One of the World’s Premier Nanotechnology
Research Institutions

Founded in 2006 by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Molecular Foundry is a critical part of the DOE’s National Nanotechnology Initiative, a multi-agency framework designed to improve human health, economic well-being and national security through leadership in nanotechnology.  The Foundry supports broad nanoscience research efforts in both "hard" nanomaterials (nanocrystals, tubes and lithographically patterned structures) and "soft" nanomaterials (polymers, dendrimers, DNA, proteins and whole cells), as well as in the design, fabrication and study of multi-component, complex, functional assemblies of such materials.

As a Scientific User Facility, the Molecular Foundry provides outside researchers (“Users”) with the instrumentation, in-house expertise and multidisciplinary environment necessary to pursue research that can benefit from or contribute to nanoscience.  From biologists, chemists and physicists, to biochemists, engineers and optics and photonics researchers, scientists from all over the world utilize the Foundry’s state-of-the-art facilities at no cost, advancing research in critical fields in medicine, energy, computing and many other disciplines.

Researchers are chosen through a peer-reviewed proposal process that occurs twice each year.  Proposals are selected that show the most promise and potential to best benefit from the Foundry’s equipment, capabilities and expertise.

Nanotechnology has the potential to open new frontiers in health, energy, electronics and engineering.  Research conducted at the Molecular Foundry helps identify these new frontiers, and conquer them.