The Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) invites applications for power user (PU) positions, which were exclusively for designated PUs until FY2007. Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. Please follow the guidelines and instructions below when applying.

I. PU Scheme

1. Eligibility Requirements

Eligible individuals are those who have a thorough knowledge of public beamlines and measurement techniques, and those who are expected to contribute to developing academic fields of SR science and technology. In addition, successful applicants will be required to comply with all the following program requirements:
a) Aim to produce high-quality results in the field of cutting-edge SR research,
b) Develop and upgrade experimental stations (and provide BL staff with technical support and advice for this purpose),
c) Open new research fields, acquire new users, and provide user support.

2. PU Activities

2.1 PU Proposal
To fulfill the program requirement a) above, PUs can carry out PU proposals. A maximum beamtime available to one PU proposal is 20% of the shifts (8 hours/shift) allocated to each beamline. Note that only non-proprietary research can be performed.

2.2 Development/Upgrading of Experimental Stations and User Support
To fulfill the requirements b) and c), PUs are expected to engage in their individual development/upgrading of the experimental station(s) while providing BL staff with technical support and advice. As for user support, PUs are required to provide help and support to experiments carried out by the users from closely related fields on measurement techniques and data analyses.

3. Designation Period and Available Beamlines

3.1 Designation Period
Generally, the designation period is five years. If you wish to be on the list of power users for FY2011 starting from April 2011, please apply this time.

Power users are subject to an interim review of research achievements, equipment development and user support by the Power User Review Committee at the end of the third year and whether to continue or discontinue the power user status is determined. When the designation period is completed, a post implementation review is conducted by the Power User Review Committee. Please note that you will be requested to submit activity reports for the interim and post implementation reviews in addition to experiment reports required at the end of each half-year research term.

3.2 Available BLs
All 26 pubic beamlines are available to PUs performing PU activities outlined in 2. PU Activities. For the specifications and status of experimental stations, please check with the Beamline List.

4. Support for PUs

Currently, JASRI provides the following support for PUs performing PU activities¹ (see 2. PU Activities); at this point, however, it is uncertain if we will be able to obtain the necessary funding for FY2011. Details will become available after passage of the budget for FY2011.

- Domestic travel and SPring-8 Guest House lodging expenses necessary for the conduct of PU proposals, PUs' individual development/upgrading of the experimental station(s), and support for users². Note that there is a limit to the number of PU group members eligible for the support.
- User fees: fixed and variable fees necessary for the conduct of PU proposals, support for user experiments, development/upgrading of the experimental station(s).

¹ Collaborative research with the BL users will not be regarded as PU activities.
² PU group members and JASRI staff registered as project team leaders/members will not be regarded as "users."

[Important]
- There will be no support provided for PU group experiments by the BL Scientist.

5. Report Submission

5.1 PU Proposal
Please submit a "SPring-8 Experiment Report" online within 60 days of the completion of the experiment. Two weeks after the deadline for all Experiment Report submissions (60 days + two weeks after the end of each half-year research term), the submitted experiment reports will be incorporated into the experiment report database with search capabilities and made available to the public on the User Information Website. The submission of the experiment report is required for your research to be considered non-proprietary. Unless you submit your experiment report by the deadline, you will be required to pay the amount equal to proprietary beamtime fee (480,000 yen/shift). Please note, even in this case, you are not exempt from submitting the experiment report.

Please also be sure to disseminate your research results through publication in refereed journals, oral conference presentations, etc. and register the results with the SPring-8 Publications Database as soon as they are published.

5.2 Development/Upgrading of Experimental Stations and User Support
Please submit an activity report for each half-year research term.

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

Friday, October 22, 2010, 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 (30-min presentation followed by a 30-min question-and-answer session) is scheduled for Thursday, November 18, 2010; please prepare your presentation on your power user proposal, development/upgrading of beamline, 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: Wednesday, November 10, 2010
(Only those selected for an interview will be notified of the time for the interview.)

Result of the interview: Early December 2010.

Contact:

Fumiko KUWANO, Terue UNO
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