A request for proposals (RFP) to operate the Commercial Collaborative Access Team (COM-CAT) beamline at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) has been issued effective March 16, 2004.

The synchrotron x-ray facility at COM-CAT provides the equipment and expertise needed for ongoing materials characterization and structure determination using the unique spectral brilliance of the x-ray beams produced by the APS, a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science national research facility..

The COM-CAT was funded for construction by the State of Illinois to provide state-of-the-art research capabilities for companies without the resources of large firms, but whose need for this unparalleled analytical tool is just as great. These companies can avail themselves of this nation's bightest hard x-ray beams on an as-needed, fast-turnaround, fee-for-service basis at COM-CAT. The capabilities implemented at COM-CAT include instrumentation for spectroscopy (absorption and fluorescence), small-angle scattering, reflectivity measurements, powder diffraction, and macromolecular crystallography. This broad range of capabilities meets the needs of traditional as well as high-technology industrial organizations.

A pre-proposal conference for this project has been scheduled at the APS facility, Argonne National Laboratory, for Monday, April 26, 2004, at 1:30 p.m.

A due date for proposals in response to this RFP has not been established, but will be determined following the pre-proposal conference.

For more information on COM-CAT, download the COM-CAT brochure (pdf). Get Adobe Reader

For more information on the COM-CAT request for proposals and the pre-proposal conference, contact:
Gary W. Edgell
1.630.232.8318
GWEDGELL@aps.anl.gov

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