Call for 2012B Proposals at the SACLA Public Beamlines

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The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) announces the call for proposals to be carried out at the SACLA public beamlines. Please follow the guidelines and instructions below when applying.

1. Types of Proposals

The SACLA research proposals are categorized into two groups: general proposals and priority strategy proposals. From 2012, the priority strategy proposals include proposals carried out under the X-ray Free Electron Laser Priority Strategy Program, which is commissioned by the MEXT and scheduled to start in FY2012.

Type of Proppsal Outline
Priority Strategy Proposal* With a view to strategically produce results, specific research themes have been selected based on the national policy. The JASRI will solicit proposals that are in line with the research themes through an open call.
General Proposal The general proposal program is intended for general research with no specific research theme.

*If you wish to carry out a proposal under the X-ray Free Electron Laser Priority Strategy Program (MEXT) mentioned above, you are required to provide the information regarding the Program in the online application form.

For 2012B, only non-proprietary research is available, and proprietary proposal cannot be accepted. Once approved for beamtime, proposals are vaild only for 2012B.

2. Applicant Eligibility

Eligible individuals are those who can complete radiation worker registration before using SACLA and be responsible for experiments carried out at SACLA as a leader. Please note that students are not eligible (As project team members, students can participate in any research projects).

If you are affiliated with an institution outside Japan, please have at least one local contact person affiliated with a Japanese institution participate in your experiment. If you cannot find one, please contact the Users Office.

3. Beamlines and Equipment Available to Users

The beamlines and equipment available for 2012B are BL3 (XFEL Beamline), BL1 and the experimental equipment installed at the two beamlines.

Please note that the experimental equipment at SACLA is still in the commissioning/start-up phase, and the Beamline List page is updated as new information becomes available.

4. Research Period

From September 2012 through March 2013* (excl. maintenance periods).
During this period, the facility will be operated around the clock and the user beamtime are allocated to successful proposals by the shift (12 hrs).

*Subject to change due to budget.

5. Fees

1. Beamtime Fee
Non-proprietary users are exempt from paying the beamtime fee. As explained above, proprietary research is not available for 2012B.

2. User Fees
All users are required to pay the fees to cover the costs of beamline maintenance/operation and consumables actually used (user fees). User fees are composed of a fixed fee charged for wear and tear on the facility and a variable fee charged for the SPring-8 stockroom reagents, parts, and stationery.

Fixed Fee: 15,450 yen/shift (subject to change in 2013A or after)
Variable Fee: calculated based on the amount actually used

Important: Supported by the Government’s treasury, users affiliated with institutions outside Japan are exempt from paying user fees.

6. Proposal Application and Required Procedures

Applicants/project leaders are required to submit proposals from the SACLA User Information website (SACLA UI site).

1. User Registration
To submit an application form, you need to have obtained a user account (user card ID number and password) by registering yourself. Please make sure that not only project leaders/applicants but also all project team members are registered as users. If you are not registered as a SPring-8 or SACLA user, click here to register.

Note: Registration information is also used for contact. If any of your registration information changes, you must update it from the SACLA UI site.
> Log in to My Page > “Edit My Details” link in the top right hand corner

2. Application Method
Applicants/project leaders are required to submit proposals online from SACLA UI site through the web-based proposal submission system.

SACLA UI site : http://sacla.xfel.jp/?lang=en

Log in to the system with your user card ID number and password. If you have not obtained your user card ID number, please complete user registration first. Please note that only the project leaders can submit proposals: if a project team member needs to submit a proposal in place of the project leader, s/he must log in to the project leader’s account. In this case, the project leader is responsible for managing his or her account information. Before starting the application process, project leaders must make sure that all project team members have completed user registration.

To avoid losing work in the event of a browser crash or unexpected logout, you are strongly encouraged to draft your application offline first using a MS Word templates.

MS Word Template

General Proposal
Priority Strategy Proposal*

*If you wish to carry out a proposal under the X-ray Free Electron Laser Priority Strategy Program (MEXT) mentioned above, you are required to provide the information regarding the Program in the online application form.

For step-by-step instructions on how to submit proposals, please click here.

3. Confirmation E-mail
Upon successful submission, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of Agreement (Rules for Users) in PDF format attached to it. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please log in to the system and check if your proposal has been submitted successfully.

4. Other
[Lifetime of Proposal]

Approved proposals are valid only for the forthcoming user operation research term (2012B). Make sure that the proposed research can be completed within the period; beamtime cannot be awarded for comprehensive research that cannot be finished within a time frame of one research term.

[Project Leader]

A project leader is a person who will assume overall responsibility throughout the experiment at SACLA.

7. Online Proposal Submission Deadline

Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 10:00 am (Japan time)

To avoid last minute technical problems and possible network congestion caused by heavy traffic, you are strongly encouraged to complete and submit your application well in advance of the deadline(Only the deadline day).
If you have trouble completing/submitting your application online, please contact the SPring-8/SACLA Users Office before the deadline.

8. Review Criteria and Notification of Review Results

1. Review Criteria
The JASRI will review submitted proposals through a fair and equitable review process and select the most qualified users using the following review criteria.

[SACLA Research Proposals Review Criteria]

Research proposals of a wide range of scientific disciplines shall be fully peer-reviewed and then selected under the criteria outlined below.

Proposal selection should be based on the Science and Technology Basic Plan and other related national policies while balancing international cooperation and competitiveness. Furthermore, proposals contributing to training researchers should also be noted.

  1. Scientific and technical relevance (One of the following criteria shall be fulfilled.):
    　1-1 The proposed research is of cutting edge scientific and technological
    　　　value (i.e. innovative and pioneering) or expected to contribute to
    　　　opening up new possibilities of SACLA and must meet either of
    　　　the following criteria:
    　　　　a) Expected to make a significant scientific contribution.
    　　　　b) Expected to contribute to increasing industrial use.
    　1-2 The proposed research has social significance or will contribute to the social economy.
  2. Necessity of SACLA as a research tool.
  3. Conformity to the Science and Technology Basic Law and social norms: the implementation of the research proposal is appropriate in light of the Law and socially accepted ideas, e.g., the implementation of the proposed research and the use of research results are exclusively for peaceful purposes.
  4. Technical feasibility.
  5. Safety of the experiment.
  6. In selecting priority strategy proposal, emphasis should be placed also on a clear direction for problem solving.
  7. If available beamtime falls short of the beamtime required for the conduct of proposed research, preference shall be given to priority strategy proposals when selecting general and priority strategy proposals of equal scientific merit in light of the importance of the priority strategy proposal program.

2. Notification of Review Results
Applicants will be notified of the review results (the outcome of your application) in writing early August 2012.

9. Experiment Summary Report

To ensure transparency of the non-proprietary research program, users are required to submit an Experiment Summary Report* within 60 days after their experiment.

*Experiment Summary Report
Length: up to one A4 page
Language: English or Japanese
Required Information: purpose, experimental method, experimental data, samples, and summary of the results.

10. Dissemination of Research Results

The research results obtained through the use of SACLA must be disseminated within three years from the end of the half-year research term in one of the following three formats:

  1. Refereed journal papers incl. refereed proceedings and dissertations (Proposal No. must be specified).
  2. SPring-8/SACLA Research Report (tentative)*
  3. Corporate technical journal articles (industrial users only)**

*SPring-8/SACLA Research Report (tentative)

  • Sufficient information on experiment results must be provided.
  • One report is required for one proposal.
  • Must be written in English or Japanese.
  • Length should be between 2-3 A4 pages.
  • In the case of unsuccessful experiments or results falling short of expectations, provide the details of and insights into possible reasons for such results.
  • Subject to review by the JASRI’s Research Results Review Panel.

**Corporate Technical Journal Article

The JASRI will review the adequacy and quality of the information provided.

11. Important Notes

  1. Radiation Worker Registration
    The Japanese Law (Ordinance on Prevention of Ionizing Radiation Hazards) requires all SACLA users to be registered as radiation workers.
  2. Safety Precaution
    For your safety, do not work alone. Please work in a group of two or more.
  3. Cancellation of Beamtime
    Please be advised that your scheduled beamtime may be cancelled in emergencies such as equipment failure, natural disaster, pandemic, etc. In such cases, users cannot claim compensation for the lost beamtime.

12. Contact/Consultation

  1. General Inquiries
    　SPring-8/SACLA Users Office
    　Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)
    　1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun
    　Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
    　Tel: +81-(0)791-58-0961
    　Fax: +81-(0)791-58-0965
    　email: sacla.jasri@spring8.or.jp

  2. Consultation on Technical Matters
    　XFEL Division
    　Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI)
    　1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun
    　Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
    　email: sacla-bl.jasri@spring8.or.jp

13. Links

  1. Basic Policies regarding Proposal Selection for Public Beamlines
  2. Information Management Principles for the Usage Promotion Services at the Specific Synchrotron Radiation Facilities

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