About the SPring-8 Users Community (SPRUC)

Purpose

The SPRUC is a user organization formed by SPring-8 users. In close cooperation with the Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion (JASRI) and the facility owner (RIKEN), the SPRUC aims to facilitate the sophistication and optimization of the facility use and the development of science and technology by building bridges between the SPring-8 and academia/industry. Interaction between members is expected to ensure the development and expansion of SR science and quantum beam science.

Organization

With a view to achieving the above goal, all users of SPring-8 shall automatically become members of the SPRUC upon completion of SPring-8 user registration. A Chair, a Board of Councilors, a Secretary, and several committees will conduct the business of the SPRUC. The Board of Councilors will have 30 councilors serving two-year terms (with half being elected every year). The councilors will be nominated by the representatives of 4 representing organizations (see below) from among the SPRUC members and elected by the SPRUC members through an electronic voting process. The Chair will be selected by the elected councilors and will appoint a Secretary. The Chair and the Secretary will serve two-year terms. The SPRUC will also have representing organizations, each of which has a representative, to obtain recommendations on the management policies of the SPRUC. The representing organizations will be nominated by the Board of Councilors every two years from among the universities, research institutes, and companies with which many SPring-8 users are affiliated and approved by the General Assembly. Users affiliated with the representing organizations shall select their representative through discussions from among expert colleagues who can put together the opinions of on-site researchers from users' perspective. The representatives of the representing organizations shall participate in the Conference of representing organizations, nominate candidates for councilors, provide recommendations on the activities of the SPRUC as experts.

Click here for enlarged organization chart.

Functions

• The SPRUC shall be an interdisciplinary organization in which all SPring-8 users can participate to discuss the better use of SPring-8 and put their opinions together.
• The SPRUC shall be an organization which will make a commitment to the operation and management of SPring-8 not only from users' point of view but also from a technological/social perspective.
• The SPRUC should not be a place for each member's individual society activity; rather, the SPRUC shall act as an interface between academic/industrial research societies (associations) and SPring-8 by conducting surveys to determine user trends in cooperation with the Registered Institution for Facilities Use Promotion.

Message from the Chair

The election of SPRUC’s second council took place on September 26, 2023. As the newly elected chair, I am honored by the confidence they have in me to represent our profession. I would like to inherit the foundation developed by all past chairs and will work on achieving further progress and advancement over the next two years. The Vice Chairs, Secretaries, and Committee Chairs approved at SPRUC’s third council, which took place on January 12, 2024, are listed as follows.

	Vice Chairperson for SPring-8	TANAKA, Yoshihito	University of Hyogo
	Vice Chairperson for SACLA	YONEDA, Hitoki	The University of Electro-Communication
	Vice Chairperson for Industry	MIYANAGA, Miki	Sumitomo Electric Industries
	General Affairs Secretary	KUBOTA, Yoshiyuki	Osaka Metropolitan University
	PR Secretary	TANAKA, Manako	Tokyo University of the Arts
	Facility Use Secretary for SPring-8	MIZUMAKI, Masaichiro	Kumamoto University
	Facility Use Secretary for SACLA	MATSUDA, Iwao	The University of Tokyo
	Event Secretary for SPring-8 Symposium	SUGIMOTO, Kunihisa	Kindai University
	Event Secretary:SPring-8 Symposium	NAGAMURA, Naoka	NIMS
	Event Secretary for Autumn School	MATSUMUIRA, Daiju	JAEA
	Event Secretary for Autumn School	SHIRO, Ayumi	QST
	Editorial Secretary	ASAKURA, Hiroyuki	Kindai University
	Accounting Secretary	NANGO, Eriko	Tohoku University
	Planning Secretary	OHWADA, Kenji	QST
	SPring-8 Utilization Committee Chair	MIZUMAKI, Masaichiro	Kumamoto University
	SACLA Utilization Committee Chair	MATSUDA, Iwao	The University of Tokyo
	Event Committee Chair	SUGIMOTO, Kunihisa	Kindai University
	Project Committee Chair	OHWADA, Kenji	QST

The year 2024 will be a major turning point in synchrotron radiation utilization research. As the first 4th-generation synchrotron radiation facility in Japan, NanoTerasu will start operation. Furthermore, SPring-8 will be upgraded to SPring-8-II, the 4th-generation large synchrotron radiation facility. As an expert community of synchrotron radiation utilization research, we need to enrich our knowledge and technology to make the most of advanced light sources. To this end, we would like to deepen the discussion on SPring-8-II and related technologies through SPRUC activities, such as SPring-8 symposia, BLs upgrade workshops, and research group activities. In addition, we would like to contribute to human resource development and expand the base of users through SPring-8 Summer School, SPring-8 Fall School, and workshops by the research group.
Collaboration both inside and outside SPRUC is becoming more important when utilizing advanced light sources. It is expected that the improved light source performance of SPring-8-II will lead to a closer collaboration with SACLA users. In addition to cooperative and complementary use with the new facility NanoTerasu, collaborations with other facilities will become even more important as we look ahead to the construction of SPring-8-II. Furthermore, as the advanced development of SPring-8-II has entered a new stage, as a users’ community, we have a responsibility to communicate not only technical requirements to the facility but also its usefulness and necessity to the public. We would like to start this activity and contribute to accelerating the SPring-8-II project.

Chair of SPRUC
Professor of School of Engineering
Kwansei Gakuin University
Akihiko Fujiwara