Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation
Encyclopedia
Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation, (BNC), of San Rafael
, California
, United States, is an electronics company whose products range from pulse generators and digital delay generators to specialized handheld instruments and portal monitors capable of radiation detection and isotope identification.
s with delay resolution as low as 50 pico-seconds. In the mid 1990s, BNC began building a strong market position
in radiation detection
and analysis
instrumentation.
In 2001, two top executives from BNC and the firm itself were charged with violations of export regulations and conspiracy. The company sent a number of nuclear pulse generators to India
's Department of Atomic Energy in the beginning in 1998 shortly after sanctions
were placed on the country for testing
nuclear weapons. Lawers defending BNC and the two executives argued that the violations were unintentional and government agents "cajoled" BNC to make the sales. BNC lawyer Steve Bauer remarked that "there was a slight change in export regulations a few years ago that many companies missed. When (Berkeley Nucleonics) found this out, they tried to cooperate with the government to fix any problem and, for that, they get indicted." The company stated that the existing customer in India had been purchasing the same product for over 20 years, and the change in US export requirements in 1998 caused all shipments to this customer to require a license. Gary Milhollin
from the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control
called the exports "outrageous" and claimed that the firm should have known better.
The owner of Berkeley Nucleonics, David Brown, was dismissed without prejudice in May 2003, as were all named employees in the law suit. After 3 years of litigation, the company agreed to a plea settlement that did not interrupt any export or international sales activity, or limit any of the company's significant government businesses. The company released a public statement in June 2004 reiterating the settlement agreement with the Commerce Department.
In 2002, the company stood up a Department of Training to address the growing needs of radiation detection professionals in both health physics and homeland security applications. The accredited training program has been attended by over 70 State and Federal Agencies, including the US DoD, US DoE and the US FDA. The training curriculum is accredited by agencies such as the Health Physics Society, the Institute of Industrial Hygienists and the US Air Force. The handheld radiation detectors sold by Berkeley Nucleonics, such as the SAM Defender and the 1703MO PRD (Detector/Dosimeter) are widely recognized as leading in technology to detect and identify isotope fast and with high levels of accuracy.
In 2004, the company was honored by the State of California Governor's office when Governor Schwarzenegger presented the 'Older Worker of California' awards. A design engineer and Stanford MSEE, John Yee was recognized as a semifinalist. John Yee has been an employee of Berkeley Nucleonics for 35 years and a contributing editor to many of the application notes and technology articles published by the company.
In 2007 the company expanded its Test and Measurement product lines to include signal detection and measurement instruments. It now offers a wide range of measurement tools, such as Digital Multimeters, Frequency Counters, 300 MHz Oscilloscopes and Time Interval Counters.
The company maintains an archive online of media coverage, application notes and product manuals and brochures, www.berkeleynucleonics.com.
Electronic Products
Radiation Products
Chemical Analysis Products
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States, is an electronics company whose products range from pulse generators and digital delay generators to specialized handheld instruments and portal monitors capable of radiation detection and isotope identification.
History
Founded in 1960, BNC initially developed pulse generators with precise, stable amplitudes and shapes for the nuclear spectroscopy community. The product line later expanded to general-purpose pulse generators and digital delay generators. To date, BNC has introduced 15 different Digital delay generatorDigital delay generator
A digital delay generator is a piece of electronic test equipment that provides precise delays for triggering, syncing, delaying and gating events. These generators are used in many types of experiments, controls and processes where electronic timing of a single event or multiple events to a common...
s with delay resolution as low as 50 pico-seconds. In the mid 1990s, BNC began building a strong market position
Positioning (marketing)
In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization....
in radiation detection
Particle detector
In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify high-energy particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a...
and analysis
Analytical chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the study of the separation, identification, and quantification of the chemical components of natural and artificial materials. Qualitative analysis gives an indication of the identity of the chemical species in the sample and quantitative analysis determines the amount of...
instrumentation.
In 2001, two top executives from BNC and the firm itself were charged with violations of export regulations and conspiracy. The company sent a number of nuclear pulse generators to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's Department of Atomic Energy in the beginning in 1998 shortly after sanctions
International sanctions
International sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.There are several types of sanctions....
were placed on the country for testing
Nuclear testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
nuclear weapons. Lawers defending BNC and the two executives argued that the violations were unintentional and government agents "cajoled" BNC to make the sales. BNC lawyer Steve Bauer remarked that "there was a slight change in export regulations a few years ago that many companies missed. When (Berkeley Nucleonics) found this out, they tried to cooperate with the government to fix any problem and, for that, they get indicted." The company stated that the existing customer in India had been purchasing the same product for over 20 years, and the change in US export requirements in 1998 caused all shipments to this customer to require a license. Gary Milhollin
Gary Milhollin
Gary Milhollin is the founder and executive director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a non-profit organization dedicated to stemming the spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Milhollin and the Wisconsin Project are best known for digging up the details of...
from the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control
Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control
The Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established to curb the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction through research and advocacy...
called the exports "outrageous" and claimed that the firm should have known better.
The owner of Berkeley Nucleonics, David Brown, was dismissed without prejudice in May 2003, as were all named employees in the law suit. After 3 years of litigation, the company agreed to a plea settlement that did not interrupt any export or international sales activity, or limit any of the company's significant government businesses. The company released a public statement in June 2004 reiterating the settlement agreement with the Commerce Department.
In 2002, the company stood up a Department of Training to address the growing needs of radiation detection professionals in both health physics and homeland security applications. The accredited training program has been attended by over 70 State and Federal Agencies, including the US DoD, US DoE and the US FDA. The training curriculum is accredited by agencies such as the Health Physics Society, the Institute of Industrial Hygienists and the US Air Force. The handheld radiation detectors sold by Berkeley Nucleonics, such as the SAM Defender and the 1703MO PRD (Detector/Dosimeter) are widely recognized as leading in technology to detect and identify isotope fast and with high levels of accuracy.
In 2004, the company was honored by the State of California Governor's office when Governor Schwarzenegger presented the 'Older Worker of California' awards. A design engineer and Stanford MSEE, John Yee was recognized as a semifinalist. John Yee has been an employee of Berkeley Nucleonics for 35 years and a contributing editor to many of the application notes and technology articles published by the company.
In 2007 the company expanded its Test and Measurement product lines to include signal detection and measurement instruments. It now offers a wide range of measurement tools, such as Digital Multimeters, Frequency Counters, 300 MHz Oscilloscopes and Time Interval Counters.
The company maintains an archive online of media coverage, application notes and product manuals and brochures, www.berkeleynucleonics.com.
Products
Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation sells a number of products, includingElectronic Products
- Digital delay generatorDigital delay generatorA digital delay generator is a piece of electronic test equipment that provides precise delays for triggering, syncing, delaying and gating events. These generators are used in many types of experiments, controls and processes where electronic timing of a single event or multiple events to a common...
s - Pulse generatorPulse generatorA pulse generator is either an electronic circuit or a piece of electronic test equipment used to generate rectangular pulses. This article describes the test equipment.-Bench pulse generators:...
s - Optical and Electrical - NIMNIMThe Nuclear Instrumentation Module standard defines mechanical and electrical specifications for electronics modules used in experimental particle and nuclear physics...
Pulse Generators - (Nuclear Instrumentation Modules) - Arbitrary waveform generatorArbitrary waveform generatorAn arbitrary waveform generator is a piece of electronic test equipment used to generate electrical waveforms. These waveforms can be either repetitive or single-shot in which case some kind of triggering source is required...
s and Function generatorFunction generatorA function generator is a piece of electronic test equipment or software used to generate different types of electrical waveforms over a wide range of frequencies. These waveforms can be either repetitive or single-shot, in which case some kind of triggering source is required...
s
Radiation Products
- Handheld radiation detection
- IsotopeIsotopeIsotopes are variants of atoms of a particular chemical element, which have differing numbers of neutrons. Atoms of a particular element by definition must contain the same number of protons but may have a distinct number of neutrons which differs from atom to atom, without changing the designation...
identification - Portal and vehicle-based systems
- Networked radiation equipment
Chemical Analysis Products
- Portable GC