Once you arrive onsite at the Foundry, there are a few key things you should know to ensure a smooth and productive visit.
- Report to Your Assigned Scientist
- Instrument Reservations
- Desk Space
- Where to Eat
- Community Events
- Community Norms
- Data Management
Policies to Know
Report to Your Assigned Scientist
When you arrive for the first time, arrange to meet with your assigned staff scientist, who will help orient you to the scientific facilities and will discuss facility onboarding procedures, safety training, and lab access.
Instrument Reservations
Once your initial training is complete, staff will grant you access to the instrumentation you have been trained on through the Foundry’s Instrument Reservation Calendar.
Use your Berkeley Lab identity credentials to log on to this system.
Desk Space
Your Lead Facility may be able to provide a desk for you to use during the course of your project. If not, day-use desks are available in the third-floor user area in Building 67. You may also request an assigned desk in the third-floor user area by contacting the User Office.
Where to Eat
While the Berkeley Lab cafeteria is under construction, food trucks are available at two locations around the Lab campus and can be reached by foot or using the free Berkeley Lab shuttle. Many more options are available around the University of California, Berkeley, campus, which can also be reached on the Berkeley Lab shuttle. For quick snacks, you can visit the NanoBites snack station located on the 3rd floor and there is a vending machine on the first floor of building 67, near the loading dock. See the Berkeley lab site map and interactive site map for directions.
Community Events
As a Foundry user, you are invited to take part in onsite community events. The Foundry hosts a number of scientific and social events throughout the year for users and staff.
- Coffee Social: A social coffee hour is held on Tuesdays, hosted by one of the technical facilities.
- Seminars: The Foundry hosts frequent seminars from visiting and local speakers, as well as three formal Seminar Series each year. Contact the Foundry User Office to get on the mailing list to receive announcements.
- User Meeting: An annual conference highlighting Foundry user research, typically held in August. Learn more here.
Community Norms
The Molecular Foundry is a shared resource for users and staff to collaborate in a safe and welcoming environment in support of impactful scientific research. The Molecular Foundry management and user community, as represented by the User Executive Committee, outline our Community Norms describing expectations of all members of the Foundry community. You can read this statement here.
Data Management
All proposals submitted to the Molecular Foundry should include written acknowledgment of, and agreement with, the Molecular Foundry’s Data Management Statement, as given here.
If you propose to use facilities or resources at the Molecular Foundry, please be aware of the following information, either for inclusion in your Molecular Foundry User Proposal or an associated request for DOE funds leveraging Molecular Foundry resources, which must contain a Data Management Plan.
Currently, all Molecular Foundry Users are responsible for their own Data Management associated with their approved and active User Projects. If you have questions regarding our Data Management policy, you are encouraged to contact the User Office at foundry-useroffice@lbl.gov and/or your User Project’s Assigned Staff Scientist.
Resources
Users are free to use personal mass storage devices, laptops, tablets, cell phones and lab notebooks for data storage and eventual transfer to their home institution. Foundry facility-based access to cloud storage and backup is available to Users, in some cases for a nominal fee (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, Carbonite). Data stored in the cloud can be shared by standard means. For user work performed on instruments within our facilities, Users must transfer data first to a file server or local storage device or else request the transfer via Foundry staff. Software for data analysis is available on local computer desktops in-house; users are free to utilize their own provided resources. Computational resources exist and follow LBNL standard practice for temporary storage of User data files backup for the duration of their projects.
Practices
For specific instruments in most facilities, staff-originated data back-ups occur regularly; files transferred to institutional storage (file servers) are backed up daily, but Users are generally responsible for their own data preservation. User data is only preserved during the project lifetime and no guarantees are provided once the project ends, although some facilities maintain data long term/indefinitely. Access to data is associated with the status of a User Project and once terminated data access and preservation rights may be lost. All data generated on collaborative non-proprietary user projects funded by DOE and referenced, utilized or included in subsequent publications is expected to be made public upon request.
Policy
All data generated on a Foundry collaborative project is jointly owned by both users and LBNL unless otherwise defined in executed User Agreement documents. Data generated on non-collaborative projects may be owned exclusively by the Users. No restrictions on file formats due to heterogeneity currently exist.
Policies to Know
Badge Access and Escort Policy
The Foundry requires personnel with badge access to labs and the shop to be responsible for their own safety and actions. Further, the Foundry requires those escorting personnel without badge access to be responsible for the safety and actions of those being escorted. All users must read and abide by our Badge Access and Escort Policy.
Working Alone Policy
Due to potential hazards in Foundry laboratories, many operations are not permitted when working alone in laboratories outside of normal business hours or under unusual circumstances. All users must read and abide by our Working Alone Policy.
Computer Registration and Cyber Security
Berkeley Lab requires that users bringing computers to the Lab site register and comply with cyber security requirements:
- Review the Cyber Security Requirements for accessing the Berkeley Lab network
- Register any computers that you plan to use with this form: Non-LBNL Computer Registration
- In particular, Windows systems must run Berkeley Lab’s CrowdStrike client. If you are prohibited from doing so, please put that in the registration form. Otherwise, if you are a Windows user, please install CrowdStrike on your first day at Berkeley Lab.
User Onsite Media Policy
Users are required to notify the Foundry’s communications lead, Laurie Chong, of the intent to take photos or video onsite at the Foundry. These types of activities include filming for promotional materials, making recordings for official (rather than personal) use, and any onsite activities involving external news media (e.g. filming an interview on site at the Foundry).
Additionally, any official uses of the Molecular Foundry logo (e.g. on other websites or used in promotional materials) also requires notification.
Photos and video for personal use are allowed without requiring notification.
Next: Closing out a project and reporting requirements.
