Items Required in Proposal Application Form for Research Proposals

For the following items, we recommend that you first draft your application offline using a template. Then, copy/paste the data from the template into the appropriate fields. This guideline is designed to assist you in preparing research proposals. Depending on the type of your proposal, prepare the necessary documents in accordance with the instructions in the templates.

Basic information

Describe the aims, methods, and other designated items of your research so that reviewers in different research areas can understand the proposal’s significance. The proposal’s contents should be achievable within the beamtime allocated for half-year (or for the designated period at Beamines with six-annual calls) experiments using a public beamline. Proposals with ambiguous contents are excluded from the targets of review.

Title of experiment (in Japanese and English)

Enter a concrete title for your experiment with clear experimental methods and measurement targets in both Japanese and English. Proposals with an ambiguous title are excluded from the targets of review.

For protecting applicants’ proprietary information, the title of the experiment will not be disclosed until the experiment is complete. (Specifically, only the name and affiliation of the project leader and the allocated beamtime are disclosed upon approval of the proposal, and the title will be disclosed after the completion of experiment.)

Review fields

Select one review field from the Table of review fields.”

Research areas

Select your research area from the “Table of research areas.” If you select “Others,” enter your concrete research area.

Choice of beamline(s)

Select the beamline number(s) from the pop-up menu in the order of your preference. Enter clear reasons for your choice of beamline in the field “Reason for your choice of beamline” in the “Experimental details.”

If you need to use two beamlines (for example, “BL01B1 and BL28B2” rather than “BL01B1 or BL28B2”), apply separately for each beamline.

Check the “Beamline List” on the SPring-8 website for the state of available beamlines.

Number of required shifts

Enter the number of required shifts (1 shift = 8 hours) of beamtime needed to achieve your research aims. Consider that your research should be completed using a public beamline within half-year (or within the designated period at Beamines with six-annual calls).

If you need to carry out several experiments, enter the number of shifts required for one experiment and the number of experiments. Also, show your calculation of the required beamtime in “How you calculated the overall beamtime requested” in the “Experimental details.”

Specific operation mode

If you do not request an operation mode, the facility’s person in charge will select it.

If you request the several-bunch mode, select “several-bunch” and specify the filling mode in the order of your preference from the pop-up menu. Also, describe the extent of the difference in efficiency between the first and second requested filling modes in the field “Others.” Among the A-H modes, the D and E modes are available only in term A, and the F and G modes are available only in term B. Be sure to check the available modes in the Call for Proposals on the SPring-8 website. If you request a mode other than the seven modes in the menu, enter the details of the filling mode and the reason for the request in the field “Others.”

Project team members

Enter the user card ID number of each member who will use the beamline in the experiment (project team member). (For project team members who still need to obtain their user card ID numbers, ask them to complete user registration. User card ID numbers will be shown on the screen after user registration is completed and delivered to the registered email address.)

Descriptions and measures for safety

Experiments requiring safety procedures

If any of the following apply to your proposal, a separate application is required after the proposal is approved. When you submit your proposal, check the boxes for applicable items.

Experiments using carry-in high-pressure gas container
Introduction and use of radioisotopes
Installation and modification of radiation generator and changes in its purpose of use and specifications
Use of internationally controlled materials (e.g., nuclear source materials, nuclear fuel materials)
Installation of equipment regulated by laws
Use of chemical substances regulated by laws
Introduction of invasive alien species
Introduction of specific bovine parts
Introduction of import-prohibited articles (Plant Protection Act)
Genetic modification experiments
Experiments using human-derived materials
Introduction of high-output laser equipment
Introduction of animals (living mammals, birds, and reptiles)
Introduction of specific biological samples (living organisms and substances infectious to other organisms and their derived samples)

Equipment and devices required for beamlines at SPring-8

Check the “Beamline List” on the SPring-8 website and describe the necessary equipment and devices.

Measurement samples and other materials

If you plan to bring samples and materials into SPring-8, the names, states (forms), quantity, property, purpose of use, storage and disposal methods, and safety measures are required.

Name of material
Give the general name and chemical formula (also the composition when XAFS is performed), and avoid descriptions with abbreviations or only the initial letter. Use “self-made” to describe materials you have prepared yourself and “created” to convey materials with unknown properties that you have created, even if the materials have a CAS number.
Properties
Describe the properties of poisonous and deleterious substances, organic solvents and specific chemical substances, and dangerous substances as designated by the corresponding laws (Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law, Industrial Safety and Health Act, and Fire Service Act, respectively).

For substances not regulated by these laws, describe their properties in detail, such as hazards (e.g., explosiveness, combustibility, inflammability, spontaneous combustibility, water reactivity, oxidation nature, self-reactivity), hazardousness (e.g., toxicity, corrosiveness, carcinogenicity, infectiveness, radiation), gene modification, and human-derived substances.

Depending on your screen resolution, the provided fields may seem too small to enter data. We recommend that you first draft your application offline using a spreadsheet and then copy/paste the data from the template to the appropriate fields to avoid losing work in the event of an incorrect operation or input error.

*After the experiment, all carry-in samples and materials should be removed from SPring-8.

Carry-in equipment and devices

Enter all carry-in equipment and devices’ names, specifications, and safety measures. If you do not plan to bring in any equipment or devices, enter “None.”

Additionally, describe the equipment and devices you fabricated as “Self-built.” For catalog products, additionally describe them as “Catalog products.”

*All carry-in equipment and devices should be removed from SPring-8 after the experiment.

Reasons for proposal (abstract)

Types and reasons for proposal

New proposals
Describe your research’s significance, aims, and other designated items in detail so that reviewers in different research areas can understand the proposal’s significance. Proposals with ambiguous contents are excluded from the targets of review. Clarify the concrete contributions of SPring-8 to the field of expected achievements.
Continued proposals
Describe why you require the continued use of the beamline (e.g., the experiment was not performed because of beam damping). Provide the concrete results (achievements) obtained through the experiment in the previous proposal. If there were problems in the previous proposal, provide details of your solutions and plans for experiments in this proposal.
If samples are changed or experimental methods are significantly changed, submit a new proposal. If the research continues after the use of the beamtime for the approved proposal or the project leader changes, submit a new proposal.

Status of preparation for application, relation to previously approved proposals and any other proposals under application, and experience obtained from similar experiments

Concretely state any previous research results and the preparation status for equipment and samples to obtain the expected achievements. Describe the relation to previously approved proposals and to any other proposals with a relevant theme under application. Also, the experience obtained from similar experiments should be stated.

Experimental details

Experimental details (clarify layout, measurement methods, detectors, sample concentrations, etc.)

For new measurement methods, clarify the features of the experiment using figures.

Up to three image files in the JPEG (.jpg/ .jpeg), GIF (.gif), or PNG (.png) format can be uploaded. The images for review will appear as A5-size images in the portrait orientation. Be sure to upload the data with sufficiently high resolution (horizontal, 1000–2000 pixels). The maximum file size is 1 MB.

Reasons for your choice of beamline

Check the experimental equipment that can be used for each beamline and select the most suitable beamline. If you have any questions, contact the beamline scientist indicated in the “Beamline List.”

Energy (wavelength) or characteristic lines of beamlines to be used (for example, Pb-L)

Explain the features of the beamline you focused on when selecting the beamline (for example, energy range, focusing characteristics, measurement devices). For measurements by XAFS, be sure to describe the measurement methods (e.g., transmission/fluorescence method, Lytle/semiconductor detector, single/multiple beam), elements, absorption edges, sample concentrations, and type of sample matrix.

Evidence for calculating the number of shifts

Show your calculation of the required number of shifts.

If you have any questions about calculating the number of shifts, contact the beamline scientist listed on the SPring-8 website.

Publications

List of project leader’s publications associated with the proposed research

Provide titles publications (up to three) by the principal investigators involved in this study and a two-line description of each paper to show the progress of the research.

Mark with an asterisk (*) the papers in which you have published the results of your research at SPring-8, starting with the most recent paper and ending with the one that fits in the space provided.

As above, prepare the documents necessary for the submission of your proposal.