This call has been closed.

You are invited the Partner User, which user in upgrading science case of the beamline with an extensive experience of utilization and research. International parties are welcome to apply. Please refer the application guidelines and instructions below.

I. Partner User Scheme

1. About the “Partner User (PU)”

The Partner User (PU) program is defined as qualifications and missions listed below.

Eligible individuals are (1) those who have a thorough knowledge of public beamlines and measurement techniques, and (2) those who are expected to contribute to developing academic fields of SR science and technology. And the mission of PU is (a) to aim to produce leading-edge SR usage and high-quality research results and promote expansion of intended research field using developed/upgraded beamline facility, (b) to collaborate for beamline facility development/upgrade, and (c) to provide user support relating to (a) and (b).

2. PU Activities

2.1 Research Experiment
PUs can carry out research experiments relating to the following upgrade during the specified period.

2.2 Collaboration for Beamline Facility Development/Upgrade
PUs are expected to collaborate with BL staffs for beamline facility development/upgrade. Intended upgrade programs are limited to the SPring-8 beamline facilities for public use.

A maximum beamtime available to two of PU activities; 2.1 and 2.2 (PU proposal) is 16% of the total shifts (8 hours/shift) allocated to each beamline. Note that only non-proprietary research can be performed.

2.3 User Support
PUs are required to provide help and support to the users using developed/upgraded beamline facilities described above on operation procedures, measurement techniques and data analyses.

3. Designation Period and Available Beamlines

3.1 Designation Period
Generally, the designation period is two years. However, this may be extended up to four years only when the Partner User Review Committee deems it necessary. If you wish to be on the list of PUs for FY2019 starting from April 2019, please apply this time.

3.2 Available Beamlines
Following pubic beamlines are available to PUs performing PU activities outlined in 2. PU Activities. For the specifications of beamline upgrade programs during designated period (generally 2 years from FY2019), please contact the following beamline scientists individually.

4. Support for PUs

Currently, JASRI provides the following support for PUs performing PU activities^* (see 2. PU Activities); at this point, however, it is uncertain if we will be able to obtain the necessary funding for FY2019. Details will become available after passage of the budget for FY2019.

- Domestic travel and SPring-8 Guest House lodging expenses necessary for the conduct of PU activities* (see 2. PU Activities). Note that there is a limit to the number of PU group members eligible for the support.
- User fees: fixed fee (10,560 yen/shift) and variable fee necessary for the conduct of PU proposals.

* Collaborative research with the BL users will not be regarded as PU activities.

5. Report Submission

5.1 Experiment Summary Report (PU Proposal)
Please submit a "SPring-8 Experiment Summary Report" online within 60 days of the end of the user beamtime. Two weeks after the deadline (60 days + two weeks after the end of the user beamtime), the submitted experiment summary reports will be incorporated into the experiment summary report database with search capabilities and made available to the public on the User Information Website. For details, please refer to the User Information Website.

5.2 PU Activity Report
Please submit a PU Activity Report summarizing beamline facilities upgrade and user supports conducted by PU for each half-year research term within 60 days of the end of the user beamtime.

6. Dissemination of Research Results

○ Make a Poster Presentation at the SPring-8 Symposium
　 Expected date: Summer 2020 and 2021
○ Submit a PU report to the online magazine published by the JASRI
　 (Upon completion of the designation period)
○ Register your results when they are published.
Publish your research results in refereed journals or equivalent, in which the proposal number is specified, and register the published works with the Publications Database within three years after the end of the designation period. If the proposed research did not result in a publication, please submit a SPring-8/SACLA Research Report. In the publications, users shall clearly state that the results were obtained through the use of the SPring-8 specifying the relevant experiment title and number. For details, click here.

[Upon completion of the designation period]
- Submit a PU report, which will be published in a quarterly online magazine published by the JASRI, SPring-8 Information.
- Make a poster presentation at the SPring-8 Symposium.

[On an as-needed basis]
Register your results when they are published.

7. Post-Implementation Review

A closed-door Post-Implementation Review will be conducted by the PU Review Committee upon completion of the designation period in terms of PU activities (see 2.1 ∼ 2.3).

II. APPLICATION GUIDELINES

1. Application Method

Please contact the SPring-8 Users Office first and have your account activated for online application from the User Information Website.

It is possible that the web browser crashes while working on an application, so you are strongly encouraged to draft your application offline first using a MS Word template.

To prepare your application, please follow the Instructions on How to Fill out Online Application Form.

2. Submission Deadline

Thursday, October 18, 2018, 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 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 a confirmation email, you should assume your proposal has not been submitted successfully, in which case you should return to the "Proposal Application Top Page" and see if the proposal is listed in the "Submitted" section.

3. Screening of Applicants

After the submission deadline, all submitted applications will be assessed against the eligibility requirements, and shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview.

The interview (presentation followed by a question-and-answer session) is scheduled for Friday, December 7, 2018; please prepare your presentation on your development/upgrade of beamline, research experiment relating to the upgrade, and user support well in advance.

4. Notification of Review Results

Applicants will be notified of the results of the screening and interview in writing. The current schedule is as follows.

Result of the screening: Early November, 2018.
(Only those selected for an interview will be notified of the time for the interview.)

Result of the interview: Mid-December, 2018.

Contact:

SPring-8 Users Office/User Administration Division, JASRI
1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun
Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
Email: sp8jasri@spring8.or.jp