Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Laboratory for Nuclear Science, records of Associate Director Frederick Eppling

The Laboratory for Nuclear Science and Engineering was established at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in April 1946 as an interdepartmental laboratory to bring together scientists and engineers in the fields of experimental and theoretical nuclear physics, cosmology, inorganic chemistry, and civil, mechanical, and nuclear engineering to conduct research in nuclear and particle physics. Jerrold R. Zacharias, professor of physics at MIT, was the first director. The laboratory's early research was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1953, when the Department of Nuclear Engineering took over responsibility for the laboratory and for the MIT reactor and other work on applied nuclear science, the name of the laboratory was changed to the Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS). In the 1960s work on cosmic rays moved to the Center for Space Research, and programs in nuclear chemistry were phased out. The Center for Theoretical Physics was dedicated in March 1968, and operates under the auspices of the laboratory. Since 1974 the laboratory has also operated the Bates Research and Engineering Center (formerly the Bates Linear Accelerator Center).

The Laboratory for Nuclear Science currently supports the basic research in nuclear and elementary particle physics of faculty and research scientists in the School of Science. It supports research interests of faculty in the Department of Physics by maintaining and administering facilities adapted to studies in high energy and nuclear physics.

Among many projects supported by the lab are theoretical studies of nuclei and elementary particles; experimental programs using a variety of detector techniques to study strong, electromagnetic, and weak interactions of elementary particles and other high energy phenomena; application of high speed nuclear and elementary particle data analysis; nuclear studies using heavy-ion accelerators; and programs in medium energy nuclear research with electrons, photons, protons, and pions.