[Closed]Call for 2024A Proprietary Proposals

Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) is inviting the Proprietary Proposals for the 2024A (April – July 2024, tentative) and for the first period of 2024A (April – late May 2024, tentative). Interested parties are encouraged to apply. Please read the following instructions in full before preparing your application.

 Special Notes 
• Please understand that there is a possibility that we cannot provide stable supply of Helium (both liquid and gas) due to the recent situation regarding global helium supply.

 Important 
• The following beamlines invite proposals six times annually, and this call is for the first period of 2024A, from April to late May 2024: BL01B1, BL02B1, BL02B2, BL09XU, BL13XU, BL14B2, BL19B2, BL46XU, and BL47XU* (*BL47XU will allocate only a few shifts for the 2nd and the 3rd period.)

Contents

1. Proprietary Proposals

The Proprietary Proposal is for proprietary research recommended for users dealing with confidential information or experimental samples. The submitted proposals are reviewed only from the viewpoint of feasibility, safety, and conformity to the Science, Technology, and Innovation Basic Plan and social norms. A beamtime fee will be charged. Users have no obligation to publish their results.

2. Research Period

[At Beamlines with biannual calls for proposals]

　From April to late July 2024 (tentative)

[At Beamlines with sixannual calls for proposals]

　From April to late May 2024 (first period of 2024A)
　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.

* Collectively abbreviated as PX-BLs.
** The BL47XU will allocate a few shifts for the 2nd and the 3rd period to the proposals in the designated review fields. Please refer to the note in 5. Proposal Submission.

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 2024A SPring-8 Research Proposals -Overview-.”

4.1 Online Submission

 UI site > Log in to My Page > Create and Edit Proposal Application Form > New > Proprietary 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 “2024A” or “2024A-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 no later than November 22, 2023.

To submit the document, visit the webpage below and click the “Agreement” button for the submitted proposal and upload the PDF file. If there is any problem with uploading a file, please send the PDF file by email to the Users Office (see 10. Contact).
♦ User Information Website (UI site) › My Page Login › Create and Edit Proposal Application › Submitted Proposals

5. Submission Deadline for Online Proposals

 Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 10:00 am (Japan time)
 (Proprietary Use Agreement: November 22, 2023)

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 10. 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

The safety and technical feasibility of the experiment and ethics (e.g., exclusively for peaceful purposes) will be reviewed.
In case the total beamtime shifts required by all the applied proposals exceed the designated percentage indicated below, the PRC determines in a comprehensive manner which proposals are given priority.

NOTE: Maximum percentages of Allocable Beamtime
Up to 40% of total beamtime per beamline can be allocated for Proprietary Proposals and/or Non-Proprietary Priority Proposals.

7. Notification of Review Results

Review results will be available on “My Page” of the UI site in early February 2024.

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 (2024B and the 2nd and the 3rd Period of 2024A)

The deadline for 2024B proposals (last half of fiscal 2024) is late May 2024. Please also note that the deadlines for proposals to be conducted during the second (late May – late June 2024) and the third (late June – late July 2024) periods of 2024A are in March and April 2024, respectively, at Beamlines with sixannual calls for proposals.

10. Contact