Other Comments from Users:
Beam time proposals should be able to be submitted electronically.
Good survey format. Should allow accounting for co-PI's and non-PI/non-postdoc research group members in demographic section (not just postdocs).
When proposals are scored, there needs to be a balance of new proposals versus proposals which have received a lot of synchrotron times, even though the scores for new proposals may be lower.
My use at present is to test detectors for mainly crystallographic use. Rapid access modes, e.g. beamline staff time, have been most useful in the past. Sample handling facilities are important. Access to local computing is not so important (but nice).
I am in the unusual situation of working in a department that runs two protein crystallography beamlines, thus my responses to the survey are not those of a typical user.
If I could always collect my data at a synchrotron, I would. There is no substitute for experimental phases; molecular replacement phasing is subtly inferior and misleading. Hence, I would hope to collect both native and MAD data for all projects.
We currently average 2 synchrotron trips per year, primarily to use MAD for protein structure determination. Each trip consumes about 3 days of beam time. I expect (hope!) our synchrotron needs will approximately double over the next 5 years.
With easier access to a reliable and efficient MAD beamline, structure determination will be greatly facilitated.
Signing proprietary users agreement (and non proprietary agreements) generates a lot of concerns inside of an industrial crystallography lab.
Thanks for working on this and good luck!
The factors you list which normally limit synchrotron use are precisely those which caused my company to appreciate the importance of having our own beamline. Access must not be impaired by governmental ignorance.
I am actually a "supplier" of synchrotron photons. My answers relate to the collaborative projects I have and those that involve my own students.
To date we have not used a synchrotron in our research. Beginning this month we will be using synchrotron radiation in our research, and hope to increase our use of synchrotrons over the next couple of years.
We plan only to use the synchrotron when we cannot successfully solve a structure at home, but I still feel good access and good quality facilities are very important.
We have one project currently that may require synchrotron use for MAD phasing. Future use will depend on specific research projects/crystal quality.
The long time between proposal and beam time makes it very difficult to organize crystal growth or biochemical preparations in general and synchronize these with the synchrotron schedule.
About 2/3 of our projects depend on the availability of synchrotron X-ray sources.
I anticipate my need for synchrotron X-ray data under cryogenic conditions to increase in coming years!
Expect to generate samples in 3-5 years that will require high brilliance for diffraction. Do not have them yet, which is why we have not used synchrotrons recently. MAD phasing likely to be used in early experiments.
Our laboratory is now starting to gear up to utilize synchrotron sources for our structure analysis. We anticipate that this project will involve several trips to radiation sources over the next 1-2 years.
A flexible approach to the experimental station is very important. I enjoy this style at the X1A and other beamlines at the NSLS.
On the limited occasions when I felt that an EXAFS measurement was desirable I have been able to persuade colleagues to collaborate with me.
Canada is presently deciding whether or not to build a synchrotron facility. It seems promising but not assured. Much of the research done in my laboratory will stop if we do not have access to a synchrotron.
All labs should have their own synchrotron [beamlines].
We are rarely able to do "experiments" at the synchrotron. Time is always filled with challenging, but routine, data collection.
Need blocks of time of at least a week in length to work with live material.
The long lag between submitting a proposal and getting beam time needs to be reduced. Notification that beam time is available needs to be increased (i.e. >1 month). Both problems will only be solved with increases in total beam time.
We are a team working at a SR facility. The number of publications will be available in a few weeks as the activity report 1993-1996 has been tackled (about 1.4 publications/researcher/year).
We have been reasonably satisfied with SSRL & Brookhaven trips. In the early days of our major project, we had difficulty in transporting crystals. Those problems have mainly been solved.
Synchrotron radiation absolutely essential for earthworm hemoglobin structure and oxy-lamprey, oxy-Glycera hemoglobin structures.
The research group are those dedicated to SR experiments; there are two research associates, 11 postdocs, 4 graduate students and two technicians. Total budget is $800,000.
By the time beam time is approved for a particular project, it is common for other projects to be more important for data collection with the use of synchrotron radiation.
Looking forward to using more synchrotron time in the years ahead.
Most of our work is on relatively small proteins for which heavy atom derivatives are difficult to obtain. We now routinely produce selenomethionine proteins for analysis and expect to use synchrotrons on a more regular basis.
Synchrotron radiation is becoming an essential part of protein crystallography. It permits rapid structure determination and extends the data to higher resolutions. We estimate that the requirements for beam time will expand considerably in the future.
I would rank high brilliance as being the most important for our work, as it allows to do structures, such as large macromolecular assembles, not possible otherwise.
The lag time between the time we need synchrotron radiation and the time we get it is much too long.
Federal funds must be reserved for specialized synchrotron facilities first. Ordinary bending magnet lines must derive some support directly from users Ð more insertion devices, especially at 2nd generation synchrotrons, are critical.
Occasional users should be supported with quick access and standard facilities. This should not require dedication of a major portion of research group. Continuous attempts to broaden the base of users are extremely important.
Of the above, good documentation/software/computing are my biggest concerns. With my small group, several days at a time are too much of a strain. However, one day at a time is not worth the travel. Catch 22.
I anticipate my future needs will be significantly greater than my past usage.
By far the biggest obstacle in the way of our making greater use of synchrotron radiation is the 9 month interval between application for time and use.
It has been a great facility and the staffs are very helpful.
The US Synchrotron inventory is a marvelous resource, and needs careful nurturing to extract its full value.
In that we are located in Houston, TX, traveling to any synchrotron source is costly and inconvenient. Every trip to a synchrotron is physically and emotionally exhausting for everybody because the crystals have to perform Ð or else!
There are experiments I would like to try but cannot because synchrotron time is so precious and travel is expensive.
Synchrotron availability has been critical to my research.
Many important experiments in structural biology can not be done without synchrotron radiation resources. This will only become increasingly true as scientists are able to crystallize larger and larger biologically important complexes.
The ready availability of synchrotron facilities has opened new dimensions in protein structure studies, particularly in high resolution of large molecules (e.g., bacterioferrin) and atomic resolution studies (e.g., concanavalin A).
Beautifully done survey, covers all the key points.
Better to spend available funds on improving regional facilities (e.g. SSRL, CHESS etc.) than putting all eggs into one basket that is only available to a few (APS).
I am not a crystallographer but collaborate with a crystallographer who uses the synchrotron periodically. I am most interested in rapid techniques to observe enzyme-substrate intermediates.
PRT & CAT access to NSLS and APS is ESSENTIAL for regular repeated access for long-term projects of major users best matching key instrumentation development to particular scientific projects while still allowing for general users.
Too many of the current beamlines have sub-optimal MAD facilities. There is a desperate need for MAD lines with: rapid and precise wavelength change; high energy; very small bandwidth; easy on-off cryo cooling; quick fluorescence; CCD.
I'll soon have access to the ALS as a PRT member, which will improve my own situation drastically. Rapid access for routine MAD experiments as a phasing tool cannot be overemphasized.
Location is extremely important. Access by car relative to plane reduces travel costs and facilitates transport of equipment and biological samples.
Folks at CHESS do an outstanding job of user support. Usual experimental limitations associated with x-tography Ð getting xtals of sufficient quality to characterize sufficiently to put in an application.
At the present time our synchrotron use is initiated by our collaborator in macromolecular crystallography. In the future, this use will be initiated by us.
Easy access to quick meals at odd hours!
My collaborators are necessarily and usually people who have more expertise in synchrotron science! Need to coordinate availability of 2-4 expert collaborators from US, UK, Germany. My main research goal is time-resolved snapshots of the motor molecule.
It is critical to reduce the time between proposed submission and beam time availability. It makes no sense anymore to plan data collection 8 months-1 year ahead of time.
Don't use synchrotron radiation now. When materials are ready (2-5 years), it will be essential.
Synchrotron data collection is of absolute necessity. We could not have done any of these without SSRL and Brookhaven.
Faster backup/archiving facilities.
Small research groups can be disadvantaged by not having a critical mass of personnel for a synchrotron trip. Development of shared time or some other mechanism would make beam time more accessible to more people who'd like to use it.
Synchrotron use will become essential for developing projects.
I expect to use the BioCAT beamline regularly from 1998 on.
We have 12 days beam time at Brookhaven with the first 3 days scheduled for 8/97. All 12 days must be completed within scheduling year.
The Stanford facility has been great. I appreciate the use and the friendly staff.
My use of synchrotron resources in the U.S. in the past has been sporadic and not terribly productive, but these were valuable learning experiences. The company for which I work is a member of IMCA - hopefully much additional beam time will be available.
My trips to CHESS were especially helpful.
Our experiences at BNL and SSRL have been very positive. The staff have been exceedingly helpful!
We expect to make more use of synchrotron sources as our IMCA beamline becomes available.