In late April, the ACRF Technical Director attended an annual meeting of the National User Facility Organization. Comprised of representatives from Department of Energy (DOE) national user facilities, the purpose of this group is to promote and encourage discussions among user facility administrators, their management, and their user organization representatives by communicating current and future needs, concerns, and trends. About 50 representatives attended this year’s meeting, held at the DOE’s Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Key topics included formalizing the organization’s charter, discussing communication processes between users and the national laboratories that host the user facilities, and raising awareness of general issues to user facility stakeholders.

The organization formed informally in the early 1990s, with a series of small workshops and limited participation. Membership subsequently expanded to include the full complement of user facilities and a more formal annual meeting. This year’s meeting included the important step of establishing an official charter for the group. The meeting also provided valuable information through the sharing of experiences and comparing similarities and differences in facility processes and user experiences.