Located at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and operated by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) provides a capability for conducting experiments using fissionable material. Experiments conducted at NCERC support many objectives, including training, R&D, and fundamental science. NCERC is our nation’s only general-purpose critical experiments facility and is one of only a few that remain operational throughout the world.
The mission of NCERC is to conduct experiments and training with critical assemblies and fissionable material at or near criticality in order to explore reactivity phenomena, and to operate the assemblies in the regions from subcritical through delayed critical. One critical assembly, Godiva-IV, is designed to operate above prompt critical.
