[Neutron] 25th CERIC Call for Proposals now OPEN [Deadlines: September 1st / September 30th 2026]

[Nicoletta Carboni]

*CERIC Call for Proposals Now Open*

The Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium, CERIC-ERIC 
<http://ceric-eric.eu/> is calling for proposals for coordinated access 
to more than 60 instruments and support laboratories for research in all 
fields of materials, biomaterials and nanotechnology. The call is open 
to researchers from all over the world. In addition to the possibility 
to access several instruments through a single application, we offer 
support for mobility.

To apply, use the link "Submit a new CERIC proposal" in our Virtual 
Unified Office - VUO, at https://vuo.elettra.trieste.it/

As usual, there will be two deadlines:

  * *September 1st 2026, at 17:00 CEST* to have a pre-evaluation and the
    possibility to improve your proposal
  * *September 30th 2026, at 17:00 CEST* final submission, recommended
    only for users that are expert in all the techniques requested.

*WHAT'S NEW IN THIS CALL*

Four nuclear laboratories of the European Commission’s Joint Research 
Centre (JRC) have just been added to the CERIC portfolio, allowing 
studies of neutron-induced reactions, irradiations in well-characterised 
neutron and gamma fields and accurate measurements of radioactivity for 
science and technology applications.

  * MONNET Accelerator-based fast-neutron source
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/jrc-monnet-accelerator-based-fast-neutron-source/>
  * GELINA Neutron Time-of-Flight Facility
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/jrc-gelina-neutron-time-of-flight-facility/>
  * HADES Underground laboratory for ultra-low level gamma-ray
    spectrometry
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/jrc-hades-underground-laboratory-for-ultra-low-level-gamma-ray-spectrometry/>
  * RADMET Radionuclide Metrology laboratories
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/jrc-radmet-radionuclide-metrology-laboratories/>

*Upgrades & Maintenance*

*Elettra 2.0*


Starting from July 2nd, 2025, the removal of Elettra and the 
installation of the new Elettra 2.0 machine has begun at the CERIC 
Italian Partner Facility. The new source will exhibit a major increase 
in the brilliance and coherence fraction of the photon beams. The 
Elettra 2.0 optics is based on our enhanced symmetric six bend achromat 
structure (S6BA-E) with a 12-fold symmetry and an emittance of 200 
pm-rad at 2.4 GeV. The new structure creates also straight sections in 
the arcs permitting the installation of additional insertion devices, 
thus increasing the number of beamlines. Existing beamlines are being 
upgraded, and new beamlines will be installed to take full advantage of 
the characteristics of Elettra 2.0. The new machine is scheduled for 
commissioning in the first half of 2027.
 Hence, in the current call for 
proposals access will not be offered to the beamlines located at Elettra 
Sincrotrone Trieste.

Three offline beamlines will instead keep offering access:

  * Inelastic Ultraviolet Scattering Offline laboratory
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/inelastic-scattering-with-ultraviolet-radiation-beamline/>
    (IUVS-Offline)
  * Offline Synchrotron Infrared Source for Spectroscopy and Imaging –
    Chemistry & Life Science
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/synchrotron-infrared-source-for-spectroscopy-and-imaging-offline-access/> (SISSI-Bio
    OFF-line)
  * Czech Materials Science Beamline
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/materials-science-beamline/>
    (MSB) at Elettra offers offline photoemission experiments with a
    dual-anode (Mg/Al) X-ray lamp as photon source. Most of the
    end-station facilities described on the website
    https://www.elettra.eu/lightsources/elettra/elettra-beamlines/msb/manuals.html
    remain available, please contact the local staff before submission.

In addition, the following instruments continue to offer access to CERIC 
users:

  * TomoLab
    <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/x-ray-computed-tomography-ct-tomolab/>
    at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste
  * TeraFERMI <https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/terafermi/> at
    Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste

Although the Austrian SAXS beamline located at Elettra is currently 
unavailable, SWAXS measurements are offered at the TUG SAXS instrument 
on an Anton Paar SAXS Point 7000 (Lab SAXS 
<https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/lab-small-angle-x-ray-scattering-facility-in-graz/>).

*
Ruđer Bošković Institute
*

The Croatian ion beam facility at the Ruđer Bošković Institute is 
undergoing a major upgrade to the accelerator building, currently in its 
final implementation phase. Consequently, approved proposals will be 
executed starting in the summer of 2027.

*National Synchrotron Radiation Centre SOLARIS
*

Due to the ongoing expansion of the research infrastructure, the PHELIX 
beamline 
<https://www.ceric-eric.eu/lab-instrument/soft-x-ray-photoelectron-and-absorption-spectroscopy/> 
will not be available and is therefore excluded from the current call.

For further information about the call, please visit 
https://www.ceric-eric.eu/users/call-for-proposals/

<https://twitter.com/CERICnews/status/1485985479539544064> Share on 
Linkedin 
<https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ceric-eric_researchopportunity-callforproposals-openforscience-activity-7488616494356971520-s6bX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAA55DaYB2RS10AdoYxOIwzUVmIC3jDe8GG0>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.neutronsources.org/pipermail/neutron/attachments/20260803/0678220d/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: IMOJHBNNb9VRtXjZ.png
Type: image/png
Size: 128197 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.neutronsources.org/pipermail/neutron/attachments/20260803/0678220d/attachment.png>