Key Requirements
Pre-proposals and full proposals will be evaluated on:
- Scientific Motivation and AI Need: Proposals must demonstrate a strong scientific case where the integration of AI is central to achieving the scientific objectives and justifies the requested amount of beamtime beyond conventional methods.
- Mandatory Staff–User Partnerships: Every project must be an active collaboration between at least one external user group and at least one ALS beamline scientist. Project concepts must be discussed and agreed upon with all participating ALS beamline staff prior to submission. If ALS computing resources may be required, the beamline scientist must reach out to the ALS Computing Group to discuss the work prior to submitting.
- Data and Model Sharing Commitment: Participating teams must commit to sharing experimental data, code, trained models, and documentation developed during the project among all team members and with the ALS to help advance facility-wide AI capabilities and infrastructure.
Submission Process
Because this call is fast-tracked ahead of the upcoming allocation meetings, the process will follow a condensed timeline that differs from standard general user proposals. The submission process will follow these steps:
1. Open Call for Pre-Proposals
- Interested users and ALS beamline scientists discuss potential collaborations to determine whether a joint project on the proposed topic is appropriate. If computing resources are needed, the beamline scientist consults the ALS Computing Group in advance.
- Teams submit a pre-proposal form, including a PDF narrative online. See template to download and attach to the form. Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Pre-proposals will be evaluated by an ALS management review panel to assess alignment with ALS priorities, feasibility within the project period, and the potential of the proposed AI workflow.
2. Full ARC Proposals (by Invitation)
- Teams whose pre-proposals are successful will be invited to submit a full ARC proposal. A submission link with instructions will be shared via email.
- Full proposals will detail the scientific objectives and how AI integration will advance high-impact science, how AI workflows will be developed, and how the research aligns with ALS facility priorities to advance AI workflows and models to serve the general user population.
3. Proposal Review & Award Notifications
- Full proposals will be reviewed by members of the Proposal Study Panel (PSP) and scored against an established rubric.
- An ALS panel will review scores and determine which proposals will be awarded beamtime for the 2027-1 and 2027-2 cycles.
- Submitters will be notified if beamtime will be awarded or not.
If you have any questions about the submission process or program details, please email ALS User Program Manager Tracy Mattox.
Last page update: September 8, 2026