If you have an idea for an experiment you would like to perform on any of the WiPPL devices we would encourage you to begin a discussion about the idea through our User Proposal Procedure outlined below.
The application for experiment is a fillable PDF in which you can provide your contact information and a brief description of your proposed experiment. You may be asked to sign a user agreement that establishes some basic expectations between WiPPL and users of the facility. Once your application is submitted, you will receive credentials that we will use later in the process to handle access requirements for collaboration. You are also assigned a Facilitator, a staff scientist who will help you make the most compelling case for your project in a user project proposal.
A user project proposal consists of an abstract and a three-slide illustrated presentation, describing the high-level vision for the proposed experiment. Project proposals are reviewed based on principles similar to DOE merit review criteria: scientific and/or technological significance, appropriateness and feasibility of approach, and broader impacts.
Content suggestion for project proposal three-slide illustrated presentation:
1. Overview
* Title
* Team
* Summary including major outcomes, expected publications
2. Motivation
* Background
* Methodology
3. Operations
* Facility needs (plasma sources and heating, diagnostics, software)
* Estimated run time and tasks
Once your project proposal is approved, the next step is to work with your Facilitator to plan for the experiment by developing a run proposal.
The run proposal lays out the specific operational steps planned for the run day. This will include details about the target plasma parameters and the diagnostics requested. It should also lay out any technical or engineering work that needs to be done before the experiment can be performed.
Run proposal templates :
The run proposal is reviewed by an Internal Operations Board that evaluates the planned run for feasibility and provides suggestions to help ensure that the main objectives can be accomplished. Once approved, the experiment can be scheduled.
We will put your experiment on an operations calendar based on the work laid out in the run proposal and on the availability of the investigators. The run schedule establishes who is responsible for operating the device and attending to diagnostics. Although the run schedule is flexible, we prioritize planned experiments if they involve travel constraints.
The run report should briefly address whether the main objectives laid out in the run proposal were achieved. If they were, are there plans for a publication? If they weren’t, what was the reason? Were there technical problems? Are more discharges needed to obtain the needed statistics? Should a different set of diagnostics have been used, different plasma conditions, or a completely different approach? In addition to the run report, we would ask that you provide feedback by filling out a user evaluation.
The comments that you provide in the user evaluation will help us to continue to improve the way we operate as a user facility.