Before Your Visit

Specific instructions and tips for NE-CAT are listed on this page.

Complete instructions on accessing the APS, user registration, ANL domain accounts, and dosimetry is available at the APS Website.

Register as a User

In order to collect data at NE-CAT, all experimenters must be a registered user at the APS with approved site access. Registration of US citizens is valid for two years. Registration of foreign nationals is valid for two years or until the expiration of their USCIS status documents, whichever is sooner. An email will be sent a month before your user access expires, two weeks before, and the day of expiration. Please register once you receive these emails so that your user access does not lapse. Once Registration is expired, it must be updated in order to continue to have approved site access and to be added to an Experimental Safety Assessment Form (ESAF). Once you have a date scheduled for your experiment at NE-CAT, please make sure that your site access dates are current or that you have begun the registration process. The approval for site access can take up to two weeks for foreign nationals, so plan ahead.

  • If you are a new user, go to the APS Registration Form through My APS Portal to register and begin the site access approval process.
  • If you have previously registered with the APS and have an APS badge number, you can check the status of and update your APS registration through the My APS Portal.
  • All required USCIS documents will need to be uploaded at the time of registration.

The dates for your approved site access will be shown on the homepage of the My APS Portal.

CV Required for Foreign Nationals

As part of the site access approval process, the Department of Energy requires a CV to accompany all foreign national visit/assignment requests. The required format and contents of this CV is described on the Visitor Information – CV page.

Your registration can be updated by going to the My Registration tab in the My APS Portal.

How do I get Beamtime at NE-CAT?

All beam time at NE-CAT is distributed through the APS Universal Proposal System (UPS). If you do not have an active proposal, then you will need to submit an MX General User Proposal (GUP) and then submit an Experimental Time Request (ETR) on the proposal.

  1. To collect data at NE-CAT, you must specifically request 24-ID-C and/or 24-ID-E as your 1st and 2nd choice beamlines. You cannot share ETRs between different sectors (NE-CAT is sector 24). A GUP is good for 2 years, but it is necessary for you to submit an ETR for each APS run that you desire beam time. Please see How to Apply for APS Beamtime for more information and to check proposal deadlines.
  2. Once you have submitted an ETR, NE-CAT will claim the ETR and you will be contacted by Cyndi Salbego to schedule time or you may proactively contact her. Both NE-CAT beamlines have 2 shifts per day: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (day), 7:00 PM – 9:00 AM (night). Other scheduling options are available on a case-by-case basis.
  3. You will need to obtain site access in order to collect data on-site or remotely.
  4. You will need to file an Experimental Safety Form (ESAF) listing all your actual samples and all the members of your group that are participating in the beam time.

If you want to copy information from an OLD proposal, you can access the old system (READ ONLY) to download the information.  If you can’t access it, please contact Cyndi and she can download it for you!

Scheduling Beamtime

After you have submitted an ETR on your GUP, NE-CAT will claim your request. Regular beamtime requests are claimed prior to BAC day and scheduled by Cyndi Salbego during the maintenance month (usually January, May and September) between run cycles. NE-CAT member institutions receive priority and are contacted first. Afterwards, all general users who have submitted a ETR or who have reached out to Cyndi Salbego are scheduled. 75% of all beamtime at NE-CAT is provided to general users. Rapid Access beamtime is available throughout a run and often announced via the NE-CAT news mailing list. If any additional time is available, a secondary announcement of rapid access time may be made on the CCP4 mailing list.

Currently, both NE-CAT beamlines operate on 2 shifts per day: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (day), 7:00 PM – 9:00 AM (night). Other scheduling options are available on a case-by-case basis. If you lose beamtime due to technical issues, such as the storage ring dumping beam, NE-CAT will find you additional time.

Contact necat@cornell.edu to schedule rapid access time, be placed on our mailing list, or be placed on the stand-by list.

You can check the APS Long Range Operations Schedule to determine when the APS is in operation or maintenance mode.

Filling out the Experimental Safety Form

The APS Experiment Safety Approval Form (ESAF) should be submitted online. This information should be submitted at least one week before the start of your beamtime so that the appropriate approvals can be received. A step by step guide has been created for your reference (see page attachments). If at all possible, please use the ESAF link that is generated through the APS scheduling system and sent to you via email so that the fields are prepopulated.

You are required to:

  1. Provide the full names of all macromolecular crystal samples and the expression system (e.g. HpxO should be written Urate Oxidase expressed in E. coli). If you require or prefer this information to be kept confidential please check the confidential box at the end of line.
  2. Include in the ESAF form all the experimenters who will be coming to NE-CAT or actively collecting data remotely. One of the experimenters listed as on-site or remote should be selected as Spokesperson (SP). This spokesperson will have to either sign (if ON-SITE), or electronically sign (if REMOTE), the ESAF, attesting to the accuracy and completeness of the information provided on the ESAF. Experimenters collecting data remotely should be listed as ‘REMOTE’ on the ESAF.
  3. If you did not use the link from the scheduling email to initiate your ESAF, please enter the GUP number of the General User Proposal associated with this ESAF.

Required APS Training

All APS training can be taken remotely with your badge number with the exception of Sector Orientation which will be done at the NE-CAT beamline for which you are scheduled. This training must be completed for your ESAF to be approved.  On-site users are required to wear a dosimeter at the beamline.  GERT must be complete for a dosimeter to be issued.

Required for REMOTE experiments:

  • ESH223U: Cyber Security Education and Awareness (1 year)

Required for ON-SITE experiments:

  • APS101: Advanced Photon Source User Orientation (2 years)
  • ESH100U: Argonne National Laboratory User Facility Orientation (2 years) (Gate pass cannot be issued unless this training is current.)
  • ESH223U: Cyber Security Education and Awareness (1 year)
  • ESH738, GERT: General Employee Radiological Training (2 years)

Dewar Shipping Information

Dewars can be shipped to:

User's Name
c/o David Neau (NE-CAT)
9700 South Cass Avenue
Bldg. 436E
Lemont, IL 60439

Telephone number (630) 252-0695

For more detailed instructions on shipping, click the button.

Automounter Pucks and Bases

NE-CAT uses an automated sample mounter, colloquially called the Robot which requires you to ship us crystals which have been cryogenically frozen on 18mm pins and stored in cryo-pucks.  If you do not have the correct equipment, you may borrow cryo-pucks through our Puck Loan Program.

24-ID-E has a modified ALS-Style BAM built in-house by the NE-CAT Technical Team.

  • The Robot storage dewar can hold 14 cryopucks (ALS-Style or Uni-Puck).
  • We recommend CrystalCap SPINE HT (HR8-112), and MiTeGen B5 bases.
  • All pins must be 18mm in length.

24-ID-C has a modified ALS-Style BAM built in-house by the NE-CAT Technical Team.

  • The Robot storage dewar can hold 30 cryopucks (Uni-Puck).
  • SPINE bases (CrystalCap SPINE HT (HR8-112) or MiTeGen B5 bases) are required.
  • All pins must be 18mm in length.