Updates for the User Community

inputs from the CFN User Office

September 22, 2020

Grace Webster

Grace Webster

Greetings from the CFN User Office! Welcome back! We hope that you and your families are safe and healthy. The CFN is now open for onsite user operations, but under limited capacity—currently a maximum of 16 users per day. CFN staff continue to support user projects remotely by assisting with data analysis and other activities that can be done away from the lab. 

General Information

  • The User Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
  • Users should call or email their CFN point of contact to get on the user roster and schedule. You must be on the schedule to enter the Brookhaven site and perform work at the CFN.
  • The Facility Online Management (FOM) system continues to be unavailable outside the Brookhaven firewall; to schedule a tool, contact the tool manager. 
  • If you cannot log into your FOM account or experience any other FOM-related issues, contact the User Office.

Users Returning to the CFN

  • Before returning for the first day of onsite work, users must complete the following steps:
    • Complete the COVID-19 return-to-work training.
    • Watch the CFN resumption-of-operations orientation.
    • Ensure that your CFN training requirements are up to date.
    • Confirm that you have not traveled to any state or territory that currently has high rates of COVID-19 (consult the New York State travel advisory list) by sending an email to the User Office. If you have, ensure that you’ve been back in New York State for at least 14 days without any symptoms.
    • On the day(s) you are authorized to enter the Brookhaven site to perform work at the CFN, perform the daily pre-entry health screening.

Upcoming Deadlines

  • The next submission deadline for new proposals and requests for additional time for the January–April 2021 cycle is September 30. Please send your submissions through the online CFN Proposal Portal.
  • After-hours access for users is suspended while the CFN is in limited operations.

Events

  • The NSLS-II/CFN Users’ Meeting was held remotely from May 18–20, as originally scheduled. A record-breaking number of attendees participated in the first-ever virtual joint Users’ Meeting to discuss the most recent developments in photon science and nanoscience. Linda Horton, Associate Director of Science for Basic Energy Sciences, gave an update from the Office of Science. CFN Director Chuck Black and NSLS-II Director John Hill provided facility overviews.
  • The Workshop for Industry Users has been rescheduled to December 14–17, 2020.  This virtual workshop will showcase the capabilities and expertise available at CFN and NSLS-II, benefitting researchers who have previously used Brookhaven facilities and those who are interested in learning about accessing them for the first time. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for attendees to remotely measure their own samples, collecting meaningful data to take home that day. The workshop will feature presentations by industry users of Brookhaven facilities, question-and-answer sessions, and opportunities to directly hear from Department of Energy program managers on your questions.

User Science Publications and Highlights

  • We need publication covers! Please send us high-resolution copies of publication covers that feature your papers or articles.
  • Keep us informed of your awards, honors, and publications. Publicizing your discoveries and professional achievements helps us raise the profile of the CFN, attract top scientists from around the world, and secure ongoing funding, especially during this time of budget uncertainty.

General Reminders

  • Before starting work on your project, ensure that you have submitted a Safety Approval Form (SAF) and received approval. To submit an SAF, log into the CFN Proposal Portal.
  • Send us an email if you have completed or refreshed a training so that we can update your badge access.
  • After your visit to the CFN, complete a user satisfaction survey. We provide your feedback to the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, our funding agency. Your survey responses also allow the CFN to identify areas for improvement.
  • The following acknowledgement must be used when referencing work performed in whole or in part at the CFN: “This research used resources of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, which is a U.S. DOE Office of Science Facility, at Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-SC0012704.”

Safety Reminders

  • Access to CFN laboratories is through authorized badge access only. Piggybacking onto someone else’s access is a violation of CFN rules. If you lose access, contact the CFN User Office. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the CFN User Office or any of the CFN staff. We are here to help and to ensure you are safe when conducting your work.  

On behalf of the entire CFN family, we thank you for your continued support of and engagement with the CFN. We hope to see you all soon!

— Grace Webster
User Program Administrator and Outreach Coordinator

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