15 April 2013

Recently-elected chair Deborah Lau (photo at right) explains the role of the AS User Advisory Committee and what it does on behalf of users.

The Australian Synchrotron User Advisory Committee (UAC) represents the broader Australian Synchrotron (AS) user community and advises the AS on issues from a user perspective.

The committee is comprised of eight full members who are present or future AS users and are elected by popular vote by the user community. The election is announced and held prior to the annual users meeting, which is generally scheduled for late November /early December. Each committee member is appointed for 2 years with half the members being replaced each year.

What does the UAC do?
The UAC represents AS user interests to the AS management. This means we are able to represent the user community needs or issues on behalf of users and undertake an advocacy role where needed. For example, some of the previous issues have involved accommodation and the operation of the User Lounge.

After each experiment, users are asked to provide feedback to the AS via the on-line User Survey. If, however, a user would like to provide any feedback or raise any issues in a confidential manner then they may be raised with any member of the UAC.

The UAC are consulted on the operation and development of the AS and all processes involving users, including beamline development. In coordination with the AS, we act as an advocate for the AS, the user community and Australian/New Zealand synchrotron science in general.

One of the other key roles is to organise the Annual User Meeting with financial support from the Australian Synchrotron and the administrative support of the AS external relations team. Each year this is a successful event with ever more interesting and challenging science being presented. The UAC plans the scientific program and co-ordinates the scientific themes and speakers.

The UAC and you
If you would like to become more involved in the issues that affect users and represent the Australian Synchrotron User base please consider standing for election to become part of the committee when the call come out later this year.

Also, if you have any feedback or issues that you would like the UAC to progress on your behalf, either confidentially or not, then don’t hesitate in raising it with any member of the committee.

The committee met at the AS on 16 April 2013.

Deborah Lau
UAC Chair
April 2013