Advanced Photon Source

A U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science,
Office of Basic Energy Sciences national synchrotron x-ray research facility

 

Policy: Evaluation of Beam Time Used for Proprietary, Classified, and Non-Academic-Non-Proprietary Research

Summary:

The results of most Advanced Photon Source (APS) based research are available for publication in the open literature. This policy defines the requirements for APS users to justify the value of the remaining proprietary, classified, or other unpublished research.

Background:

To ensure that the APS is optimally used to meet Department of Energy scientific and technological objectives, APS management must evaluate the impact of the work performed using APS facilities. APS research falls into the following categories:

• Non-proprietary work performed with the goal of publication in the open scientific literature,
• Proprietary or classified research, or
• Industrial nonproprietary research that may not be suitable for publication but is nonetheless important to the industry.

The publication record (deposited in the APS publication database) resulting from APS beam time will be the primary basis of evaluation for non-proprietary experiments, except for those falling in last category above.

Scope:

This policy addresses the information required for the evaluation of the impact of (1) proprietary or classified work or (2) unpublished industrial sponsored works in progress, or (3) nonproprietary industrial research that may not be suitable for publication. For research in all three categories, the APS requires annual documentation of the impact of this research.

Unpublished Work Impact/Justification

A written statement is to be provided to the APS Deputy ALD at the end of each fiscal year stating the general area for which the beam time was used and indicating in general terms the importance of the work. This written statement can be either a statement for each scheduled beam time or one statement from each research institution listing each of the scheduled beam times and providing as impact statement that covers them all.

The researchers are encouraged to provide additional information to justify the value of the APS to their research such as company testimonials or publicity addressing the values of the APS to the fulfillment of company goals (such as bringing new products to market or improving industrial processes), news reports that mention the APS, or letters from company/program senior managers attesting to the value research to the company/program goals.