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ANBUG NewsANBUG Newsletter - 2005/114th July 2005The following items, discussed at the last meeting (26/05/05) of the ANBUG committee, may be of general interest to the Australian neutron user community. Lucas Heights Motel: Stewart Campbell, on behalf of ANBUG, has written a formal letter to Rob Robinson requesting that one of the Lucas Heights motel rooms be converted to a 'visitor area' - i.e. with comfy chairs, TV, pool table, beer fridge etc. HIFAR Wind-Down: The Bragg Institute is about to commence installation of the neutron beam instruments in the OPAL facility. Consequently the Bragg Institute has had to redirect technical staff to the installation efforts and has reduced technical support for the HIFAR instruments. It is likely that most instruments will continue to operate until HIFAR is shutdown or when data can be collected on the appropriate OPAL instrument. The Bragg Institute is presently considering not offering the LONGPOL instrument in the next proposal round due to no demand for this instrument. New Bragg Institute Building: Approval has been given to construct a new building to house the Bragg Institute staff adjacent to the OPAL facility. The contractors estimate that the building will be ready for occupancy in Feb 2006. The building will consist of a general area for users as well as a lounge area. ANBUG User Survey: This was a useful exercise, thanks for your participation. As a result of enthusiasm expressed for the cold neutron instruments, it is now anticipated that the cold source at OPAL will operate for the full 340 days/year, despite the cost. Another survey will be coming out soon regarding user requirements for the OPAL sample preparation laboratories. Next Wave of Neutron Beam Instruments at OPAL: These will be discussed at a meeting post-ICNS meeting where ANBUG will have 2 representatives. There will also be some selected Bragg Institute members, a representative from each IAT, and as many internationals as possible. If there are any next-wave instruments you would like to see pushed, please let us know. AINSE/ANBUG Symposium and Summer School: We anticipate that a hold a joint AINSE/ANBUG Symposium and Summer School will be run in the first week of December 2006. OPAL should be near final commissioning, so it should be something of a gala occasion. However, it may not be possible to hold the usual hands-on summer school at this time, because OPAL will be in commissioning and HIFAR will be in decommissioning.
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