomic Energy Commission providing the funding for a new 15 MeV Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator as well as a 15 MeV Cyclotron. After three years of construction and testing, the new accelerator facility became operational in December of 1968. The Tandem Generator and the Cyclotron at TUNL were combined into what was named a Cyclo-Graaff accelerator. Ions would first be accelerated in the Cyclotron. Then, once the initial energy was high enough, the beam from the cyclotron would be injected into the Tandem Generator where it would be further accelerated. Using the accelerators together effectively doubled the maximum energy that the lab could reach when compared to the energies of each individual accelerator. This combination, the Cyclo-Graaff, would be used by Henry Newson to study Nuclear Structure until his death in 1978.