Five Minutes/Five Questions with Grace Webster, the CFN User Program Administrator
inputs from the CFN User Office
February 10, 2025
Grace Webster
1. Looking back on 2024, is there a standout accomplishment or milestone for the CFN User Program we should know about?
A milestone for the CFN User Program in 2024 is that CFN supported 719 users, which is the most ever! They came from over 160 institutions, mostly from the U.S. but also from 22 other countries, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the islands of Trinidad and Tobago! The majority of CFN users came from academia (73%), 22% from Brookhaven Lab, and the rest from industry, other national laboratories, and non-federally funded institutions.
2. In December, you joined other CFN staff, users, and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nanoscale Science Research Center representatives at the Fall Materials Research Society (MRS) Meeting vendor booth. How did it go, and what was exciting or fun about the experience?
The Fall MRS Meeting in Boston has always been one of CFN’s best outreach activities. The Exhibit Hall at MRS offered an opportunity for us to meet with materials research professionals who are looking to advance their research projects. This year, we spoke to over 300 participants, the most that we have ever engaged with. We walked away from MRS with fresh enthusiasm and new connections, looking forward to helping prospective users take their research to the next level.
We also held our annual CFN dinner with users and staff at the Capitol Grille. This is one of my favorite events at MRS. It gives us an opportunity to put work aside for a couple of hours and reconnect with past users, colleagues, and friends.
3. Looking ahead, are there any updates, events, or changes that you’re particularly excited about and think users should know?
Save the date! This year’s NSLS-II & CFN Users’ Meeting will be held on April 28-30, 2025. The CFN Users’ Executive Committee (UEC), in collaboration with the NSLS-II UEC, is planning an exciting event this year. Most of the workshops at this year’s meeting will be in person, with a minimal number of workshops in hybrid format. The meeting registration will open sometime in February, so keep an eye out for announcements from the user office.
There is also a new requirement for users in fiscal year (FY) 2026. As a DOE Office of Science (SC) user facility, CFN is required to provide experiment statistics and demographic information on users on a yearly basis. Starting FY 2026, all users of SC user facilities must provide a digital persistent identifier (PID) for themselves. An ORCID iD is currently the only available PID that meets the requirements and common core/standards of a digital persistent identifier service. So, to comply with this requirement, CFN is currently updating the CFN Proposal Portal to collect ORCID iDs for all users. This update will be announced soon, with instructions on how users can connect their ORCID iDs, so stay tuned!
4. Have you noticed any interesting trends or shifts in the CFN user community this year?
One of the most interesting trends that I noticed this year is the increased number of proposals from high schools. We received proposals from six high schools (five local and one from New Jersey) in FY 2024 and supported four high school students on site. In planning our outreach activities this year, I would highly recommend that we include our local high schools in our efforts and coordinate these activities with Brookhaven Lab’s Office of Educational Programs.
5. When you’re not keeping the user office running smoothly, what’s something you love to do or are passionate about?
Playing the piano is the one creative outlet that I am passionate about. I have been playing since I was about 8 years old, and although I know I will never be a concert pianist, I still take piano lessons once a week. This is something that I do for me and no one else. At the end of a stressful day, this is where I find my peace and quiet. It’s the perfect way to end any day.
2025-22316 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
