In its over 20 years of operation, the Biophysics Collaborative Access Team (BioCAT) has developed efficient and effective administrative procedures for the operation of its mature synchrotron beamline 18ID at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. Lemont, IL. BioCAT is formally part of the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science at The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago Illinois. Administrative support comes from the Office of the Vice-Provost for Research, the Office of Sponsored Research Programs, Contract and Grant Accounting, Procurement, and Human Resources and payroll at IIT. All other activities are managed by the CAT management located primarily at the APS. The BioCAT Executive Committee, with the advice and oversight of the BioCAT External Advisory Committee (EAC), provides overall scientific and technical guidance for the development and operation of Beamline 18ID. The Executive Committee, in concert with the APS General User Proposal system, oversees the user program for access to the BioCAT resource, including user beam time scheduling. It also provides administrative support for APS reporting requirements, and the administration of the safety programs, including biosafety and control of biohazards required by APS, ANL, and the DOE. It also collects metrics relating to beamline operations, the user program, training and outreach that are used in the preparation of annual reports to the NIH, as well as carryover and supplement requests.
