Report of the RIKEN SPring-8 Center Advisory Council 2016

General statement
The SPring-8 campus hosts two accelerator based light sources, SPring-8 and SACLA that are worldleading.

SACLA is the second operating hard x-ray free electron laser (FEL) in the world and the firstcompact FEL that has established the paradigm for such sources.

From its earliest operations it has

produced important scientific results and has continued to do so.

SACLA produces the shortest

wavelengths worldwide and is a leader in investigations in non-linear x-ray physics.
The SPring-8 storage ring source has world leading capabilities. The 1 km beamline enables thedevelopment of unique x-ray optics as evidenced by the continued progress for hard x-ray reflection
optics.

The newly commissioned in-elastic scattering beamline on the 25 m straight section is the bestin its class and is producing important results that should further our understanding of the physics ofstrongly correlated quantum materials.
The RSC is pursuing continuous growth of both facilities and is focusing on the upgrade path for theSPring-8 storage ring in step with the two other high energy 3rd generation synchrotron sources.
The RSC is also focusing on the management of the facilities on the SPring-8 campus withorganizational changes as exemplified by the success of the engineering section.

Comments on the specified issues
Terms of Reference for RSAC

Comment on our recent changes and our plans for managing SPring-8/SACLA, including
the relationship with JASRI and the public/contract beamlines,
Reducing or removing barriers between JASRI and the RSC will lead directly to increased efficiency thatwill be most evident in increased scientific impact. The RSAC takes note of the steps so far and agrees
that continued progress in this direction is important.

A direct consequence of ‘barriers’ is thedifference in staffing between RSC beamlines and the public beamlines operated by JASRI. RSAC
strongly endorses a uniform approach to staffing, beamlines operations, staff research opportunities
independent of the organization be it RSC or JASRI.

The RSAC is also pleased with the contract

beamlines, in particular those supported by industry.

To better understand these issues and provide

scientific advice for developments RSAC hopes at the next review there will be the opportunity to see theoverall picture of the scientific portfolio including both the RIKEN beamlines as well as the public andcontract beamlines.

Provide suggestions on how to compromise the RIKEN research management
organization structure based on the models of the Max Planck Institute with that oflarge-scale infrastructures (the RIKEN SPring-8 Center),In the introductory presentation about RIKEN the RSAC heard of the historic connections between thecreation of RIKEN and the MPG. It is important to note however that the scale of the RIKEN
independent researchers is significantly smaller than that of the MPG.

More recently RIKEN has takenon the additional task of operating large user facilities, a role that the MPG does not have. The operationof large facilities in other countries is in general handled by different agencies or different parts ofagencies that have facility responsibility, for example the Office of Science within DoE in the US and theHGF in Germany.

The RSAC sees significant merit in a management structure independent of thehistoric RIKEN role of chief scientist laboratories separating the large facilities under an independent
management structure.

The structure should combine aspects of the DoE office of science and the HGF

for large facilities in Japan at a scale commensurate with the existing facilities, for example
SPring-8/SACLA, PF, J-PARC, the proposed SLiT-J.

There are of course differences between the DoE

and the HGF: the HGF stimulates collaboration between facilities by requiring consensus on significant
infrastructure funding while the DoE encourages 'healthy competition' and funds research at theindividual laboratories directly connected to the facility capabilities.

Comment on the role of SPring-8 in the SR Platforms across Japan, and furthermore, itsrole to the extended Platforms including other large-scale user facilities (J-PARC and theK-Computer). Please take into consideration collaboration programs with industry,
especially in light of the new 3 GeV facility to come.
Director Ishikawa presented a long-term vision for large facilities across Japan. The RSAC agrees withthe perspective that there is a natural synergy between large accelerator based user facilities such as
SPring-8/SACLA, J-PARC, PF and the proposed SLiT-J. As such these facilities would optimally be
managed by a single organization.

This could lead to further efficiencies with single groups for

detectors, insertion device magnets, and other areas common to all facilities.

This approach would also

naturally lead to a standardized user access system permitting the best match of experimental needs toexperimental capabilities of the facilities.

Dr. Ishikawa also included high performance computing in

his vision as part of the Japan wide facility system.

RSAC notes that while high performancecomputing is critical in science and technology it plays a very different role than the user facilities andshould be managed independently.

Provide comments summarizing the strength and weaknesses of SPring-8/SACLA
facilities in comparison with their global counterparts for our further evolvement.

••Strengths:
Both SPring-8 and more recently SACLA have continued to develop and provide unique andcritical scientific tools for the user community in Japan as well as worldwide. SACLA andSPring-8 are among the world leading photon science facilities and in several areas have nopeers. Of particular note the quality of the staff, their productivity and engagement isexceptional. As well the RSC's focus on science is unusual. RSAC notes the creative
approach to proposal evaluation and experiment support at SACLA with a specific focus on
non-linear optics has lead to world leading breakthrough science. Their approach withpriority proposals allows a focus on specific areas where SACLA has unique potential. AtSPring-8 the two beamlines, inelastic scattering and the micro-focus PX beamline we visitedare both at the forefront of SR facilities worldwide. The envy of the synchrotron radiation
community worldwide is the development of industrial uses at SPring-8, in particular theindustry-academic partnership in the general area of soft matter. Compared to priorreviews the results presented in structural biology are highly competitive on the internationalscale. Finally, a first step in removing barriers, the centralization of the engineering acrossthe SPring-8 site, has had a significant impact.
Weaknesses
For the RSAC the overall organization and division of responsibilities between RIKEN andJASRI remain unclear. Without a management system that has overall responsibility for thedevelopment and operation of SPring-8 in the upcoming upgrade the impact of the facilityon the international stage may be jeopardized. To date the self-organized approach to
specific science areas has worked but there is concern that as the development of SPring-8-II
becomes a reality there needs to be a management system that addresses the prioritization
within and between disciplines.
Without a single management structure the transfer of the world-class developments on theRIKEN beamlines to the public beamline portfolio is hindered. This conclusion is basedon the presentations and the site visit.

Terms of Reference for Center Advisory Councils
President Dr. Hiroshi Matsumoto has asked the Center Advisory Councils to answer specificquestions in his terms of reference (TOR). What follows are the RSAC comments andrecommendations.
TOR 1. The strength of the RSC is it’s proven ability to design, construct and operate
accelerator based light sources, both storage rings as well as free electron lasers (SPring-8 andSACLA respectively) that are among the world leading facilities. The weakness of thefacilities on the SPring-8 site is the division of responsibility between two organizations, RSCand JASRI, which have the responsibility to deliver unique science through support of the usercommunity whether they are RIKEN scientists or public users. From a facility perspective werecommend, for the mid and long term, the upgrade of SPring-8 to SPring-8-II as part of thedevelopment of an overall strategy for large facilities in Japan. In addition complete thepotential of SACLA to provide 5 independent FELs. The combination will keep the facilities on
the SPring-8 site world leading. Regarding the management of the facilities for sciencedelivery the maximum yield will be achieved by eliminating any barriers between variousorganizations on the SPring-8 campus.
TOR 3. The RSC is different from other RIKEN Centers in a fundamental way. As alreadysaid in TOR 1 the strength and mandate for the RSC is the design, construction and operation oflarge accelerator based x-ray sources. Strong RSC scientists are critical to this task, but thetrue measure of success is the scientific results from these facilities independent of the affiliationof the scientist carrying out the research. The RSAC strongly agrees that the RSC has met thegoal of TOR 3 which is scientific excellence. This is highlighted by the developments for stateof the art structural biology tools both on SPring-8 and SACLA where microfocus and serial
crystallography capabilities on SPring-8 and SACLA respectively are world class. The
inelastic scattering capabilities and scientific impact from the RIKEN beamlines on SPring-8 aretruly world leading. In the area of non-linear x-ray optics the RSC team is also recognized as aworld leader and the results from this team and collaborators appears regularly in the mostrespected journals. The staff, in particular Drs. Tamasaku for non-linear optics and Dr. Baronfor inelastic x-ray scattering, for example, are sought as invited speakers at almost every
conference in their respective fields. One point under TOR 3 is research management which isaddressed above. Finally in terms of ‘global brain circulation’ RSC has a number of individuals
that hold joint appointments with internationally connected universities.
TOR 4. The RSC has world leading RIKEN beamlines on both SPring-8 and SACLA that arein routine use by many outstanding RIKEN investigators.

Recommendations
1. All other facilities of comparable size and breadth have regular beamline reviews thatevaluate technical status, scientific productivity by users and staff. These reviews guideinvestments to keep the beamlines competitive and productive. RSAC recommends
establishing reviews at SPring-8 in preparation for SPring-8-II. These reviews will informthe prioritization of investments between now and the completion of the upgrade. Thesereviews should cover all the beamlines whether under the responsibility of RIKEN orJASRI.
2. The overall portfolio of beamlines at SPring-8 should be evaluated in light of thedevelopments at SLiT-J and the existing facilities at PF and AR at KEK to guide choices for
SPring-8-II.
3. Some peer facilities have management structures where the scientific disciplines that benefit
most from their beamline capabilities are highlighted in order to optimally invest resources
to maximize scientific impact. This approach for the RSC in collaboration with JASRI isstrongly encouraged.