SPring-8, the large synchrotron radiation facility

The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) has launched the second call for proposals for BL14B2 (Engineering Science Research II), BL19B2 (Engineering Science Research I) and BL46XU (Engineering Science Research III), which are intended for industrial applications. Please prepare your proposal application using the following guidelines and instructions. BL14B2 also accepts applications for the SPring-8 XAFS measurement service. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply.

1. Beamlines and the Number of Shifts Available to Users
2. Outline of Proposals Invited
  2.1 Industrial Application Proposal (See 2.1.2 for one-year proposal)
  2.2 Proprietary General Proposal
  2.3 Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal
3. Proposal Submission (Click here for draft application forms.)
4. Notification of Receipt of Proposal
5. Deadlines
6. Notification of Review Results
7. Publication of Research Results
8. User Fees
9. Other
  9.1 Intellectual Property Rights
  9.2 Bioethics and Safety
  9.3 Protection of Human Rights and Interests
10. Consultation
11. Contact

1. Beamlines and the Number of Shifts Available to Users
Research Period: from January through February 2010

Please click on the links to see specifications and the status of experimental stations. If you have questions about the experimental stations, please contact the beamline scientist of the desired beamline(s) before applying for beamtime. To see what kind of experiments have been performed at SPring-8, please check with the SPring-8 Solution Database.

[Several Bunch Mode Operation in 2009B]
  A-mode: 203 bunches
  B-mode: 4-bunch train x 84
  C-mode: 11-bunch train x 29
  D-mode*: 1/14-filling + 12 bunches
  E-mode*: 4/58-filling + 53 bunches

* In Research Term A (e.g. 2010A, 2011A), D and E-modes will be 1/7-filling + 5 bunches and, 2/29-filling + 26 bunches, respectively. For details, click here.

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."

2. Outline of Proposals Invited
2.1 Industrial Application Proposal
2.1.1 Application Categories
Industrial application proposals are categorized into four groups: New User, New Area, Industrial Base Consortium, and Advanced Technology Development.

The "New User" refers to first-time users (incl. users from business organizations); that is, applicants representing the project team have never used SPring-8. In such a case where a company (with extensive operation) has already used SPring-8, the applicant must be a first-time user from a different division/new business field to be eligible. If you are considering applying as a New User, please contact the Industrial Application Division in advance.

The "New Area" is a category for a new field of industrial research that has never been conducted at SPring-8, and other fields of industrial research where the use of a newly developed research method is expected to bring a new dimension. Examples of "New Area" are listed below for your guidance.
• Building materials such as concrete: X-ray computed tomography to capture the three-dimensional internal structure
• Health care: Analysis of skin/hair structures using X-ray diffraction, X-ray scattering, and transparent image
• Active pharmaceutical ingredient: Structural analysis using powder X-ray diffraction
• Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: Interface state analysis of thin-film materials
• Environmentally hazardous substances: Chemical state analysis of heavy-metal pollutants in air and water
• Anti-corrosion materials: Structure/state analysis of metal surface and rust
• High-density recording media: Thin-film structure/state analysis of new recording materials such as DVD and HDD

The "Industrial Base Consortium" is intended for the research performed by a multi-company consortium collaborating to find solutions to their common problems or to co-develop a new research method that will contribute to industrial applications (e.g. development of new measurement techniques, establishment of database of common problems, etc.). Please make sure that one applicant represents one consortium to submit proposals. Please note that we expect each member company of the consortium to be equally entitled to the use of results obtained through research at SPring-8. In the case of an industry-academia-government collaboration, academic and governmental organizations are collectively counted as a single company. After the common problems are solved under the consortium, each company can apply for proprietary beamtime to conduct further research of its own.

The "Advanced Technology Development" refers to an innovative technology development research carried out by companies that aim to improve their corporate performance with results obtained at SPring-8 or to return such results to the public.

If you are not sure which category best suits your research, please contact the Industrial Application Division. Although the consistency with the application category is reviewed, no special priority is given to any of the categories.

2.1.2 Important Note about One-Year Proposal
When it is deemed relevant to conduct multiple experiments during two consecutive half-year research terms, or when a year-long research project is expected to lead to tangible progress of research and development, we accept one-year proposals from industrial users as well as general users. This time, adopted proposals will be allocated beamtime for the second half of 2009B, the first half of 2010A and the second half of 2010A. Please note that the research period for one-year proposals starts from research term B, and there is no call for one-year proposals for research term A.

For instructions on how to submit a one-year proposal, please see 3.1 Online Proposal Application.

Please be advised that if we decide your proposal does not qualify for one-year beam access, you will not be awarded 2009B beamtime and your proposal will be processed as a regular half-year proposal.

2.1.3 Proposal Review Process
The submitted proposals are evaluated by the Proposal Review Committee (PRC) consisting of experts from industry and academia. The review sessions are closed to the public; however, we make sure that a reviewer having interests in a proposal would not be assigned to review the proposal in question. In addition, all current and retired reviewers are under an obligation of confidentiality: they are forbidden to disclose to any third party any information relating to the submitted proposals and the proposal review/selection process acquired as reviewers and to manage such information with the care of a good manager.

The PRC evaluates proposals focusing on the following points:
- Cutting edge approaches to science and technology
- Contribution of expected research results to industrial applications
- Consistency with the application category
- Necessity of SPring-8 as a research tool
- Technical feasibility of the proposal
- Safety of the experiment

2.2 Proprietary General Proposal
Users have no obligation to publish their results. Instead, proprietary research requires the payment of fees for the beamtime used (480,000 yen/shift). Submitted proposals are subject to a simplified review process conducted by a limited number of reviewers, who have accepted an obligation of confidentiality: they are under an obligation not to disclose to any third party any information relating to the submitted proposals and the proposal review process acquired as reviewers. Proprietary research is recommended for users dealing with confidential information and/or experimental samples.

Applicants are required to submit a "Proprietary Use Agreement for Public Beamline" after online proposal application. Please download the Agreement in PDF format, obtain signature of the personnel in charge of the payment, and send it to the Users Office by post by Friday, November 13, 2009.

2.3 Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal
The Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Program is intended for research proposals that require the use of the SPring-8 and have already been reviewed and approved for a large research grant. From 2008A, proposals with a large research grant designed to train young researchers are also invited. Under the program, the proposals will be granted an exemption from scientific review process; only the safety and technical feasibility of the experiment and the necessity to use the SPring-8 are considered.

2.3.1 Application Requirements
Applicants need to have obtained a research grant (see the applicable grant programs below) of more than 20 million yen (The amount reallocated to other research organizations must not be included) through an open and transparent review process or have received an annual allotment of more than 5 million yen from a person who has obtained a research grant of more than 20 million yen.

Applicable grant programs are as follows:
- competitive research grant programs administered by the Japanese Government Ministries
(Grants-In-Aid for Scientific Research funded by MEXT, Science and Technology Promotion Adjustment Funds of MEXT, etc.)
- competitive research grant programs administered by the Japanese Independent Administrative Agencies such as Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), etc.

2.3.2 Information Required for Online Submission
- title of experiment, research areas, and research methods
- desired beamlines and the number of shifts requested
(Please contact the Beamline Scientist in advance to estimate the number of shifts)
- details of potential hazards and associated safety measures
- reason for the need to use SPring-8
- experimental details and reasons for selecting the beamlines
- information about the competitive research grants (name of the competitive grants program, name of the organization inviting applications for the program, name and outline of the project for the program, name of the project leader, project period, amount of the grants, etc.)

2.3.3 Important Notes
- In principle, programs on the Comprehensive List of Competitive Funds posted by the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office, are considered the applicable grant programs. Please click here to see the list (PDF).
- Proposals with college/university grants, private grants, and grants from abroad are not accepted.
- If the program's research purpose is irrelevant to your research purpose specified in your application for SPring-8 beamtime, your proposal will be disqualified.
- In the case of a long-term grant program requiring beamtime in more than one research term, an application needs to be made every half-year research term.

2.3.4 Program Fee
Applicants are required to pay the program fee of 131,000 yen/shift (incl. tax). The payment must be made to the designated bank account after the experiment is completed.

2.3.5 Required Documents
- SPring-8 Program Fee Payment Agreement
Please download the agreement form from the UI site (Click here to download the PDF form), provide all the required information and send it to the Users Office by post (see 11. Contact) by Friday, November 13, 2009.
- Research purpose and research plan
Please make a copy of the relevant pages of application for the grants and send it to the Users Office by post or courier by Friday, November 13, 2009. You can also convert the file to PDF and send it via email. If it is not stated in the application that synchrotron radiation is necessary for the research, please provide a supplementary explanation. In case you need to apply for beamtime in more than one research term extending into the new fiscal year, please submit a copy of the relevant pages of the application submitted for the new fiscal year.

3. Proposal Submission
3.1 Online Proposal Application
Applicants/project leaders are required to submit proposals online through the web-based proposal submission system. First, login to the system with your user card ID number and password. If you have not obtained your user card ID number, please complete user registration first. Please note that only the project leader can submit proposals: if a project team member needs to submit a proposal in place of the project leader, he or she must login to the project leader's account. In this case, the project leader is responsible for managing his or her account information. Before starting the application process, project leaders must make sure that all project team members have completed user registration.

- Industrial Application Proposal (Download draft application form in MS Word format.)
User Information Website (UI site) > Login > Proposal Submission > New > Non-Proprietary Research ---> Industrial Application Proposal > New

- Proprietary General Proposal (Download draft application form in MS Word format.)
UI site > Login > Proposal Submission > New > Proprietary Research ---> General Proposal

- Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal (Download draft application form in MS Word format.)
Please first contact the Users Office (see 11. Contact) to have your user account activated.
UI site > Login > Proposal Submission > New > Non-Proprietary Research ---> Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal

Important Notes
a. Proposal Type (New/Continuation)
Make sure that the research can be completed within the two-month research period. The "Continuation" is intended for users who were unable to finish thier experiment in the previous research term for compelling reasons, and wish to continue the experiment. When you wish to continue research after using up all the beamtime allocated in the previous research term, please choose "New."

b. Use of Multiple Beamlines
Applicants wishing to use more than one beamline must submit a separate application for each beamline. Submitting multiple applications does not work against applicants if it is deemed appropriate to use more than one beamline.

c. Project Leader
A project leader is a person who will assume overall responsibility throughout the experiment at the SPring-8.

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

3.2 Document Submission
In addition to the online application, document submission is required of proprietary general proposals and non-proprietary grant-aided proposals. For details, please refer to each proposal's instructions.

3.3 Multiple Application
Please do not submit duplicate applications using different categories of industrial application proposal.

4. Deadlines
4.1 Deadline for Online Proposal Submission

10:00 am (Japan standard time), Friday, November 6, 2009

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 11. Contact) before the deadline.

4.2 Deadline for Document Submission
- Industrial Application Proposal
None

- Proprietary General Proposal
Proprietary Use Agreement for Public Beamline: Friday, November 13, 2009

- Non-Proprietary Grant-Aided Proposal
SPring-8 Program Fee Payment Agreement, research purpose and research plan: Friday, November 13, 2009

5. Notification of Receipt of Proposal
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 confirmation within a reasonable time, please login to the proposal system and check if your proposal has been submitted.

6. Notification of Review Results
Applicants will be notified of the review results in late December 2009.

7. Publication of Research Results
After the experiment is completed, project leaders are required to submit the following report(s):

- SPring-8 Experiment Report (All Proposals)
Please submit a "SPring-8 Experiment Report" online within 60 days after the experiment. For more details, please click here.

- Industrial Application Proposal Report (Industrial Application Proposals Only)
Please submit an "Industrial Application Proposal Report" by the submission deadline written in the official document sent after the proposal is approved. Please send your report as electronic data preferably in MS Word format by email or post.

Two weeks after the deadline for all 2009B Experiment Report submissions (60 days + two weeks after the end of 2009B), experiment reports with database search functions are made available to the public on the UI site, while industrial application proposal reports will be available in print.

[Postponement of Report Publication for Industrial Application Proposal]
You may make a request that either of your reports remain unpublished on the website or in print to obtain a patent, and if your request is accepted, the publication of both reports will be postponed for up to two years. (Please note that the report submission deadlines may not be extended.) When the postponement ends, please report to the Industrial Application Division the consequences of the postponement (e.g. A patent was granted, etc.)

A briefing session is scheduled after a certain number of reports are submitted, and you will be required to give a presentation on your research results unless you are granted a postponement. Please make sure to report to the Industrial Application Division immediately in writing after filing or obtaining a patent or in the case of commercialization of intellectual property. Please note that we sometimes consult users about the use of research results for PR purposes.

8. User Fees
Users are required to pay the fees to cover the costs of beamline maintenance/operation and consumables actually used (user fees). User fees are composed of a fixed fee charged for wear and tear on the facility and a variable fee charged for liquid He, He gas, and the stockroom reagents, parts, and stationeries.

  Fixed Fee: 10,300 yen/shift (8 hours) incl. tax
  Variable Fee: calculated based on the amount actually used

Important: Supported by the Government's treasury, 2009B users affiliated with organizations outside Japan are exempt from paying the user fees.

Click here for more details.

9. Other
9.1 Intellectual Property Rights
Any intellectual property rights resulting from the use of SPring-8 belong to those who conducted the research. If JASRI staff are included in the project team members, please contact the Industrial Application Division (see 10. Consultation).

9.2 Bioethics and Safety
To ensure bioethics and safety, some types of experiments require the approval, document submission, and confirmation of the director of an applicant's organization. If you wish to conduct such experiments, please make sure to follow the established procedures. In the event that users fail to follow the procedures or to conform to the guidelines of Japan, their proposals will be removed from consideration or the approval for beamtime will be cancelled.

9.3 Protection of Human Rights and Interests
If a proposed research involves R&D or research activities requiring the agreement/cooperation from the other parties or social consensus, please make sure to implement appropriate procedures before proposal submission regarding the protection of human rights and interests.

10. Consultation
The coordinators of Industrial Application Division are available for consultation. If you have questions about the feasibility of your experiment, research methods, research planning, etc., please send your questions directly to support@spring8.or.jp.

11. Contact (for questions about online proposal submission)
SPring-8 Users Office/JASRI
1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
Tel: +81-(0)791-58-0961
email: sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp