The in-person participants of the ISTAC Meeting at ELI ALPS
The International Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (ISTAC) had its third meeting May 4-5 at ELI ALPS. One of the key topics was preparations for the first ELI ERIC User Call. Providing access to researchers is the core mission for the ELI ERIC. This will be the first time both facilities are jointly open to external users in the same call.
“I’m proud that we are able to launch the first Call for Proposals within the first year of establishing the ELI ERIC,” says ELI ERIC Director General Allen Weeks. “The teams at both ELI ERIC facilities have worked hard to reach this point and the support of ISTAC is essential.”
The first joint User Call is a crucial milestone, offering commissioned scientific equipment at both ELI ALPS and ELI Beamlines to the scientific user community for research experiments. The focus is on the instruments with reliability and the most extensive operational experience during commissioning. The Call is expected to launch in May for selected experiments to be performed between October 2022 to March 2023. Overall, the presented plans for user access were endorsed by the ISTAC with specific recommendations made to ensure a high-quality experience for users.
“It is impressive to see the scientific and technical progress made,” says John Collier, Chair of the ISTAC. “With successful commissioning experiments already performed by both ELI ALPS and ELI Beamlines, now is the best time to start bringing in external users to run the equipment and test the established processes.”
The ISTAC also is responsible for key policies and procedures related to data, dissemination and evaluation enabling access and supporting the users were also considered and commented on. While the Scientific Computing and Data Management System outlines the implementation of the Data Policy, the Dissemination Policy ensures the openness of outputs of ELI ERIC’s research and technology development. The Scientific Evaluation Policy defines the key criteria and process of periodically evaluating the scientific effectiveness of ELI.
The ISTAC consists of 14 leading experts in the field of laser science and is tasked to offer independent advice on all strategic issues, scientific and technical activities to the ELI ERIC management and General Assembly, including making recommendations on the user programme of the ELI Facilities.