75 Years of Experimental Nuclear Reaction Data Compilations

The comprehensive experimental nuclear reaction data compilations were pioneered at the Metallurgical Laboratory, University of Chicago, and Los Alamos National Laboratory [1, 2] for the Manhattan Project needs. In 1947 many Manhattan Project alumni moved to a newly created Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to work on nuclear physics research and data compilations [3-6] in support of nuclear science and reactor research activities. Since the beginning, the data project has relied heavily on computer technologies available at the time, and Brookhaven compilations have been stored in the Sigma Center Information Storage and Retrieval System (SCISRS) that predated the Exchange Format (EXFOR) database. In the following years, the reaction compilations evolved and gained an international component. Currently, the compilation efforts are coordinated by the Nuclear Reaction Data Centers network (NRDC) worldwide, which was founded in 1979 and operates under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The data compilations in the USA are coordinated by the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC), Brookhaven National Laboratory for the United States Nuclear Data Program (USNDP). The database compilations represent one of the oldest continuously-operated scientific collaborations that continue to archive and disseminate nuclear data for nuclear science and technology.