Call for 2022B Proprietary General Proposals Closed

Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) is inviting the Proprietary General Proposals for the 2022B (October 2022 – February 2023, tentative) and for the first period of 2022B (October – mid-November 2022, tentative). Interested parties are encouraged to apply. Please read the following instructions in full before preparing your application.

Important
Starting in the 2022B term, the following nine beamlines invite proposals six times annually:
BL01B1, BL02B1, BL02B2, BL09XU, BL13XU, BL14B2, BL19B2, BL46XU, and BL47XU* (*BL47XU will allocate only a few shifts for the 2^nd and the 3^rd period.)

Special Notes on COVID-19
Special policy will be applied to 2022B proposals in order to minimize the effects of beamtime cancellations due to COVID-19. Please make sure to check here.

Contents

1. Proprietary General Proposals

The Proprietary General Proposal is for proprietary research. The submitted proposals are reviewed only from the viewpoint of feasibility, safety, and conformity to the Science and Technology Basic Law and social norms by a limited number of reviewers, who have accepted an obligation of confidentiality. Users have no obligation to publish their results. Proprietary research is recommended for users dealing with confidential information or experimental samples.

2. Research Period

[At Beamlines with biannual calls for proposals]

　From October 2022 to February 2023 (tentative)

[At Beamlines with sixannual calls for proposals]

　From October to mid-November 2022 (first period of 2022B)
　Please note that proposals requiring special conditions, such as bunch mode designation, may not necessarily be assigned to this research period.

3. Beamlines and Beamtime Available to Users

For beamlines available to users and beamtime allocated to each beamline, click here.

Note: The BL47XU will allocate a few shifts for the 2nd and the 3rd period to the proposals that fit the specific conditions. Please refer to 9.1 Special Note for Proposals for BL47XU.

For the specifications and status of experimental stations, please check the Beamline List. If you have any questions, please contact the Beamline Scientist of the beamline of interest. To see what kinds of experiments have been performed at SPring-8, please refer to the SPring-8 Solution Database.

4. Proposal Submission

Applicants/project leaders are required to submit proposals online through the web-based proposal submission system. Before starting the application process, please first carefully read the “Call for 2022B SPring-8 Research Proposals -Overview-.”

4.1 Online Submission

 UI site > Log in to My Page > Create and Edit Proposal Application Form > New > Proprietary General Proposal

For step-by-step instructions on how to submit proposals, please see this page.

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

NOTE: The Research Period, such as “2022B” or “2022B-I”, specifies selectable beamlines.

4.2 Required Documents

When applying for proprietary beamtime, you need to submit a “Proprietary Use Agreement for Public Beamline.” Please download the agreement from the UI site, have it signed by the person who is responsible for the payment, and send PDF file to the SPring-8 Users Office by email no later than June 21, 2022.

5. Submission Deadline for Online Proposals

Tuesday, June 14, 2022, 10:00 am (Japan time)
(Proprietary Use Agreement: June 21, 2022)

To avoid last-minute technical problems and possible network congestion caused by heavy online traffic, you are strongly encouraged to complete and submit your application well in advance of the deadline. If you have trouble completing/submitting your application online, please contact the SPring-8 Users Office (see 12. Contact) before the deadline.
Upon successful submission, you will receive a confirmation email attached with a copy of the Agreement (Rules for Users) in PDF format. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please log in to the system and check if your proposal has been submitted successfully.

6．Proposal Review

Technical feasibility, safety of the experiment, the necessity to use SPring-8, and ethics of proposals are reviewed.

7. Notification of Review Results

Review results will be available on “My Page” of the UI site in early August 2022.

8. Fees (Tax Included)

• A variable fee will be calculated and added in accordance with the amount of liquid helium actually used.

* 1 shift is 8 hours and for any proposals that are allocated by the hour, the fees are charged by the hour.

* Program Fee: 80,000 yen/shift for CryoTEMs

9．Others

9.1 Special Note for Proposals for BL47XU

The BL47XU will allocate a few shifts for the 2nd and the 3rd period to the proposals that fit the following conditions:
A. The research in Industrial Application using the imaging devices at BL47XU.
B. The application includes at least one person out of a project leader and project team member who is an employee of a private company or affiliated institution. Affiliated institutions, by our definition, are (1) public testing laboratories and (2) incorporated foundations/associations whose primary business is contract services of experiments/research for private companies.
Note: We categorize national/private universities, independent administrative institutions, special public corporations, and public corporations as neither (1) nor (2).

If you are not sure that your research group will meet this requirement, please contact the Users Office (see 10. Contact).

9.2 Deadline for Next-Term Proposals (2023A and the 2nd and the 3rd Period of 2022B)

The deadline for 2023A proposals (first half of fiscal 2023) is early December 2022. Please also note that we will launch calls for proposals to be conducted during the second (mid-November – mid-December 2022) and the third (mid-January – February 2023) periods of 2022B in August and October 2022, respectively, at Beamlines with sixannual calls for proposals.

10. Contact