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1. Getting
Started
This stage takes you from initial
discussions to having scheduled beam
time. You must complete certain administrative
requirements before you can use ORNL
facilities. Researchers are encouraged
to consult with the HFIR or SNS instrument
scientists to determine what capabilities
are available. This stage includes
the following areas:
Identifying an instrument
and a local contact for your experiment
- Examine instrument pages and contact
instrument scientists. Each of the
instruments has an instrument web
site describing the capabilities
and functions of the instrument and
identifies the instrument scientist.
Noted at the bottom of this page
is a one-page fact sheet written
for a researcher needing more information.
The instrument scientist is an excellent
resource to confirm the feasibility
of your experiment and the effectiveness
of the research technique, in addition
to answering other questions about
the capabilities of the instrument.
- The instrument
status page notes the status of each instrument
and indicates the instruments that
are part of the user program.
- When you submit your proposal,
you must identify a local contact
with whom you have discussed your
research topic and who will work
with you as needed on your experiment.
- Integrated Proposal Tracking System (IPTS) - This system contains information
about safety and publication policies,
as well as information about user
agreements. You must read these items and click on “I
Agree with These Conditions” to
enter the proposal system.
- The next page allows one to log
in to the IPTS. You must be registered
prior to logging in to the system.
A new user must register even if
he already has an ORNL UCAMS account:
Click “Register in XCAMS”,
and you will access a screen that
allows one to register for a new
account, and to retrieve a forgotten
username or password. Everyone will
be a new user initially. After entering
the required information, within
5-10 minutes you will receive an
e-mail with your username and password,
and then another e-mail asking you
to log-in to synchronize your password
with the IPTS.
- Once that is done, you must again
go to the homepage of IPTS (use the
URL above), and then log in to the
system to begin proposal preparation.
Returning users may go directly to
the log-in function to access the
IPTS. Once you have access to the
system, HELP will be provided on
each page as you enter the required
information into the proposal system.
If you have any questions or problems
with the IPTS, please contact Elane
Streets (streets@ornl.gov or telephone
865-574-6612).
- Recent enhancements to the proposal system include new instruments entering the program and several software changes.
- IPTS Proposal Preparation Procedure Guide (pdf).
- Information on the latest "Call for Proposals" period can be found at the User News page.
Submitting a proposal
- Access modes: To deliver outstanding
science there must be access modes
that are sufficiently flexible so
as to be responsive to user needs.
There are two basic modes of user
access, General User access and Partner
User access, each with variable scope.
For more information, see
the policy
governing use of Neutron Sciences
instruments.
- Proprietary/Nonproprietary
Users of the facilities include academic,
industrial, and government scientists
and engineers. While the vast majority
of user research will be in the public
domain, and so must be disseminated
by publication in the open literature,
there may be access for a reasonable
percentage of proprietary research
which utilizes these unique facilities
for economic benefit. Users conducting
proprietary research may access beam
time as either General Users or as
Partner Users. Full cost recovery will
be obtained for proprietary research,
and efforts will be made to secure
appropriate intellectual property control
for proprietary users to permit them
to exploit their experimental results.
Experimental proposals will undergo
the feasibility and safety review processes.
Science reviews will be conducted according
to the mode of access and will emphasize
the programmatic impact of the proposed
research along with the utilization
of the specific capabilities of these
ORNL facilities. Contact the User Office
for more details about proprietary
research.
Evaluation criteria
The evaluation criteria used in the
peer review procedures for all users
will take as their starting point the
criteria proposed by the International
Union of Pure and Applied Physics in
its recommendations on the operation
of major user facilities (http://www.iupap.org/ga/ga22/majfacil.html).
These are:
- scientific merit,
- technical feasibility,
- capability of the experimental
group, and
- availability of the resources
required.
These criteria may be supplemented
with additional requests, for example,
to justify the need for special equipment
or to satisfy safety and environmental
concerns. Special consideration will
be given to encourage and support first-time
users so they can compete effectively
in the peer review system. Preference
will be given to proposals that utilize
the unique capabilities of a facility.
The paramount criterion will be scientific
merit. All user proposals will have
a feasibility and safety review carried
out by facility staff. If a proposal
is considered not technically feasible
or has safety concerns requiring time
and resources to resolve, it will be
returned to the proposer with appropriate
comments including suggested changes.
Safety considerations
It is the goal of these facilities
to create and maintain a safe and ecologically
sound research environment for its
users. These facilities and their users
shall give highest priority, and take
all reasonable measures, to protect
the health and ensure the safety of
HFIR and SNS users and visitors, ORNL
personnel, and the public, and to prevent
accidental damage to property and the
environment. Facility operations shall
never be given a higher priority than
personnel safety.
To achieve these goals, all users
and individuals conducting activities
at the HFIR or SNS under the auspices
of the user program shall comply with
the environmental, safety, and health
(ES&H;) policies and practices set forth
in the Policies and Procedures of the
facilities. Noncompliance by users
may lead to shutdown of their experiments
or exclusion of individuals from experimental
areas at the discretion of the managers
of the facilities.
An experiment will not be performed
[including as part of an Instrument
Development Team (IDT), Partner User,
or a proprietary experiment] unless
there are adequate safeguards for protection
of the health and safety of the user,
facility staff, and protection of the
environment and the facility. Awareness
of hazards and training are important
components of the safety program. Both
HFIR and SNS will identify a local
contact for each experimental team
who wishes to use either the HFIR or
SNS; this person or his delegate will
assist the experimental team in preparing
and performing the experiment.
HFIR and SNS will provide required
personal protection equipment that
is not user-specific, such as safety
glasses and safety hats, to users to
enable the user to access work at the
instrument. The user is responsible
for individualized personal protection
equipment required for the safe operation
of their experiment, such as prescription
safety glasses, steel-toed shoes, or
regular clothing for daily use by users
for the conduct of their experiment.
All user-supplied equipment, including
sample environments and samples, must
be identified during the proposal process
(including as part of an IDT, Partner
User, or a proprietary experiment).
This equipment will be reviewed and/or
tested by HFIR or SNS to determine
if it has been built to acceptable
standards, hazards have been appropriately addressed,
and it can be operated in a safe manner;
a UL-approval or equivalent is the
standard. An Experiment Safety Review
will be conducted for each experiment.
Each user is responsible for his behavior,
including adherence to all ES&H; concepts
and practices and HFIR and SNS policies
and procedures. The principal investigator
will ensure that all members of the
user team follow the policies and procedures
of the respective facility and have
been adequately trained in the hazards
of their experiment. The facility or
laboratory space manager for the work
or research areas ensures all work
adheres to and follows HFIR or SNS
policies and procedures.
Completing user agreements
Access to the Oak Ridge user facilities
such as the HFIR or SNS is a twofold
process: the review and approval of
the user’s proposal and an executed
agreement between the user institution
and UT Battelle, the managing contractor
of ORNL.
Upon proposal approval, the ORNL Partnerships Directorate begins the process to execute a user agreement with the user institution. This agreement, which can be proprietary or nonproprietary, stipulates terms and conditions, including disposition of intellectual property. The User Agreement is a "master" agreement which establishes the general terms and conditions, including disposition of intellectual property, for work at any of our user facilities. Work at a particular facility for a particular project is accomplished by execution of an Appendix A which references the "master" agreement, delineates the scope of work, period of performance and costs (if any).
Calls for Proposals at Other Facilities
• ISIS • SINQ • BENSC • LANSCE • ILL
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