Submission to the ICSU Foresight exercise from AONSA,
the Asia-Oceania Neutron Scattering AssociationPreamble
This submission prepared for the ICSU Foresight exercise 2010 is from the Asia-Oceania
Neutron Scattering Association, AONSA, recently formed by the coming together ofassociations in Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea,Malaysia and Singapore. The large investment being made in nuclear and materialscience using nuclear facilities in Asia-Oceania has brought these associations together,through them AONSA reaches more than 1400 members.
AONSA's program is to support student summer schools, international conferences andpromote collaboration across the region in the effective and complementary use of thenew facilities that are being created or are available to all countries in our membership. It
is our hope to intersect with the ICSU regional office in this work.
This submission wishes to recognize the important overarching benefits of ICSU in thepast and suggest, for the Foresight exercise, the strategic importance in our region of thepromotion of science through unrestricted international collaboration according to thegeneral principles of the ICSU charter.
Outline of submission:
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ICSU’s agreed principle of universality of science
Potential for International collaboration in research through new networks
Benefits of international research collaborations
Drivers of scientific research into the future"Collaboration in science, its progress and benefits to the societies"
Appendices (Introduction to AONSA, Regional Strengths)

1.
The Asia-Oceania Neutron Scattering Association, AONSA, has as its primaryaim, the promotion of science in the Asia-Oceania region in the most open and free way
and AONSA wholeheartedly endorses the ICSU principle of the Universality of Science:“This principle embodies freedom of movement, association, expression andcommunication for scientists, as well as equitable access to data, information andresearch materials…. (and ICSU) opposes any discrimination on the basis of suchfactors as ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, language, political stance, gender, sex
or age.”As the range of scientific disciplines expands, so does the need for this overarching bodyof ICSU to promote the unfettered interaction of international scientists in research, atmeetings and conferences, and also to support the work of associations of scientists set upin specific discipline areas. This principle has been of great value to the Scientific Unions.
We advocate closer ties to them and cooperation with newly formed Associations.

2.
The current and projected, advanced neutron scattering facilities in the AsiaOceania region offer potential for international cooperation which closely resembles that
present in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s. Then, the science of neutron scattering wasshowing its scientific promise in physical, chemical and biological sciences. The InstitutLaue Langevin, ILL, in Grenoble was established jointly by the French and German
governments in 1967 and became a major focus bringing their scientists and nations
together in the then early stages of the European Community. Other nations collaborated,the ISIS spallation neutron source and UK partnership followed. Now, ten European
countries have ‘scientific membership’ and durable international collaborations between
universities, other nuclear centres and ILL flourish. Access through contestable “useroriented' scientific programs make Europe a prime example of the way in which longterm scientific collaborations between nations flow from such investments.
3.
The ILL’s experience of putting into practice ‘the universality of science’
demonstrates the value of international research collaboration for breaking down barriersof ethnicity, gender, political or religious background as well as promoting the exciting
and free interchange of scientific ideas through close cooperation during the progress ofexperimentation. The AONSA executive is committed to this same principle ofuniversality through its member associations and intends that the parent organization will
be seen as an effective mechanism for harmonious investigation and exploitation ofneutron-based research in the region.
AONSA anticipates similar success in the Asia-Oceania region. International
collaborative research, through scientific and technological access to the new and existing
national facilities will be facilitated. Two international ‘summer schools’ (Korea andAustralia) have already been held since AONSA’s formation in 2008, with planning for athird in India in 2010 in hand. The practice has been developed whereby the hostassociation has about half of the students with the other half coming from all over theregion, on a competitive basis and supported financially through AONSA.
Appendix 1 sets out the current Membership of the Asia-Oceania Neutron Scattering
Association together with an extract from its Articles of Association setting out its aims.
Appendix 2 outlines some of the facilities of the AONSA member countries.
4.

Science and technology drivers

We identify as major scientific drivers of the next 20 years, human sustenance and worldenergy needs. The training and international cooperation in nuclear-related science andtechnology provided through AONSA is relevant to both of these. The materials and life
sciences and nuclear transmutation thrusts, for example of J-PARC illustrate therelevance to:• Environmental cleanup and water resources, improved solar energy capture in
artificial photosynthesis, and solar power, all of which need deeper
understandings and mimicry of natural processes through new materials.

•5.

Nuclear energy in our region - which will play a significant role in the balancing
the energy "budget". The large investments in the Asia-Pacific region made since2000 in nuclear technology and in infrastructure will give the region a leadingedge in science and training to underpin long term scenarios.
"Collaboration in science, its progress and benefits to the societies"

This charge in the Foresight exercise was expressed as:“Fundamentally, such science requires (large scale) international collaboration ofscientists in research and in research infrastructures. The evolving nature ofinternational science is one of the key areas to be explored in this foresight. The
term ‘science’ is understood to include all domains of science (i.e., natural, social,human, medical and engineering sciences).”
One of the first outcomes from sustained international collaboration is cross-fertilisationof ideas by merging cultural perspectives of importance and scientific style. The
evidence is that this trend is good for scientific productivity and quality.
AONSA’s strategic plan in this area to boost collaborative research “productivity”. InAsia Oceania such cooperation already has a strong base. The recently released OECD
STI Scoreboard 2009 noted that:“Researchers are increasingly networked across national and organization borders.
Moreover, international co-authorship has been growing as fast as domestic coauthorship…. Scientific articles from Latin-America have more than tripled since
1993 and those from south-east Asian economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Thailand and Vietnam) expanded almost three times over the period.
A second and equally important outcome is the mutual comprehension and cultural
understanding that comes from collaborative work. This has been particularly
remarkable in collaborations which have needed to use large central facilities inastronomy, nuclear physics, neutron scattering, synchrotron radiations, Antarctic researchetc. The intergenerational consequences of this social outcome from the current
developments in the Asia Oceania may be of great value in a common approach to thesocietal stresses that our region is bound to face in the next 30 years.

Professor John W White CMG FAA FRSPresident of AONSA
Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University
Canberra
Australia 0200
jww@rsc.anu.edu.auAPPENDIX 1
AONSA is an Association of Associations – our constitution is framed to minimize
national distinctions.
Membership of AONSA (2010)

http://j-parc.jp/MatLife/en/AONSA/index.html

Members (from Affiliated Societies)•
Australian Neutron Beam User Group (ANBUG)•India Neutron Scattering Society (INSS)•Japanese Society for Neutron Science (JSNS)•Korean Neutron Beam User Association (KNBUA)•Taiwan Neutron Science Society (TWNSS)

Observers (from major facilities, new projects, non-paying societies etc.)
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO)
China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS)
China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR)
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
Indonesian National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN)
Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC)
Japan Research Reactor -3 (JRR-3)
Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)
Malaysian Nuclear Agency
Membership and observer status will be extended as appropriate in the region after
consideration by AONSA. Other important sources exist or are under construction in theregion. For example in China CPHS and Japan, Hokkaido University has a neutron
source based on their electron linac and Kyoto Univeristy (KUR) has 5MW Research
Reactor and 60 staff.
Extract from its Articles of Association

Article 1: Status
The Asia-Oceania Neutron Scattering Association (hereafter referred to as theAssociation) is an affiliation of neutron scattering societies, which directly represent
users in the Asia-Oceania Region. The overriding purposes of the Association are toprovide a platform for discussion and a focus for action in neutron scattering and related
topics in the Asia-Oceania Region.Article 2: Aims(i)

To identify the needs of the neutron scattering community in Asia and Oceania.

(ii)

To promote optimised use of present neutron sources in the region.

(iii)

To stimulate and promote neutron scattering activities and training in the Region,and in particular to support the opportunities for young scientists.

(iv)

To support long-term planning of future neutron sources.

(v)

To assist with the co-ordination of the development and construction ofinstruments for neutron scattering.

(vi)

To promote channels of communication with industry.

(vii)

To disseminate to the wider community information which demonstrates thepowerful capabilities of neutron scattering techniques and other neutron methods.

(viii) To assist, if appropriate, affiliated bodies in the pursuit of their own goals.
(ix)
To facilitate cooperation and networking amongst the neutron sources in theregion.

APPENDIX 2 – Some major facility investments in Asia Oceania

Extracts from websites
Australia:
OPAL – the Open Pool Australian Light water reactor was opened in 2007. It is a 20MW
reactor using low enriched uranium and cooled by water. OPAL is used by members ofthe scientific, medical, environmental, industrial and security communities, as well asAustralian universities mainly for:• Irradiation of target materials to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial
applications• Research in the field of materials science using neutron beams and associatedinstruments• Analysis of minerals and samples using neutron activation techniques - and delayed
neutron activation techniques• Irradiation of silicon ingots (termed Neutron Transmission Doping or NTP) for use
in the manufacture of electronic semiconductor devices.
Built at an initial cost of AU$328M, the Australian Government subsequently provided
AU$ 46M and AU$37M for instrumentation.

China –CSNSThe China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) is an accelerator based multidiscipline user
facility to be built in Dongguan, Guangdong, China. The CSNS complex consists of annegative hydrogen linear accelerator, a rapid cycling proton synchrotron accelerating thebeam to 1.6 GeV, a solid tungsten target station, and initially 3 instruments for neutronscattering applications. The facility operates at 25 Hz repetition rate with an initial design
beam power of 120 kW and is upgradeable to 500 kW. The primary challenge is to build
a robust and reliable user's facility with upgrade potential at a fraction of "worldstandard" cost as constrained by a tight budget. The strategy is to glean the knowledge
and knowhow that are currently lacking through international cooperation so that theresponsible organizations of the project, the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) andthe Institute of Physics (IoP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, can develop and test
prototypes of all the major components. Eventually, the technology will be transferred todomestic industry for production at lower costs. Meanwhile, IHEP and IoP will establish
a scheme to work with universities in seeking external funding for building additional
world-class scattering instruments. Construction of the CSNS is expected to begin in2010 and will take 78 months to complete.
CARR
The CARR of the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), located in the southwest
suburb, Fang Shan, of Beijing, is to succeed the Heavy Water Research Reactor (HWRR)
that retired in 2007 after 50 years of operation. Currently with all major construction
completed, CARR is expected to reach criticality in 2010. It is a 60 MW tank-in-pool
type reactor using a D2O reflector for inverse neutron trap, designed to yield an optimal
thermal neutron flux of 8x1014 n/cm2/s. The Neutron Scattering Laboratory (NSL)—auser facility—under CARR is to conduct neutron-scattering for fundamental researchutilizing 7 horizontal beam tubes, 4 of them accommodating dual ports, of the reactor.
One of these beam tubes will transmit neutrons from a cold source to the guide hall via
four neutron guides that were purchased abroad. Installation of all major reactor
components except the cold source has been completed. Through collaborativeagreements a number of instrumental components have been relocated to CARR: a tripleaxis spectrometer, a four-circle diffractometers and a texture diffractometer from Jülich
Center for Neutron Science, Germany and a residual stress diffractometer from Studsvik
Neutron Research Laboratory, Sweden. Participation research teams (PRTs) also play akey role in development of additional beamlines and scientific programs. For example, aPRT from the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) isbuilding a small-angle scattering instrument and a reflectometer. Another PRT from theInstitute of Physics of CAS is building a triple-axis spectrometer. These beamlines inconjunction with two in-house powder diffractometers will constitute a suite ofinstruments offering a broad range of capabilities to users starting in 2010.
CPHS
The CPHS is a newly approved project led by the Department of Engineering Physics ofthe Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The primary parameters of the CPHS protonaccelerator are: power on target 16 kW, energy 13 MeV, average and peak beam current

1.25 and 50 mA respectively, pulse repetition rate 50 Hz, and pulse width ~0.5 ms. Phase
I of the neutron source consists of a neutron target station (Be target, a solid-methane
moderator and a H2O reflector), and two beamlines: a small-angle neutron scattering
instrument and an imaging/radiography station. The first phase of the CPHS Project is tobe completed in 2012. Phase 2 will expand to include additional neutron beamlines and aproton research platform.

India
The Indian Neutron Scattering Society (INSS) was formed in June 2008 with an objective
to promote the research and development activities of neutron-scattering science andapplications and with members from both academic institutions and industry. A National
Facility for Neutron Beam Research has been operating for nearly two decades at Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre for basic and applied research in condensed matter science.
A national facility for neutron beam research is operated at the research reactor Dhruva at
Trombay in India. The national facility comprises eight neutron-scattering spectrometersin the reactor hall, and another four spectrometers in the neutron-guide laboratory.
The national facility is utilized in collaboration with various universities and otherinstitutions.

Indonesia
BATAN has the following functions:• To assess and prepare the national policy in the field of research, development,
and the beneficial uses of nuclear energy,• To coordinate functional activities in implementing all the duties of BATAN,• To support and foster activities of government institutions in the field of research,development and beneficial uses of nuclear energy,• To conduct general administrative services in the field of general planning,administration, organization and procedures, personnel management, financing,archiving, procurement as well as education and training.
In 1965, the operation of the first research reactor (Triga Mark II) was inaugurated inBandung. In order to improve mastery of nuclear science and technology, several
research & development and engineering facilities were built, including the Nuclear
Technology Research Centre of Pasar Jumat, Jakarta in 1966, and the Nuclear
Technology Research Centre of GAMA, Yogyakarta in 1967, where the Kartini research
reactor was then built in 1979.
To further support the nuclear energy program, R&D and engineering facilities, the 30
MW Multipurpose Research Reactor was inaugurated in 1987. It's supporting laboratories,
including facilities for fuel fabrication of research and power reactors, reactor safetytesting, production of radioisotope and radiopharmaceuticals, management of radioactivewastes and other nuclear facilities have been built in the PUSPIPTEK science andtechnology research complex in Serpong.
In 2000 was the inauguration of the upgrading of the Triga Research Reactor to 2 MW at
the Bandung Nuclear Complex and in 2003 saw the beginning of operation of the 350
keV, 10 mA Electron Beam Machine in the Yogyakarta Nuclear Complex.
Japan(a)Japan Research Reactor – JRR-3

This reactor was originally built in 1963 and fully refurbished in 1990 as thermal power
20MW, thermal neutron flux 3x1014n/cm2/sec and with a cold neutron source
accompanied with a guide hall building.
Currently it has accommodated 30 neutronscattering, 2 neutron radiography and 2 prompt γ-ray analysis instruments and a total
number of users is about 17,000 person x day / year. Two major users programs havebeen conducted by JAEA for general users including industrial researchers and by theUniversity of Tokyo for university users based on its own 14 neutron scattering
instruments out of 34.
(b)

J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex)

The J-PARC is a joint project, located in Tokai-Mura, between two organizations, Japan
Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization(KEK). The construction of this facility represents an investment of > US$1B. The JPARC uses MW-class high power proton beams at both 3 GeV and 50 GeV.
Construction of both accelerators and experimental halls was completed in early 2009
after 8 years. The usage of various secondary particle beams (neutrons, muons, kaons,neutrinos, etc.) that are produced in proton-nucleus reactions is the prime purpose of JPARC. The particle beams will achieve the highest intensities possible with modern
accelerator technology. In the case of neutron and muon beams (of great interest toAONSA) the goal is to produce beams from a target which will ultimately have a powerof 1MW. This is at the leading edge of neutron beam production and technology.
With these secondary particle beams, three major scientific goals will be attained:a) nuclear-particle physicsb) materials and life sciences, andc) later, in Phase 2, R&D for nuclear transformation.

Republic of Korea
High-Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO)
HANARO is a 30 MW (thermal) multi-purpose research reactor built in 1995 with amaximum thermal neutron flux of 5.4 x 1014 n/cm2/sec. It is currently being used forneutron beam applications for materials research, fuel and material irradiation, nuclear

fuel testing, neutron activation analysis, radioisotope production, and neutrontransmutation doping. To strengthen the capability of HANARO, a cold neutron researchfacility project was started in 2003 and will be completed in mid 2010. Currently, it has
10 thermal neutron instruments and once the cold neutron facility with a guide hallbecomes operational, it will have 17 neutron instruments including 7 cold neutron
instruments. All these instruments are open to users from universities, national
laboratories, and industries.

Malaysia
Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) has a role to introduce and promote theapplication of nuclear science and technology for national development.
Established in 19 September 1972, Malaysian Nuclear Agency was then known as Centre
for Application of Nuclear Malaysia (CRANE) before it was formally named as Tun
Ismail Atomic Research Centre (PUSPATI).
In June 1983, PUSPATI was placed under the patronage of Prime Minister Department
and was called Nuclear Energy Unit (UTN). It was then placed under Ministry of Science,
Technology and Environment in October 1990. In August 1994, its name was changed toMalaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT).
On 28 September 2006, following its restructuring, MINT was given a new identity,
which is Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia). Its strategic location, nearhigher learning institutions, besides its close proximity to the National Administration
Centre, Putrajaya, and the Multimedia Super Corridor, Cyberjaya, has stimulated NuclearMalaysia to meet its aspirations.
Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
In addition to a successful synchrotron facility and a new one to be completed in 2014,
neutron scattering science is developing at a number of universities and a collaboration isin place with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation to build new
instruments on the OPAL reactor.