Updates for the User Community

inputs from the CFN User Office

Grace Webster

Grace Webster

Hello CFN user community!

The annual NSLS-II & CFN Joint Users’ Meeting was held from May 20–22. More than 400 attendees participated in workshops and two plenary sessions held at Brookhaven Lab. During his presentation, CFN Director Chuck Black spoke about the CFN’s 10-year anniversary celebration that was held in December 2018. For a complete wrap-up of the users’ meeting, please refer to the feature story published in Brookhaven’s newsroom.

Upcoming Deadlines

  • The next submission deadline for new proposals and requests for additional time for the January–April 2020 cycle is September 31. Please send your submissions through the online CFN User Proposal System.
  • After-hours access at the CFN is authorized on a cycle-by-cycle basis. If you would like to apply for after-hours access or extend your current access, please submit a request through the Facility Online Management After-Hours form. Remember, working with hydrofluoric acid and exchanging pyrophoric, flammable, or toxic gas cylinders are not authorized during after hours.

Upcoming Events

  • The CFN will participate in a conference booth at the Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting in Boston, MA, from December 1–6.  This year. the Society for Scientific User Research Facilities (SSURF) is partnering with the MRS Fall Meeting to highlight user facilities through
    • An exhibit row with SSURF-sponsored refreshments
    • A dedicated hour on the Hub Stage
    • A promotional email sent to more than 5,000 MRS Meeting preregistered attendees
    • Promotion in the Meeting & Exhibit Guide and on social media

Stay tuned; we will send details as we get closer to the meeting. If you are giving a talk or presenting a poster at the meeting, please notify us so that we can encourage meeting participants to attend.

User Science Publications and Highlights

  • We are continuing to collect high-resolution copies of publication covers that feature your papers or articles so that we can promote them at the CFN.  You may send them to the CFN User Office.  
  • 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.

General Reminders

  • Send us an email if you have completed or refreshed a training so that we can update your badge access.
  • Complete a user satisfaction survey after your visit to the CFN. 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.
  • Appropriate attire is required to work in any CFN facility. Long pants and closed toed shoes are required at all times in labs (shorts, sandals, and open-toed shoes are not permitted).
  • 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.

— Grace Webster
User Program Administrator and Outreach Coordinator

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