The User Office is accepting new General User Proposals (GUPs) from scientists who wish to conduct research at the ALS in 2027.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE: September 2, 2026
As previously announced, we continue to plan for dark time to start no earlier than October 2027, lasting approximately 22 months. We also anticipate substantial user beamtime in 2027 and have revised our user proposal plans to include an additional call for new General User Proposals (GUPs) and beamtime requests (BTRs) on existing GUPs, with a September 2, 2026, deadline.
Upcoming user beam schedules:
- 2026-2 Cycle (July–December): No beam in the second half of 2026. The ALS will shut down in early July through the end of the calendar year for the replacement of the switch station through which all power for the ALS accelerator comes.
- 2027-1 Cycle (January–June): Several months of beam, anticipated to begin in January. Accumulator ring commissioning will require a month-long period in the spring without user operations. Following this, continued accumulator commissioning will require approximately six weeks of reduced user operations. During that time, the ALS will be shut down for approximately four days per week. The detailed cycle schedule will be announced in fall 2026.
- 2027-2 Cycle (July–December): At least three months of beam, depending on final dark time start date. We will not have an extended shutdown in summer 2027. Detailed schedule anticipated in spring 2027.
- Dark time: Dark time is planned to start no earlier than October 2027 and will last approximately 22 months.
Current proposal call plans:
- September 2, 2026: We will accept new GUPs and BTRs for the 2027-1 January–June cycle. All new GUPs should be completed within the two cycles of beamtime offered in 2027.
- Expiration Notice: GUPs with first cycles in 2024-1 and 2024-2 will expire before the 2027 cycles begin. Submit a new proposal to get beamtime in 2027-1.
- BTR Submissions: GUPs with first cycles in 2025-1 and 2025-2 can submit BTRs to request time in 2027-1.
- March 2027: We anticipate accepting only BTRs for the 2027-2 July–September cycle. We do not plan to accept new GUPs in March 2027.
- RAPIDD: The RAPIDD access path will be open in 2027 for urgent access requests and for experiments that can be finished within a single cycle. Contact the beamline scientist(s) to see if a RAPIDD proposal is appropriate for your experiment.
- Existing Approved Programs (APs) will pause when the ALS goes dark and then will resume afterwards. We do not plan to issue calls for new APs before the dark time.
Please log in to ALSHub to submit a new GUP or to make a beamtime request (BTR) on an existing active proposal.
Users are reminded that they need to have an ALSHub account to submit proposals, and that creating an account may take 1–2 business days. We encourage all users to check their account well before the proposal deadline. If your PI does not have an ALSHub account, please have your PI create an ALSHub account as well.
Molecular Foundry Joint Access
Users can request joint access to facilities at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility at Berkeley Lab, to support their ALS activities. Available resources include sample preparation and complementary characterization techniques. We recommend exploring the expertise and instrumentation available and contacting the scientists directly to discuss the feasibility of your research plans. You may also reach out to the Foundry User Office directly with your questions. Users should review these guidelines before submitting a proposal.
Contact: alsproposals@lbl.gov