✨ #FoundryFriday glow-up 🌟
Tomorrow is the International Day of Light — the perfect moment to celebrate two decades of luminescent nanoparticle science at the Molecular Foundry.
We've helped engineer tiny crystals that flip infrared light into a visible glow, illuminating single proteins, deep tissue, and even pathways toward quantum computing. Our newest breakthrough: avalanching nanoparticles that produce dramatic bursts of light from the tiniest energy input.
Small particles. Big future. ✨
Full visual story in the link in the first comment 👇
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#FoundryFriday #Foundryat20 #nanoscience #nanoparticles #photonics #InternationalDayOfLight #DOEScience #science @BerkeleyLab
Can a 2D material power quantum technologies? Dr. Sanjay Behura (SDSU) joins us to explore spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride for quantum sensing & communication. Tues., May 19 at 11:00 AM PT #nanoscience #berkeleylab In person or Zoom.
The Friday afternoon sessions at our 2026 Annual User Meeting (August 20–21, Berkeley Marina DoubleTree) are just as packed with cutting-edge science.
Virtual access is available — join us from wherever you are! Registration is open now. Link in comments
#nanoscience #quantumcomputing #criticalmetals #spectroscopy #AI #materialsscience #MFAUM26
How a Historic Pigment Became the Basis for Next-Gen Batteries 💙
Prussian blue has been around since the early 1700s — used in paintings, dyes, and smart windows. But its crystal structure also makes it an exceptionally efficient host for sodium ions, capable of cycling hundreds of thousands of times without significant degradation.
When Colin Wessells founded Natron Energy in 2012, he was working alone, with fundamental questions still unanswered about his battery chemistry. He applied for time at the Molecular Foundry to start working through them — using our electron microscopes and X-ray tools to test electrode compositions and characterize what he was making.
That early work helped him secure an ARPA-E grant and launch what is now a 250-person company with a gigawatt-scale battery factory. 🏭
Full Q&A with Colin at the link in the comments.
#FoundryFriday #Foundryat20 #nanoscience #energystorage #batteries #DOEScience
cc: @BerkeleyLab
Our 2026 Annual User Meeting (August 20–21, Berkeley Marina DoubleTree) features four outstanding Friday morning sessions spanning some of the most pressing challenges in nanoscience and materials research.
We'd love to see you there — in person or virtually! Registration is open now. Link in comments
#nanoscience #quantumtechnology #criticalmetals #softmatter #XAS #materialsscience #MFAUM26 @BerkeleyLab
Join us Mon., May 11 at 1 PM PT to hear from Dr. Steffi Woo (ORNL) on nanoscale excitonic response in 2D semiconductors. Electron spectromicroscopy goes where light can't, resolving moiré heterostructure features at the sub-nanometer scale. In person or Zoom.#nanoscience #2Dmaterials #BerkeleyLab #electronmicroscopy In person or Zoom https://bit.ly/4uos7dW
#FoundryFriday — Meet Arian Gashi! ⚙️🔬
Behind every nanoscience breakthrough is someone who knows how to build the tools to make it happen.
Arian is a Senior Scientific Engineering Associate and runs our machine shop at the Molecular Foundry @BerkeleyLab . Need a custom holder for a 100nm-thin silicon nitride chip? He'll machine one by end of day.
His path here started with music, took a detour through community college chemistry, and landed him right where his skills matter most — in a national lab where hands-on technical expertise is as vital as any PhD.
"That's the beauty of being in a place like Berkeley Lab."
This #FoundryFriday we're celebrating the skilled technical workers who make our science possible. 🙌
🔗 Link to the full story in comments.
#Foundryat20 #nanoscience #BerkeleyLab #DOEscience #MakerCulture #LabLife #STEM
Save the date — our 2026 Annual User Meeting is coming! 📅✨
August 20–21 | DoubleTree Berkeley Marina | Berkeley, CA
Registration is now open! Two days of nanoscience, community, and collaboration at one of DOE's premier user facilities. We love this gathering and can't wait to see our user community come together again.
Link to register in our bio (or check the first comment)!
#nanoscience @berkeleylab #DOEScience #NanoScience #MaterialsScience #UserFacility #MFAUM26
What controls reaction kinetics at the catalyst-electrolyte interface? Dr. Yu Huang (UCLA) joins us 4/28 to explore how surface structure, interfacial water, and cation presence shape electrocatalytic performance. Tues, April 28 | 11 AM PT | In person + Zoom.#nanoscience #electrocatalysis #BerkeleyLab #DOEScience #cleanenergy #electrochemistry Link in bio! https://bit.ly/4e2s8zg
🌎 Happy #FoundryFriday!
What if plastic could pay for itself — over and over again?
Our scientists invented PDK: a plastic that can be broken down to its original molecular building blocks and remade into new, high-quality products. Infinitely. That's a supply chain that never has to start from scratch.
Working with @BerkeleyLab 's Joint BioEnergy Institute, we also showed PDK's key ingredients can be made by bacteria from plant sugars — a potential pathway to domestic, bio-based plastic production.
Full story in our visual storymap — link in the comments! 🔬
#FoundryFriday #Foundryat20 #EarthDay #EarthMonth #nanoscience #BerkeleyLab #advancedmaterials #DOEscience #manufacturing
From Strawberry Creek to a West Berkeley gold recovery facility — this is what nanoscience can do. 🌿✨ #EarthDay
Foundry alum Daniel Sun discovered a metal-organic framework material that selectively pulls heavy metals — including gold — out of water and electronic waste. Today his company, Sunchem, produces gold at purities beyond 99.9% from discarded circuit boards and e-scrap.
We're proud that the Foundry's open-access tools and expertise helped make this possible. On Earth Day, this is exactly the kind of science we want to celebrate.
#Foundryat20 #EarthDay #nanoscience #BerkeleyLab #eWaste #criticalMaterials #MOF
Our Spring 2026 Seminar Series starts Tuesday, April 21! 🔬
First up: Dr. Sreekanth Pannala of SABIC on bridging the gap between atomic-scale science and real-world materials performance — using physics-informed AI, multiscale modeling, and autonomous experimentation. He'll even share an example of a reactor designed entirely in-silico.
📅 11 am PT | In person at @berkeleylab + Zoom | All are welcome
🔗 Zoom link and full abstract in bio!
#nanoscience #BerkeleyLab #MaterialsScience #AI #DOEScience #ComputationalScience
