Scientific areas and review committees

Each application for beam time is assigned to one of 11 broad scientific areas. A Review Committee corresponds to each area.  Members of these committees are specialists in related areas of science and are appointed by the ESRF management.  Review Committees assess proposals for their scientific merit or technical relevance. The Review Committees meet twice a year, in April and October, shortly after each proposal round.

Below is a list of the scientific areas; the abbreviation following each title is used in proposal ID numbers.

Scientific domains

• Chemistry-related Studies (CH)
  For study of the structure, state, composition and reactions of substances, including chemical crystallography, characterisation of structural phase transitions, polymorphism, investigation of reaction pathways and catalysis.

• Environmental and Cultural Heritage Matters (EC)
  For experiments relating to environmental and earth sciences and cultural heritage materials and artefacts, primarily requiring 2D/3D X-ray imaging and in particular techniques such as X-ray fluorescence, micro-XAS infrared microspectroscopy, and X-ray tomography.

• Disordered systems and Liquids (HD)
  For studies of the structure and dynamics of disordered systems and liquids by elastic and inelastic scattering, EXAFS as well as correlation spectroscopies.

• Electronic and Magnetic Properties (HE)
  For the electronic and magnetic properties of materials; structural properties aspects are included but only when related directly to magnetic or electronic properties. Techniques/methods include Compton and magnetic Compton scattering, Nuclear resonance scattering, Hyperfine spectroscopy, X-ray dichroism, X-ray magnetic scattering and diffraction, X-ray emission spectroscopy, inelastic X-ray scattering, photoemission, etc.

• Crystals and Ordered Systems, Structures (HS)
  This category includes studies of the structures of ordered systems, and high-pressure studies.

• Applied Materials and Engineering (MA)
  For studies of industrial or engineering relevance.

• Medicine (MD)
  Studies relating to bio-medical research requiring 2D-3D X-ray imaging, fluorescence, and small angle scattering. Additional areas include radiobiology, dosimetry and radiotherapy-related studies.

• Methods and Instrumentation (MI)
  Experimental studies aiming at the further development of synchrotron radiation instrumentation, ranging from passive and active optical elements to detectors, experimental set-ups and advanced sample environment are included.

• Macromolecular Crystallography (MX)
  For studies involving the structure determination of biological macromolecules using X-ray crystallography. Experimental methods include single or multi-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD/MAD) and molecular replacement using fixed wavelength X-rays. The study of macromolecular structures using the Laue technique is also included.

• Soft Condensed Matter and Biological Materials (SC)
  For studies of soft matter, non-crystalline structural biology and the interdisciplinary area of nanoscience. Topics include structure, equilibrium and non-equilibrium dynamics, and kinetics in the bulk and at interfaces. Experimental techniques include AXS, WAXS, micro-diffraction, XPCS, GISAXS, GIXD, USAXS, reflectivity, etc.

• Surfaces and Interfaces (SI)
  For studies relating to structural, dynamical, chemical and electronic properties of surfaces and interfaces using a variety of techniques, which comprise surface X-ray diffraction, X-ray Standing Waves, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, GISAXS, XCS, etc. Studies from other fields of science are also included if they involve analysis of surface and interfaces.