Available Beamlines

The beamlines suitable for structural biology experiments at the ALS are nearly all run by Participating Research Teams (PRTs). Approximately 25-35% of the beam time on these beamlines is available for general user applications.

• Macromolecular Crystallography: 4.2.2, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.0.3, 8.2.1, 8.2.2, 8.3.1, 12.3.1
• High-Throughput SAXS: 12.3.1

Proposal Submissions

The proposal submission form requests information about the technique to be used and any possible hazards. A short (less than one page) scientific case is also required, which should describe the planned scientific experiment and likely outcome and justification for beam time and the requested beamline.

You can improve your proposal by reading the Proposal Writing Guidelines and Scoring Criteria. 

Proposal Review Process and Beam Time Allocation

All submitted proposals are reviewed by:

• Up to four members of the Structural Biology Proposal Study Panel
• Beamline staff and ALS personnel for technical feasibility and safety

Each proposal is given a numeric rating on a scale of one to five, where one is the highest score. Beam time is then assigned based on each proposal's ranking in relation to all other proposals for a given beamline. Proposals for oversubscribed beamlines may be moved to alternative beamlines with appropriate capability. Responses to the proposals are sent by email approximately four weeks after the submission deadline.

Beamlines and PRT Groups

See information on other types of proposals.