SUBMISSION PROCESS

The Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR) open-access facilities serve Brazilian and foreign researchers who wish to benefit from the experimental capabilities of the Laboratory to carry out their research. Research proposals are submitted through the User Portal system.

Important: The submission process described below is applicable exclusively to research in the public domain conducted by Academic Users, or by Industrial Users that do not seek intellectual protection for their research. Industrial users that want to use LNBR facilities for proprietary research may use them as a technological service or through collaborative R&D. Additional information on collaboration agreements and intellectual property rights can be found here.

SUBMISSION TYPES

Standard Proposal

The following describes the standard procedure for access to LNBR facilities. Each facility has its own submission proposal schedule. The proposal, to be evaluated by a Committee, shall request time for a specific experiment at a given facility. If approved, the user is granted time to execute it. Published results using data obtained at LNBR must acknowledge the use of the facility. The user must provide a copy of the article or thesis to LNBR.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

The proposal submission begins with the user registration at the User Portal system. To create an account, the user must enter a valid e-mail address and click on the “access” button. For the first access, the user must provide personal and professional information.

Important: This registration step is done only once at any time, regardless of the proposal submission period. The information provided can be updated at any time.

Once registered in the User Portal system, the user must click on the link “Research Proposal-Submission and Preparation” and follow the instructions. The user must choose the National Laboratory and the facility of interest and complete an online form.

ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The research proposal review process is divided into phases:

• Phase 1: Internal evaluation of the proposal by the facility coordinator to judge the technical feasibility of the proposed experiment;
• Phase 2: The facilities have an Internal Committee for Proposal Evaluation that evaluates and ranks the proposals according to the following criteria: scientific merit, staff experience, evaluation of proposals, and scientific publications from results previously obtained at LNBR. The highest-ranked proposals are recommended for time at the facility;
• Phase 3: All proposals must complete a specific safety form, which will be evaluated by a Safety Committee that will issue recommendations for the execution of the experiment..

Important: Given the importance of scientific results for tracking experiments conducted at the facilities and evaluating new proposals, users are encouraged to update their publications in the SAU Online system via the Publications link. These updates are automatically included in the CNPEM Library database.

RULES AND TIPS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

Before submitting a proposal, it is recommended that users consult the website for available facilities, courses, services, and technologies, as well as specific recommendations for sample preparation, protocols, and other detailed specifications about the research proposal submission process. Consultation with the facility coordinator is highly recommended.

Only Ph.D. researchers can submit proposals. After user registration in the User Portal system, the submission pages will be available only to researchers with a Ph.D.

PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BEFORE ARRIVING AT CNPEM

In the User Portal system

After approval of the research proposal, an e-mail is sent to the proponent with dates for scheduling and instructions, The proponent must confirm the team that will come to CNPEM, sign the term of commitment term, and fill out the safety training.

• Team confirmation – The proposal leader is responsible for defining the team and instructing all members to access the system to confirm their participation;
• Accommodation – CNPEM’s lodging facilities may host researchers during the proposal’s execution, depending on room availability. Reservations must be made directly through the SAU Online system at the time of visit confirmation. After the request is submitted, the user will receive a confirmation email if lodging is available for the requested dates.
• Term of commitment – A Term of commitment with rules and obligations to be followed in the realization of the proposal at CNPEM will be available for signature online. Without the signature of the Term of commitment it is not possible to access the facilities;
• Security training – To access CNPEM all users must take the security training available in the User’s Portal system, in the request for arrival section. The release of the access badge to the facility is made only after the confirmation that the security training was done.

CNPEM’s Code of Conduct

During the experiment, the research proposal team must follow CNPEM’s code of conduct.

Sending of national and international samples

Users who wish to bring or send samples for the proposal execution at LNBR should contact the User Office via email at edu@cnpem.br.

PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED ON ARRIVAL AT THE CNPEM

• Badge collection – To collect the access badge to the facility, users must identify themselves at the CNPEM reception upon arrival and proceed to the LNBR reception. For arrivals outside the facility’s operating hours during the week, as well as on weekends and holidays, a temporary access badge will be provided by the reception, but the user must wait for the facility to open in order to gain access;
• Housing key – The accommodation key will be provided along with the access badge at the CNPEM reception.

CHECK-IN – Lodging

Every day with no entrance time restriction.

• Mon to Fri – 8 am to 5 pm – Users’ Office (EdU);
• Mon to Fri – 5 pm to 8 am (during the night) – Central Entrance;
• Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (24 hours) – Central Entrance;
• When there is a need to change apartments for any reason, the request should be made to EdU and outside office hours at the central gate to check availability.

CHECK-OUT

During the week:

• Mon to Fri – 8 am to 5 pm – Users’ Office (EdU);
• Check-out must be done until 9:30 am on the day of departure.

During the weekend

• When check-out occurs on weekends, the daily fee must be paid via Pix, with the payment proof sent to the email edu@cnpem.br, and the keys must be returned at the campus Reception.

Payment methods

• Debit card, payment at the User’s Office (EdU);
• Pix, check the Pix key at the User’s Office (EdU).

Wi-Fi Access

One week before coming to CNPEM to carry out the research proposal, the User’s Portal system sends an e-mail to all participants of the proposal, with information about the wi-fi access login for use during the period of the proposal. CNPEM is also part of the EDUROAM network to serve external researchers. Questions or problems with Wi-Fi access can be directed to the User’s Office (EdU).

PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW AFTER THE EXPERIMENT

After the completion of the research proposal, it is highly recommended that the User fills out the Infrastructure and Services Evaluation Form on SAU Online. It is the responsibility of the proponent and the principal investigator (PI) to make good use of the data provided and distributed to their collaborators.

LNBR Facility Use Statement: The user must declare the use of the LNBR facilities in any article, thesis, or other published material that uses data obtained during the execution of their proposal. The user must also cooperate in providing such information when requested.

Citation Support Text for Publications: This research utilized the facilities of the National Laboratory of Biofuels (LNBR), from the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a Social Organization supervised by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations (MCTI). The facility team (name of the facility) is acknowledged for their assistance during the experiments (proposal numbers).

USER’S OFFICE (EdU)

The Users’ Office at CNPEM is the point of contact for both national and international users conducting research proposals at the National Laboratories of CNPEM. The mission of the Users’ Office is to provide comprehensive support, from the submission of research proposals to their completion, ensuring efficient collaboration and addressing researchers’ needs throughout the entire process.

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact EdU at the times and telephones listed below:

• Business Hours: Mon to Fri, from 8 am to 5 pm;
• Location: LNLS-Sirius, 1st floor, room 903G1 – Email: edu@cnpem.br;
• Telephones: +55 (19) 3512-1021 | 3512-1025;
• Whatsapp: +55 (19) 99827-9687

CNPEM OFFERS TO EXTERNAL USERS

• Parking – CNPEM Campus has its own parking lot, with 24-hour reception, which can be used by users during the period of the proposals at no cost;
• Accommodation – CNPEM provides accommodation for researchers during the proposal period, following all hygiene protocols recommended by health agencies. Each room has a private bathroom, two beds, bed linens, towels, blankets, air conditioning, and a minibar. In the common area: refrigerator, microwave, cooktop, washing and drying machine, clothes drying rack, and iron.

The reservation is made through SAU Online.

Daily rates

The daily rate is BRL 55,00 per person. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner are not included in this rate. There are no service charges.

Restaurant

On the CNPEM campus, there is a restaurant run by a local company. Below are the meal times:

• Breakfast – Mon to Fri, from 7 am to 9 am;
• Lunch – Mon to Fri, from 11 am to 2:30 pm;
• Dinner – Mon to Fri, from 6 pm to 8 pm;
• Snack machine – Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, located at Axis (“Eixo”) 55, Sirius building, and at the restaurant.

Library

The library is located in the Ilum Learning Center. The bibliographic collection consists of books, manuals, electronic media, standards, journals, proceedings, and theses.

Ambulatory

CNPEM has a first aid service at the occupational health building, located in front of the ECOPONTO, between the Imãs I and Imãs II buildings. This service is available Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM and can be accessed in person through extension 686 or by phone at (19) 3514-9686.