The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) calls for 2012A budding researchers support proposals. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply. Please read the following instructions in full before preparing your application.

[Important: New Support Scheme]
- Eligibility Expanded to Include Master's Students (See 3. Application Requirements)
- Beamlines Intended Exclusively for Industrial Application Became Available (See 6. Beamlines and Beamtime Available to Users)
- Consultation Service Launched (See 16. Consultation)

Contents
1. What is Budding Researchers Support Program?
2. Research Area
3. Application Requirements
4. Support for Expenses
5. Research Period
6. Beamlines and Beamtime Available to Users
7. Several Bunch Mode Operation in 2012A
8. Proposal Submission
9. Submission Deadline: December 8, 2011, 10:00 am (Japan Time)
10. Proposal Review
11. Notification of Review Results
12. Report Submission
13. Publication of Research Results
14. Payment of User Fees
15. Award/Workshop
16. Consultation
17. Contact

1. What is Budding Researchers Support Program?

The Budding Researchers Support Program intends to encourage budding researchers who will shape the future of synchrotron radiation research. Under the program, we will provide support for graduate students with an exploratory and original research proposal or research theme. Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Please prepare your proposal application using the following guidelines and instructions. Please also refer to the "Call for 2012A SPring-8 Research Proposals - Overview -."

2. Research Area

Research using synchrotron radiation (same as general proposals).

3. Application Requirements

You must be either a master's or doctoral student at the time of proposal application and maintain your student status at the time of experiment. Applicants are required to show initiative, work independently, and be self-reliant when conducting research. All applicants must obtain permission to apply from their master's/Ph.D. advisors, who can be responsible for the experiment at SPring-8. If you are unsure if you are eligible, please contact the SPring-8 Users Office at sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp.

IMPORTANT:
Users must maintain their student status at the time of experiment. Otherwise, users are required to carry out their approved budding researchers support proposals as general proposals and are no longer eligible for reimbursement of domestic travel and lodging expenses. If you have graduated from school/taken a job and will no longer be a student at the time of experiment, you must report to the Users Office (see 17. Contact). Failing to do so may result in you having to refund the amount paid to you.

4. Support for Expenses

In principle, we will cover the domestic travel expenses including the SPring-8 Guest House lodging expenses for two people (the project leader and a student/project team member).

5. Research Period

[At All Public Beamlines except BL14B2, BL19B2 and BL46XU, and 5 RIKEN Beamlines]
From April through July 2012 (to be finalized)

[At BL14B2, BL19B2 and BL46XU (BLs intended for industrial applications)]
From April through mid-June 2012 (first half of 2012A) (to be finalized)
There are two calls for proposals per research term (4 deadlines per year): this time, JASRI calls for proposals to be conducted during the first half of 2012A.
(We will call for proposals to be conducted during the second half of 2012A in spring 2012. Please note that for this period, beamtime is available only for industrial application.)

6. Beamlines and Beamtime Available to Users

Public Beamlines

RIKEN Beamlines

Please contact the Beamline Scientist of the desired beamline before applying for beamtime.

For the specifications and status of experimental stations, please check with the Beamline List.
To see what kind of experiments have been performed at SPring-8, please check with the SPring-8 Solution Database.

7. Several Bunch Mode Operation in 2012A

If you have a preference for a particular operating mode, choose from the pull-down menu on the Basic Information page of the online application form, and explain the difference in efficiency between your first- and second-choice modes in the box provided for "Others."

For several bunch modes, click here.

8. 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 2012A SPring-8 Research Proposals -Overview-."If you have any questions about using synchrotron radiation or your experiment plan, please feel free to contact our consultants (See 16. Consultation).

User Information Website (UI site) > Log in to My Page > Proposal Submission > New > Non-Proprietary Research > Budding Researchers Support Proposal

Important Notes about Information Required on the Application:
- For step-by-step instructions on how to submit proposals, please see this page.
- The information required on the online application for industrial application is different from other areas of research; so please draft your application offline first using a MS Word template (for industrial application, non-proprietary research). The review criteria are the same.

9. Submission Deadline

Thursday, December 8, 2011, 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. If you have trouble completing/submitting your application online, please contact the SPring-8 Users Office (see 17. Contact) before the deadline.

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.

Please make sure to print out the Agreement*, have it signed by the project leader and the master's/Ph.D. advisor, and send it to the Users Office by post no later than December 15, 2011.

* Important Note for Master's/Ph.D. Advisors:
By signing the agreement, you agree to register as a project team member, to bear equal responsibility with the project leader, and to come to SPring-8 (if at all possible) to provide support, advice, and guidance to the project leader at the time of experiment.

Deadline for 2012B Proposals (next half-year research term):
Deadline for 2012B proposals (second half of fiscal 2012) is scheduled for late June 2012.

10. Proposal Review

Submitted budding researchers support proposals are subject to review as general proposals at the Proposal Review Committee (PRC). At the PRC, the scientific and technological significance, the necessity of SPring-8 as a research tool, the scientific feasibility, safety of the experiment, and ethics are comprehensively peer reviewed.

As for applicants who have conducted experiments at SPring-8 in the past, the number of papers registered with the SPring-8 Publications Database is also considered during peer review in determining, in part, the merits of your proposal; and applicants with a poor track record of registering publications are rated lower.

If you have publications to register, please register at the UI site:
UI site > Log in to My Page > Application/Reporting > After Experiment > Publications Entry

11. Notification of Review Results

Applicants will be notified of the review results in writing mid-February 2012.

12. Report Submission

Users are required to submit an Experiment Summary Report online within 60 days after their experiment. Submitted reports are made publicly available online two weeks after the report submission deadline for the last experiment of the term (60 days after the end of each half-year research term + two weeks). For details, please click here.

13. Publication of Research Results

Publish your research in a refereed journal or equivalent (refereed proceedings, dissertation, etc.) and register the publications with the Publications Database within three years after the end of the research term. If the proposed research did not result in a publication, please publish your research results in a SPring-8 Research Report.

UI site > Log in to My Page > Application/Reporting > After Experiment > Publications Entry

For details, please click here.

14. User Fees

Supported by the Government's treasury, 2012A users of Budding Researchers Support Program are exempt from paying the user fees (fixed and variable fees).

Click here for more details about the user fees.

15. Award/Workshop

Annually, the JASRI provides an opportunity for those who conducted budding researchers support proposals to apply for the Budding Researcher Award and make a presentation on their research results. For details, click here.

16. Consultation

To promote the budding researchers support program, consultation service has been launched since November 2012. For help or advice on any aspect of the program, please contact:

[Consultation Service]
Research & Utilization Division, JASRI
Tel: +81-(0)791-58-0919
email: budding@spring8.or.jp

17. Contact: (questions about proposal process):

SPring-8 Users Office/User Administration Division, JASRI
1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun
Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
Fax: +81-(0)791-58-0965
email: sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp