SPring-8 Proposal Review Committee

The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology appoints a Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion that provides services to promote the use of specific synchrotron radiation facilities (the large synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8 and the X-ray free electron laser facility SACLA) on behalf of RIKEN, the provider of those facilities. Currently, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) serves as the Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion.

The services to promote the use of specific synchrotron radiation facilities include (1) the selection of users who conduct research at the facilities (“user selection services”) and (2) the provision of information, consulting, and support for research activities at the facilities (“user support services”).

When providing the (1) user selection services, the Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion is required to establish a Proposal Review Committee consisting of members having an academic background pertinent to the research conducted at the specific synchrotron radiation facilities and to hear the Committee’s opinions.

Because the Proposal Review Committee provides opinions to the Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion from a neutral standpoint, the selection of committee members should be unbiased and represent different occupations, areas of expertise, etc.
The Proposal Review Committee has considerable expertise in the selection of users of specified advanced large-scale research facilities and plays a role in preventing bias in the selection of users by the Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion.
(As SACLA started its operation at the end of 2011, the SACLA Proposal Review Committee was newly established on 4 July 2011 and the existing Proposal Review Committee was renamed the SPring-8 Proposal Review Committee.)