Dear Colleagues,
It is a pleasure to launch the first issue of our new quarterly newsletter, “Foundry in Focus.” In this newsletter, you will find information on recent research highlights, as well as news, special events, and more. We hope this will help keep you better informed and serve as a new mode of dialogue between users and staff.
It is an exciting time at the Molecular Foundry. As we approach the first proposal call of 2018 (deadline: March 31), we find our community of users thriving with nearly every measure of success experiencing an all-time high, as shown on our new facts page. And despite the uncertainties with the federal budget, support for the Foundry – both locally at Berkeley Lab and nationally at DOE – remains strong, enabling new investments in people and equipment. Still, our mission to serve the most promising research needs of the scientific community requires continued outreach to build awareness, and we invite each of you to share your Foundry story and this newsletter with your friends and colleagues.
We have recently gathered feedback through our annual survey from hundreds of users ranging from suggestions on new equipment priorities to changes in organizational policies and procedures. These responses will help us to better address user needs and continue to strengthen our user program. You can read more about the results, as well as learn how to get involved in other initiatives and events planned by our ever-engaged User Executive Committee (UEC), on the UEC’s website. Planning for the 2018 User Meeting (August 15-16) is underway, and will feature keynote speeches from Carolyn Bertozzi and David Awschalom.
Finally, on a personal note, a word of thanks to the entire Foundry community. As you know, we are currently searching for the next Foundry director following my appointment to Associate Laboratory Director for the Energy Sciences Area, which includes the Foundry, the Advanced Light Source, and the Materials Sciences and Chemical Sciences Divisions. I have had the privilege of directing the organization that gave me my start as a postdoc 15 years ago, and am personally committed to finding an inclusive and dynamic leader to take the Foundry to new heights. The Foundry is a truly exceptional place, both in terms of scientific creativity and collaborative openness and I couldn’t be more proud of what we have done and where we are going.
I look forward to working with you in the coming year, listening to your comments about evolving activities in the Foundry, and sharing science ideas.
All the best,
Jeff
J. B. Neaton
Director, Molecular Foundry
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
