Speaker
Prof.
Miguel A. G. Aranda
(ALBA Synchrotron)
Description
Synchrotron light source facilities deliver their programs by requesting the users to submit proposals to carry out experiments. These proposals are scrutinized at three levels: i) technical feasibility; ii) safety feasibility; and iii) scientific excellence. The first two reviews are carried out by synchrotron staff. The third review is carried out by an independent (normally international to avoid/minimize conflict of interests) scientific committee.
For the three review steps, a highly detailed proposal is required. In this talk, I will try to show how to write a good synchrotron beamtime proposal. Several guidelines (and tips) about the structure and content of a proposal will be given. A good proposal must be complete but not very large, and focused to address a clear scientific challenge. In addition to clearly establish the goal and scope of the proposal, several sections must be addressed in order to allow a thorough evaluation with a successful output: I) a brief and sound introduction to frame the research; ii) any relevant previous laboratory-based characterisation and results obtained by the research group on the samples; iii) the scientific methodology and synchrotron radiation technique to be employed; iv) the results to be expected; v) the justification of the requested beamtime; vi) the relevant bibliography. In case of non-expert users, it is strongly encouraged to contact the relevant beamline scientist(s) in order to ask for the technical feasibility of the proposed work and to look for advised of an optimum match between the expected scientific outputs and the beamlines performances and capabilities.
Finally, it is important to highlight that enough details about the samples and the techniques must be provided to be able to understand not only the technical feasibility but also the requirements needed for a given experiment.
Author
Prof.
Miguel A. G. Aranda
(ALBA Synchrotron)
