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Autonomous, self-driving microscope accelerates cellular imaging

self-driving labs (SDLs)

male researcher wearing protective eyewear observes a robotic arm in a self-driving lab

Apr 20, 2026

NC State Receives $3M from ARPA-E to Advance Self-Driving Laboratory Research

The award will help to accelerate the development of a self-driving laboratory for data-rich discovery of heterogeneous catalysts, the solid materials that make many fuel and chemical manufacturing processes faster, more efficient and more economical.
Illustration of an autonomous lab with a robot arm holding a beaker filled with red fluid

Sep 25, 2025

$2M NSF Grant for Self-Driving Labs Will Accelerate Discovery

A collaborative research team led by NC State University has received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for its multidisciplinary work on self-driving laboratories (SDL).
a robot inspects a collection of rainbow-colored test tubes

Aug 26, 2025

Meet Rainbow: The Multi-Robot Lab Racing to Discover the Next Quantum Dots

Rainbow autonomously discovers nanoparticles critical for next-generation displays, solar cells, LEDs and quantum-engineering technologies.
illustration outlines the continuous workflow of a self-driving lab that makes use of continuous, dynamic work flow experiments.

Jul 15, 2025

Researchers Hit ‘Fast Forward’ on Materials Discovery with Self-Driving Labs

A new technique allows “self-driving laboratories” to collect at least 10 times more data than previous techniques at record speed.
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…
an illustration of a self-driving lab

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.