Call for Proposals User Guide

CNBL is open to Canadians and international researchers*. We are currently accepting both Standard and Mail-in proposals.

Instrument Available: MAD (McMaster All-Purpose Diffractometer)

*McMaster is not currently able to provide formal letters of support to international researchers who are allocated beam time. We will, however, provide you with documentation that you are allocated beam time and when. Acceptance into the country is therefore the responsibility of the candidate.

Not sure if your experiment is a good fit? Contact the CNBL User Office before submitting. We strongly encourage prospective users to reach out early.

Proposals are submitted via Microsoft Forms and reviewed by an internal committee, including the instrument scientist. Review is single blind and focuses on scientific feasibility. You will receive a short-written rationale if your proposal is not accepted.

What your proposal must include: 

• Project title
• Proposal type (Standard/In-Person or Mail-in)
• PI name, institution, and email
• Co-investigator/team details: name, institution, email, and academic status (undergraduate students, graduate student, PI, early career*, etc.)
• Number of days of beamtime requested
• Preferred or Blackout dates (dates you are unavailable)
• Research/scientific field
• Short abstract and project description
• Safety and sample considerations

*An early career researcher as defined by the Tri-Agency.

You may find it helpful to consult the instrument scientist before finalizing your proposal. Early conversations significantly improve proposal quality and feasibility.

Submitted proposals are reviewed by an internal committee consisting of senior CNBL and McMaster Nuclear staff and the instrument scientist. Review criteria in the August 1, 2026 call for proposals process will primarily focus on scientific feasibility — whether your experiment is practical and appropriate for the MAD instrument during the Fall cycle.

Review criteria:

• Scientific feasibility on the MAD instrument
• Sample safety and handling considerations
• Clarity of research objectives

Proposals are not shared outside the committee. Reviewer identities are not disclosed to applicants (single blind). Any rejected proposals will receive a short written rationale.

All candidates will be notified of the outcome of this competition by August 21st, 2026. Successful applicants will receive proposed dates for their experiment from CNBL instrument staff, with notification to the User Experience Manager.

If your proposal is accepted:

• You will be contacted by the instrument scientist to confirm scheduling
• Note any scheduling conflicts or blackout dates in your proposal — these cannot always be accommodated but we will do our best
• Beamtime is subject to the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) operating schedule

If your proposal is not accepted:

• You will receive a short written rationale
• You are encouraged to revise and reapply in future calls

All users must sign a CNBL User Agreement before accessing the facility. The agreement will be made available online and managed via DocuSign. It renews annually or with any material changes made to the agreement.

All users in the August 1, 2026 call for proposals process will access the CNBL under escorted access only. A dedicated instrument scientist is present with you at all times during your experiment.*

Before you arrive: 

• Complete all required safety training (details provided upon proposal acceptance)
• Candidate security is reviewed by McMaster’s Research Security team as part of the access process
• Ensure all team members who will be on-site are identified in your proposal

During your experiment: 

• You will be accompanied by a CNBL instrument scientist at all times
• The instrument scientist will coordinate data collection and instrument setup
• Data will be retained by the facility for a defined period — confirm data transfer needs with the User Office in advance
• Experimental data is subject to a 3-year embargo period: Once a researcher submits a proposal, any data or findings generated from their approved beam time are kept confidential and restricted from public access for up to three years, giving them adequate time to analyze results and publish. After a three-year period users are expected to make data available to any scientific party making a reasonable request to review the data. See more information in our User Agreement.
• All users receive data analysis support from a dedicated CNBL instrument scientist

*This does not apply to users with existing McMaster Reactor access.

User satisfaction / experiment report:

• Following the experiment, all users are required to complete a user satisfaction survey/feedback form
• Your feedback directly informs how we develop the user program and infrastructure

Publications:

• All publications using CNBL data must acknowledge the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory and McMaster University with the following statement of acknowledgement: “This research used resources at the Canadian Neutron Beam Laboratory (CNBL), a national user facility supported by McMaster University’s Nuclear Operations and Facilities and funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).”
• Report publications to the CNBL User Office
• Report intellectual property filings, commercialization activities, or industry collaborations that arise directly from work conducted at CNBL. This information is used solely for reporting facility impact and will be treated confidentially