“Nanoscience” includes all fields of science studied at the nanoscale, so the Foundry features world-class scientists with expertise across a broad range of disciplines and state-of-the-art, often one-of-a-kind, instrumentation.
Our staff and instruments are organized into seven technical facilities, that cover the research areas of synthesis, theory, characterization, and fabrication. Our research portfolio across these facilities is driven by five key themes.
The Foundry has 45 scientific and technical staff who collaborate with users on their research projects. The members of the scientific staff operate under a “50/50” model where they spend 50% of their time on their own independent research and the other 50% supporting user projects.
When a user has a proposal accepted, they gain one year of free access to the Molecular Foundry including the expertise and tools as well as basic consumables in the lab. Foundry staff act as active collaborators, providing instrument training, experiment planning, and guidance through challenges, as users come to work on their projects. Foundry users spend an average of 3 months working on site in Berkeley and are an integral part of the Foundry community.
Learn about the logistics of the User Program in the next section, or by visiting the User Program section of our website.
