A Note Of Explanation

I would like to provide a note of explanation regarding Marcia Clemmitt's article on scientists- turned-project managers (The Scientist, May 27, 1991, page 1). The production of high-flux neutron beams from steady-state reactors has historically set a very high standard for beam stability and reliability that those of us building the next generation of synchrotron research facilities should try to achieve for the X-ray research community.

In my own case, I was trained as a neutron scatterer long before taking on responsibility for the construction of the Argonne Advanced Photon Source. I did my research at the Brookhaven High- Flux Beam Reactor, where neutron beams were produced like clockwork from the time the reactor went critical in 1965 until a Department of Energy-mandated shutdown in April 1989. For the users of that facility, like myself, highly stable and reliable beams could be taken for granted, and excellent research thrived. In...