Argonne, Notre Dame sign agreement
for Institute for Theoretical Sciences

ARGONNE, Ill. (May 21, 2004) — The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Notre Dame today signed an agreement to create a new joint Institute for Theoretical Sciences.

The new institute will attract visiting international scholars, junior researchers and graduate students in several areas of basic and applied theoretical sciences. “The institute will provide them with the opportunity to pursue research in the international, intellectually stimulating environment of the University of Notre Dame and Argonne National Laboratory,” said Boldizsar Janko, director of the new institute and professor of physics at Notre Dame.

The strength of the Institute for Theoretical Sciences, Janko said, is that both Argonne and Notre Dame provide a fertile ground for research to grow.

“The main driving force behind all successful institutes is the visiting scientists,” he said. Key is “ the inherent portability of the theoretical scientists: In contrast to their experimental colleagues, theoreticians can spend many months away from their home institutions, visiting an advanced study institute. For a relatively short period of time, it is possible to form a critical mass of experts in a particular area and to make substantial progress.”

To achieve its aims, all academic departments at Notre Dame and all research divisions at Argonne with research in theoretical sciences will participate in the institute.

Participants will be selected competitively.

“We expect to attract the best researchers in their fields because of the opportunities offered by this joint institute,” said George Crabtree, director of Argonne 's Materials Science Division and chairman of the institute's steering committee. “The research opportunities will be varied and exciting, in fields from nanoscience to high-energy physics. And the result will be great science. In addition, the institute will help expand and strengthen research networks that will advance cooperative research worldwide.”

Founded in 1842, the University of Notre Dame has an enrollment of more than 11,000 students, and boasts a graduation rate of 95 percent.

The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory conducts basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines, ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and biotechnology. Since 1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal agencies and other organizations to help advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Donna Jones Pelkie (630/252-5501 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.