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Research team awarded UNC ROI grant to accelerate molecular discovery using an autonomous robotic…

self-driving labs (SDLs)

Center for Advanced Photocatalysis logo

Sep 17, 2024

NC State receives NSF grant to establish the Center for Accelerated Photocatalysis

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that North Carolina State University will direct a center that deploys self-driving labs (SDLs) to accelerate discovery for reactions which use light as a catalyst in challenging chemical transformations. The NSF Center for Accelerated Photocatalysis (CAPs) is supported by an NSF Centers for Chemical Innovation (CCI) Program Phase I…

Jul 26, 2024

Accelerating discovery

There are vast numbers of undiscovered molecules and materials that offer solutions to the challenges in health care, the environment, energy and other areas facing our world. Using artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and lab automation, self-driving labs (SDLs) are teaming up with human scientists to accelerate the rate at which we can solve these challenges.
Martin Seifrid with arms folding and smiling, stands in front of lab equipment. The framework of the workstation behind him is painted a medium blue.

Jun 7, 2024

Martin Seifrid wins Scialog Funding for automated laboratories

Research Corporation for Science Advancement, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, and the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation have made awards to seven multidisciplinary teams of early career researchers in the first year of Scialog: Automating Chemical Laboratories, a three-year initiative that aims to accelerate innovation and broaden access within the chemical enterprise through advances in automated instrumentation and artificial intelligence.
image shows robot in a lab, standing in front of a whiteboard that shows a range of catalytic reactions

Feb 27, 2024

AI-driven lab speeds catalysis research

The new tool, called Fast-Cat, can provide more information in five days than is possible in six months of conventional testing.
An autonomous microscope bathed in red and green light.

Feb 23, 2024

Autonomous, self-driving microscope accelerates cellular imaging

Traditional microscopy has significantly advanced in speed and resolution over the past decade. However, these advancements are typically limited by the speed at which an individual can image one biological sample at a time.
Cartoonish image shows a person holding a computer and looking up at a maze of paths that all lead to different glowing lights.

Feb 15, 2024

Do AI-driven chemistry labs actually work? New metrics promise answers

The idea of a self-driving lab is wonderful. But how well do they actually work?

Dec 14, 2023

Accelerating the future of innovation in science and technology

When it comes to navigating the future of scientific discovery, NC States sits in the driver’s seat. On January 11-12, 2024, the Integrative Sciences Initiative will host FUTURE Labs Workshop, designed to discuss the progress and future of self-driving labs.
Illustration shows a robot conducting chemistry experiments in front of a high-tech machine.

Nov 14, 2023

Autonomous lab discovers best-in-class quantum dot in hours; it would have taken humans years

A new autonomous system can identify how to synthesize “best-in-class” materials for specific applications in hours, rather than years.
A closeup of equipment in Milad Abolhasani's existing self-driving lab, known as the "Artificial Chemist 2.0"

Jul 6, 2023

Research team awarded UNC ROI grant to accelerate molecular discovery using an autonomous robotic lab

An NC State University research team has been awarded funding from the UNC System Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) to accelerate molecular and biological innovations enabled by next-generation self-driving labs. Self-driving labs…