EOF has three main support areas — Engineering Services, Research Operation Services, and Accelerator Facilities.

Engineering Services

The Engineering Services department provides project engineering, design engineering, and drafting services. The group is comprised of engineers and designers. We offer engineering and drafting for projects and support the design of accelerators, advanced nuclear reactor systems and components, high-energy physics detectors, and novel experimental equipment.

The group has a broad range of capabilities, from managing projects to designing detailed systems and components. In addition to the group’s conventional machine design capabilities, we have considerable expertise vacuum systems, cryogenic technology, manufacturing engineering, and instrumentation and control systems.

Research Operations Services

The Research Operations Services department in EOF provides the operational support needed to ensure experimental equipment is installed, operated, and maintained safely and efficiently.  

The Experimental Facilities Group provides mechanical, and electrical support to meet programmatic needs. We support new equipment installations and custom modifications to existing equipment. Our team members have a deep understanding, skill sets, training needed to perform troubleshooting maintenance and repairs across the Laboratory. Our group members are available for both short- and long-term assistance with your scientific projects.

The Experimental Operations group partners with researchers to build, install, and operate the specialized equipment needed to achieve their scientific goals. We help improve safety, efficiency, and lower costs with our knowledge in laboratory operations and skills in fabricating, installing, and running experiments. We design and install experiments and assemblies from scratch, as well as modify existing or ​“off the shelf” equipment to meet unique testing needs.

The Transportation Research Operations group partners to help design, build, instrument, calibrate, and run experiments. Their work includes both vehicle and engine dynamometers, road test vehicles, and various other power systems, utilizing a variety of energy sources. The team provides the operational support needed to run cutting edge experiments and maintain one-of-a-kind facilities.

Accelerator Facilities

The Accelerator Facilities department operates the Low-Energy Accelerator Facility (LEAF), which consists of an electron linear accelerator and a Van de Graaff electron accelerator. The electron linear accelerator produces a wide range of radioisotopes for medical, national security, basic science, and industrial applications, and supports multiple programs on behalf of sponsors such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Nuclear Security Administration, the DOE Office of Science Isotope Program, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

The department also operates the Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscopy (IVEM) facility. Scientists use the facility for in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of defect structures in materials under controlled ion irradiation and sample conditions. The facility is unique in its ability to image the changes in atomic structure and defect formation during irradiation at high magnification.

The division supports Argonne’s strong tradition of research and development excellence through a commitment to maintaining and advancing safe, state-of-the-art capabilities that enable research teams to focus on what they do best.