Call for User Proposals
The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a national nanoscience user facility, is accepting requests for no cost access to its instruments, techniques and skilled staff from scientists seeking to enhance their own research projects. Requests from potential users, in the form of web-based proposals, must be received by the deadline of October 13, 2008.
The mission of the Molecular Foundry is to provide researchers from academic, government and industrial laboratories around the world access to instruments, materials, technical expertise and training in nanoscience. Access to the Foundry is free of charge, for research that is in the public domain and intended for open publication. Proprietary users, those wishing to maintain confidential data, pay a full-cost-recovery rate and have greater latitude regarding generated intellectual property. Over 500 users have already taken advantage of the Molecular Foundry’s capabilities in pursuit of their own research toward the synthesis, characterization and theory of nanoscale materials.
The Molecular Foundry hosts six Facilities that focus on both “soft” (biological and polymeric) and “hard” (inorganic and microfabricated) nanostructured building blocks, and their integration into complex functional assemblies. The Molecular Foundry is a particularly valuable resource for users pursuing multidisciplinary research in nanoscience (e.g., physicists interested in learning biological techniques, biologists seeking nanofabrication expertise, experimentalists pursing theoretical studies, etc.). Many user projects relate to the following broad research themes of the Foundry, which reflect areas of expertise of the Molecular Foundry staff.
- Multimodal in situ nanoimaging and spectroscopy
- Combinatorial nanoscience
- Single-digit nanofabrication
- Synthesis and characterization of nanointerfaces
Prospective users are welcome to contact Foundry staff members (see "Our Scientists" section of the Foundry web site) to discuss their proposal ideas, learn more about the specific Foundry capabilities of interest to them, and to insure that the Foundry has the appropriate facilities, equipment, and staff to perform the research required. However, prior interactions or collaborations with Foundry staff are not required.
The deadline for submission of user research proposals is October 13,
2008. Please
review the Guidelines for Submission (below). Decisions reached
in this round of proposal submission will be announced approximately
8 weeks after the submission deadline and approved projects will be granted
access starting sometime within the subsequent calendar quarter. For
further information and a description of the proposal submission process,
The User Program
Overview section
of our website.
We look forward to receiving your proposal. Should you have any
questions regarding this process, please contact Chris Peach CPeach@lbl.gov or Lorri StClaire LMStClaire@lbl.gov.
Guidelines for Submission of User Proposals
- Each user proposal must describe the overall goals and significance of the project and must also describe clearly and specifically which part of the work is to be done using Foundry facilities and what part of the project will be carried out at the user’s home institution.
- Proposals must be feasible to execute within current Foundry capabilities. Direct contact with Foundry staff in advance of the proposal submission deadline is invited to discuss feasibility issues. Proposals that require capabilities from more than one Foundry Facility are encouraged.
- Proposals will be reviewed by selected members of the Foundry Proposal Study Panel (according to subject area) using evaluation criteria proposed by the IUPAP in its recommendations on the operation of user facilities. This review focuses on scientific merit, expected impact, and User capability.
- General questions about the proposal process can be directed to the Foundry User Program Manager, Chris Peach (cpeach@lbl.gov)
