Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory<\/a>, or TUNL as it\u2019s so affectionately called, is a place like no other.<\/p>\nOne of only four Department of Energy Centers of Excellence for Nuclear Physics in the nation, TUNL brings together the resources of three universities: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State University. And what makes this environment even more special is the focus on, and importance of, research over institutional boundaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody thinks of themselves as being from State or Duke or Carolina,\u201d said Chris Gould, professor of physics at NC State. \u201cPeople working together do really great things in every field. You just have to be willing to share the credit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five decades of credit \u2014 because this month, TUNL celebrates 50 years of collaboration and success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have lasted where other universities have failed because of the proximity of the three campuses and the fact that the critical number of people here make it possible,\u201d said Tom Clegg, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n
The allure of TUNL drew Clegg and Gould to Duke University, where the lab is located, in 1968 and 1969, respectively. TUNL Director Calvin Howell joined the team first as a Duke graduate student before later joining the Duke faculty.<\/p>\n
Three particle accelerators draw today\u2019s curious minds to TUNL. The tandem Van de Graaff accelerator \u2014 the lab\u2019s first accelerator upon acceptance of a $2.5 million award from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in 1965 \u2014 helps researchers study the attractive forces that hold a nucleus together. The newest accelerator at TUNL, HIGS (High Intensity Gamma-Ray Source) produces extremely bright beams of gamma rays that help scientists shed light on the structure of a nucleus. Lastly, beams from an accelerator within the Laboratory for Nuclear Experimental Astrophysics, or LENA, simulate conditions that allow scientists to study how rare nuclear reactions occurring in stars created the chemical elements we all know.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese tools helps us investigate physics on very large distance scales to physics on very small distance scales,\u201d said Mohammad Ahmed, professor of physics at\u00a0North Carolina Central University and Duke. \u201cFrom nuclear phenomena responsible for events that are galactic and major, to events that are nanometers in scale. That\u2019s why this is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
But at the end of the day, what\u2019s most important to the leaders at TUNL are the graduate students and the things they achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cTUNL educates students for a broad range of professions \u2014 the private sector, academia, federal government and even medicine,\u201d Howell said. \u201cThis is one of our great traditions that we are very proud of currently, and that we, in our vision for the future, see as continuing and getting stronger as we reach out to broader communities of people who can contribute to the nation in nuclear physics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Story by Alyssa LaFaro, UNC Research. Video by Carly Swain, Office of Communications and Public Affairs.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of only four Department of Energy Centers of Excellence for Nuclear Physics in the nation, TUNL brings together the resources of three universities: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke Universit, and North Carolina State University. 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