User Statistics
The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) serves an average of over 700 users annually. Researchers become approved users after they are selected through a competitive proposal review process. Open proposal calls provide opportunities for researchers to access EMSL instrumentation and resources through the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research Program. User projects range from three months to two years with the opportunity to request an extension for project completion.
What is an EMSL user?
To uphold the value of user statistics, the Office of Science established a set of shared core principles for defining and counting users. These principles, along with definitions for each user facility, can be found on the Office of Science national scientific user facilities web page.
User definition: An individual who makes use of EMSL resources. Each user will be categorized as an onsite user, a remote user, or a data user.
Onsite user: An individual who is a member of an approved research team, has signed all required user agreements, and is physically present using an EMSL capability, at least once during the reporting period, to conduct research on an active, peer-reviewed project.
Remote user: An individual who is a member of an approved research team, has signed all required user agreements, and has been granted authority by the principal investigator to participate remotely in experimental/computational planning, execution (including remote operation of instrumentation/computing hardware or engaging with EMSL staff on sample submission/delivery), and data analysis on an active peer-reviewed project.
Data user: An individual who registers for an EMSL user account and downloads data from EMSL’s public data portal during the current reporting year, but did not participate in the collection, calibration, or reconstruction of those data.
How are users counted by the Department of Energy?
An individual is counted as a user only once per fiscal year regardless of their number of active projects or data downloads. EMSL follows a hierarchical scheme for counting, in which an on-site user takes precedence over a remote user. EMSL staff projects and resource owner users are not included in user counts.
Data users are counted once regardless of the number of data downloads and are counted separate from on-site and remote users.
EMSL User Reports
For purposes of reporting EMSL user data to DOE, EMSL tracks the number of active projects, active users by project, user institutions by project, as well as the number of distinct users and user institutions. Fiscal year user statistics are provided to DOE and shared with the public on the EMSL website.
PDF and Excel versions of the Fiscal Year 2023 User and Proposal Statistics are also available.
User Survey
EMSL User Program Services conducts an annual survey of EMSL users to report on satisfaction with the facility and equipment, technical staff, administrative staff, training, and proposal progress.
Results from the Fiscal Year 2023 EMSL User Survey show a high level of user satisfaction with satisfaction levels above 90% in all areas. Review an Excel version of the FY2024 User Survey.
