Proposals
Call for Proposals: Nuclear Science at the WNR and Lujan Facilities
We are pleased to announce the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) is issuing a Call for Proposals for Nuclear Science at the Weapons Neutron Research (WNR) Facility and Manuel Jr. Lujan Scattering Center (Lujan) for the upcoming run cycle June 19 – December 20, 2025.
The WNR facility and the Lujan Center provide neutron and proton beams and can supply detector arrays for basic, applied, and defense-related research, depending on experimental requirements. Neutron beams with energies ranging from about 0.1 MeV to more than 600 MeV are produced at WNR from Target 4 (an unmoderated tungsten spallation source) using the 800 MeV proton beam from the LANSCE Linac. In the Target-2 area (Blue Room), samples can be exposed to the direct proton beam with energies up to 800 MeV. At Target 1 (Lujan Center), cold to epithermal neutrons (0.2 meV – 500 keV) are produced.
To ensure a smooth proposal submission process, we are currently updating our electronic submission system, LEMS. In the meantime, we kindly ask potential proposal teams to prepare their submissions, with the expectation of submitting by mid-April when our new system launches.
We understand that changes to submission systems can sometimes cause inconvenience. Please be assured that we are committed to supporting your research goals and are working diligently to ensure the submission process and system meet your needs. Our dedicated team is here to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have, and can be reached at our LANSCE User Office, POC: Valerie Salazar vsalazar@lanl.gov
Contact
- LANSCE User Office
- (505) 667-6797
Proposal process
The proposal consists of information about the research team, amount of beam time requested and a description of the proposed experiment. Urgent post-proposal-call beam requests may be addressed through a "Fast Access" proposal process if necessary. Please contact the LANSCE User Office, (505) 667-6797, for more information and help with your proposal.
First-time users
If you are a first-time facility user, we encourage you to contact a flight path scientist to discuss your planned work to help ensure that the most appropriate flight path is chosen. View a list of flight path scientists.
LANSCE accepts proposals for the Lujan Neutron Scattering Center, Proton Radiography Facility (pRad) and the Weapons Neutron Research Facility (WNR).
Status
- LEMS is currently being migrated to a new system and undergoing maintenance.
Proton Radiography
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Radiation Effects Testing
Deadline: April 28, 2025. Select Industry Call for submission of proprietary proposals. They are NOT part of the PAC scientific merit review. They will be scheduled on a first come first serve basis. Pre-payment is required. Non-proprietary University and other Laboratory proposals for Radiation Effect Testing will be reviewed by the PAC. Read the Radiation Effects call (pdf) LA-UR-25-22840 |
Nuclear Physics
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Materials Science
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Proposal submission
Every activity on any flight path requires a proposal. Proposals are submitted online into the new LANSCE Experiment Management System. If you have an account in the old LANSCE proposal portal please use the "Forgot your Password?" to reset your password and access your account in the new system.
Contact the LANSCE User Office for any updates to already submitted proposals.
Note that radiation effects and nuclear science are now addressed as separate calls with different review processes. If you have questions regarding which proposal call is appropriate for your proposal, please contact your instrument scientist or LANSCE User Office.
Guidance on Proposal Writing
While there is not a strict template for research proposals they should contain the following elements:
- Research Goals including background needed to place your proposal in the proper context, and the significance of the proposed work
- Experimental details sufficient for the PAC to determine the feasibility of your experiment: what you want to measure, estimates of signal and background, justification for time request
- If you require special help in the form of specialized equipment or personnel expertise discuss these needs
While we do not enforce a strict page limit proposals should be no more than 4 pages in length.
Proposal review
All proposals are reviewed for scientific merit by Program Advisory Committees (PACs). In the case of proprietary proposals, such as the case for industry, users pay for beam time and no scientific merit review is conducted.
Program Advisory Committees (PAC)
Three PACs are convened to review proposals: one for pRad, one for materials science, and one for nuclear physics. The Nuclear Physics PAC (NPAC) is divided into three subcommittees
(Basic Science,
Nuclear Technology,
and Weapons Physics).
The goal of these committees is to select those experiments that are thought to be the most important in a particular field, will have the greatest impact in the particular area of research, and have the greatest chance for success. The PAC rates the proposals and these ratings are used as input to the scheduling process. Users are given an opportunity to present their proposal either in person or by telephone before the pRad PAC and to answer questions from the committee.
If a proposal is rated highly, it will be scheduled for beam time. Before the experiment is actually run, it must undergo a safety and technical review. If the experiment is "routine" in the sense that it is very similar to experiments that have been done before and does not have any significant safety or compliance issues, it will be approved for beam time. If there are safety, compliance, security, or other concerns, the experiment will be reviewed in more depth by a committee of subject matter experts. The result of the safety review may be additional requirements, procedures, and/or documentation.
If you have any questions please contact the LANSCE User Office, lansce-user-office.lanl.gov.
