Useful info for MCX users

On Proposal Submission

We invite users and collaborators to discuss their proposals with the beamline local contacts well in advance before the submission deadline. This is crucial for a careful assessment of the experiment feasibility and may result in an improvement of the proposal. In a restricted number of cases, when doubts arise about the suitability of your samples or the planned measurements, it may be possible for us to arrange a test. Please read carefully our guidelines for proposal submission.

Call for proposals

The deadline for proposal submission for beamtime allocation is to be announced.

Access Request

Users and collaborators coming to MCX for experiments are requested to fill the dedicated Access Request Form. Timing for the submission of the Access Request varies according to Users Categories: General Users, EU Funded Users, Research Team Members and Collaborators must submit their Access Form at least two weeks before the experiment. Italian Users must submit their Access Request form at least one month before the experiment. Note that in order to be able to enter the Elettra Laboratory, your access request must be approved. Instructions for different user categories can be found on the User Office webpages following our quick links.
 

When to apply

The Call for Proposals deadline occurs twice a year, on March 15 and September 15. The exact dates are advertised on this website.

Peer Review evaluation

The proposals are reviewed by an independent Panel, the Elettra Proposal Review Panel (PRP), after their feasibility has been assessed by the beamline coordinators. The PRP is composed of experts in various fields of synchrotron radiation research evaluates the scientific merit of the proposals. The main criteria for evaluation are the following: expected impact of the experiments, topicality, probability to produce one or more publications on highly cited scientific journals, potential to help solving important technologically or socially relevant problems, possible development of a new application of synchrotron radiation.

Funding

In order to find out the latest news on the financial support options that are available please visit the Elettra User Office web pages. Partial support schemes for Italian users are currently available. A dedicated scheme for non EC members is provided by the ICTP. Unfortunately, EC support is currently unavailable.

Submission on VUO

Proposals must be uploaded and submitted on the Elettra Virtual Unified Office (VUO). Before writing a proposal, you and your collaborators must register on the VUO.

Feedback from the local contacts

In order to be able to get back to you with feedback on the proposal feasibility, we warmly encourage you to upload your proposal on VUO at least one week before the deadline. Interaction with the local contacts is highly recommended. Don't hesitate to discuss with us the experimental plan in great detail.