Daresbury Laboratory is a scientific research laboratory based atSci-Tech Daresbury campus nearDaresbury inHalton,Cheshire, England. The laboratory began operations in 1962 and was officially opened on 16 June 1967 as theDaresbury Nuclear Physics Laboratory (DNPL) by the then Prime Minister of United Kingdom,Harold Wilson. It was the second national laboratory established by the British National Institute for Research in Nuclear Science, following the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory (nowRutherford Appleton Laboratory).[2] It is operated by theScience and Technology Facilities Council, part ofUK Research and Innovation. As of 2018, it employs around 300 staff,[1] with Paul Vernon appointed as director in November 2020,[3] taking over from Professor Susan Smith who had been director from 2012.
Daresbury Tower, formerly the Nuclear Structure Facility
Daresbury Laboratory carries out research in fields such as accelerator science, bio-medicine, physics, chemistry, materials, engineering and computational science. Its facilities are used by scientists and engineers, from both the university research community and industrial research base. The laboratory is based atSci-Tech Daresbury.[1]
Cockcroft Institute International centre for accelerator science and technology at Sci-Tech Daresbury
Van de Graaff generator The former Nuclear Structure Facility at Daresbury was based on a Van de Graaff accelerator
Arthur Dooley The Laboratory has a piece 'Splitting of the Atom', unveiled in 1971, constructed from magnetic steel and two 37 inch pole tips taken from thecyclotron.[16]
