With LEO, staff can qualify users individually or in batches once they have successfully completed the required instrument training. A simple one‑click promotion or demotion allows staff to toggle a user between limited and full qualifications—making the management of user capability fast, transparent, and consistent.
2DCC Inert Atmosphere Cluster Tool Enables Air-Sensitive Materials Research
Deep Jariwala, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is leveraging the capabilities of the NSF-funded 2D Crystal Consortium–Materials Innovation Platform (2DCC-MIP) at Penn State to explore excitonic phenomena in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Since beginning his collaboration with the 2DCC in 2020, Jariwala’s group has utilized high-quality 2DCC-grown materials to study layered heterostructures, leading to multiple publications and the training of students and postdoctoral researchers.
A Materials Visualization Competition Winner
The Materials Visualization Competition (MVC) is a competition that increases awareness of materials science through the creativity and visualization of our researchers. One of this year's winners imaged this pattern in the nanofabrication lab.
These short, intensive training modules are designed specifically to equip REU students with practical skills and foundational knowledge in core materials characterization techniques. Each course combines conceptual instruction with hands-on instrument experience, preparing students to design experiments, collect high-quality data, and interpret results relevant to their summer research projects.
MAY 28-29, 2026
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Training: Build a foundation in crystallography and powder diffraction analysis
LEO’s tool qualification feature ensures that only properly trained and safety-certified users can operate instruments autonomously. Staff can quickly qualify users—individually or in batches—and switch them between limited and full access with a single click.
The Facilities Instrumentation Research Search Tool (DMR-FIRST), developed and managed by the 2DCC, is a federated database of materials instrumentation with global search of rich instrument metadata. Make your materials research instrumentation findable, accessible, and fully integrated into a growing network of data resources for materials research with over 130 instruments across the U.S. and growing.
Shuolong Yang, assistant professor at the University of Chicago, has leveraged the capabilities of the NSF-funded 2D Crystal Consortium–Materials Innovation Platform (2DCC-MIP) to probe the layer-by-layer electronic structure of complex magnetic topological insulators. Yang’s collaboration with the 2DCC began during a 2019 visit, when he learned how the national user facility supports new faculty through access to high-quality single-crystal chalcogenide materials.
Construction of the MRI Nanofabrication Laboratory expansion in the Millennium Science Complex is now underway, with Phase One moving into full swing. The cleanroom and all of our labs on the first floor are fully operational and accessible through the open corridor on the Pollock Road side of the building.
Materials Characterization Lab (MCL) operations and investment priorities. MCL priorities are generally guided by maintaining continuity of critical, high‑demand capabilities; expanding capacity when demand exceeds availability; aligning investments with MRI’s 2025–2030 strategic priorities; and ensuring long‑term operational sustainability. Your perspective is essential in helping us identify gaps, emerging needs, and opportunities where MCL can better support your research endeavors.