From the Director

In our inaugural newsletter, let me start with a warm greeting to Molecular Foundry users and welcome those who are learning about the Foundry for the first time.

Now in its fourth year of operations, the Molecular Foundry has grown to become an epicenter of frontier nanoscience research and technology development.

Our web site provides detailed information about the Foundry’s capabilities, but let me highlight some recent developments. As part of our combinatorial nanoscience initiative, we recently launched the world’s first robotic nanoparticle synthesizer, named the Workstation for Automated Nanomaterials Discovery and Analysis, or 'WANDA'. Already, WANDA has produced new materials with unprecedented speed, diversity and reproducibility, and catalyzed new science in the hands of our users and staff.

At the research front, Foundry scientists are involved in several new energy-related initiatives focusing on battery science and carbon sequestration, developing new capabilities for Foundry users along the way. The next several months will see the addition of new instrumentation to the Foundry, including a suite of etching tools in our Nanofabrication Facility and a cryo TEM for in situ analysis of nanostructures. I hope you enjoy learning more about Foundry activities in this newsletter.

Best,

Carolyn Bertozzi
Director, Molecular Foundry