Panels meet twice a year, in June and December. Proposals are ranked on a scale from 10 (world class) to 1(unsatisfactory).
The work of panel members is covered by the Seven Principles of Public Life set out by the UK government. Full guidance on FAP processes can be found in the Panel Guidelines document given to all panel members for each meeting.
In particular, panel members must declare all conflicts of interest and are expected to leave the room during discussion of proposals from their own departments or proposals with which they are associated.
FAP panel member selection
FAP members are selected from academia and industry. Up to two ISIS representatives act as secretaries and give technical advice.
ISIS Facility Access Panels
FAP1 Crystallography: deals with structural studies across a broad range of physical science areas
FAP2 Disordered materials: structural studies on liquids and disordered materials, again across a broad range of science areas
(FAP3 has now been split into FAPs 8 and 9).
FAP4 Excitations: magnetism and superconductivity primarily, along with functional materials, focusing on the magnetic, electronic or structural excitations
FAP5 Molecular spectroscopy: spectroscopy in chemical, materials science and bio-science systems primarily, including catalysis
FAP6 Muons: muon studies across a broad range of physical and chemical science areas
FAP7 Engineering: engineering studies, mainly stress/strain and texture mapping in engineering components.
FAP8 Small Angle Scattering: probing length scales from the nm to the um, with applications in studies of polymers, biological molecules, nanoparticles, microemulsions and liposomes
FAP9 Reflectometry: structures of thin films, from materials science through to soft matter and bioscience.
FAP10 Chip Irradiation: rapid testing of high energy neutron effects in microelectronics
FAP11 Cultural Heritage: objects with historical, ancient and/or cultural relevance and the development and evaluation of conservation methods.
A list of current FAP members can be found here.
STFC nominations for committees, boards and panels
There are periodic calls for STFC boards and advisory bodies.
