Scope

Outlines clear and consistent policy for who may gain entry to and utilize the tools and resources of the High Pressure Laboratory (HP Lab) at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). Access is prioritized based on institutional and project specific affiliations with the ALS.

Context

Among many ancillary resources for ALS Users, the Photon Sciences Group at the ALS maintains a sample preparation laboratory, room 6-2241 referred to as the “high pressure lab”, primarily utilized by the Diffraction and Imaging Group. The tools and equipment available are specifically useful for the preparation of Diamond Anvil Cells (DACs), although other experimental preparation and development work occurs in the room. Access to the room is restricted for both safety and resource stewardship reasons, and all persons wishing to enter the room must request formal approval through one of the means described below. 

Please note: the HP lab is a support facility for ALS users, not a support facility for Diamond Anvil Cell research outside the context of the ALS.

Resource Stewardship:

The physical space for the HP Lab, the staffing for maintaining the room and the equipment inside, and the administration of both safety and access, is funded entirely by the ALS division. The core mission of the ALS is to provide scientific support to external users who have been formally granted beamtime at one of our synchrotron endstations through our open and highly competitive proposal process.  As in most organizations, our resources are limited, and we have an underlying stewardship responsibility to utilize them as efficiently as possible and for purposes consistent with our funding agency’s requirements. 

Worker Safety:

It is a fundamental tenet of safety at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that no one may perform work of any kind in any location without specific authorization to do so. At the ALS, there are two parallel safety administration systems utilized as tools to meet this requirement.

WPC: Permanent LBL staff and long term visitors are a part of LBL’s Work Planning and Control (WPC) system, and appropriate WPC activities are maintained for work in the HP lab. To be a part of the WPC system, individuals must have a status of “employee” or “affiliate” within the LBL HR systems. To become an affiliate is a non-trivial amount of administrative work, one must have a designated supervisor who is permanent LBL staff, and is generally not done for individuals whose affiliation with LBL is short term. WPC safety approvals are generally valid for fixed durations of time on the order of  1-2 years.

ESAF: Users of the ALS are a special class of short term visitors whose safety approvals are handled through the ALS division Experimental Safety Approval Form (ESAF). This electronic document and tracking system provides for work definition and approval associated with scheduled experimental beamtime. Users who wish to utilize the HP lab during, and immediately before and after, their official beamtime for work directly related to that beamtime may include a request on their ESAF.  ESAF safety approvals are generally valid for fixed, specific dates, centered around officially scheduled beamtime on the ALS floor, on the order of days to a few weeks. 

Types of HP Lab access requests:

Due to the specialized nature of equipment in the HP lab, we receive a large number of requests to utilize the room. Requests fall into the following categories:

1. ALS users wanting to work in the HP Lab during approved experimental beamtime.

2. ALS staff and affiliates working on associated BL projects. 

3. LBL staff and affiliates wishing to perform work in the HP Lab not directly related to associated ALS Beamline programs.

4. Researchers with associations with ALS partner organizations, but who are not themselves ALS users or LBL staff.

5. ALS users wanting to work in the HP Lab at times other than during approved experimental beamtime.

In light of the context described above of our stewardship responsibilities to our funding agency, our safety obligations to ensure a safe workplace, and our limited staffing, the following guidelines shall dictate the priority of access we grant to requestors of HP lab use. It is our intent to apply these policies fairly and consistently to all, and indeed transparency was the impetus for this policy’s creation.  

HP Lab Access Priority Policy: