07/30/2026
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $17.3 million to establish the Collaborative for the Realization of Autonomous Biomanufacturing (CRAB) Lab at the University of Maryland, one of only 20 Programmable Cloud Laboratory (PCL) Nodes funded nationwide. The initiative is led by Fischell Institute Director William Bentley and co-led by Gregory Payne, Martha Wang, Alan Zaoxing L., and Hussain Dahodwala.
The AI-enabled, remotely accessible lab will enable researchers across the country to design, execute, and analyze automated biomanufacturing experiments. The project brings together the University of Maryland, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Ginkgo Bioworks, a pioneer in synthetic biology and fermentation automation, to advance automated biomanufacturing, train the next generation of bioengineers, and strengthen Maryland's leadership in autonomous science. To learn more visit: https://go.umd.edu/crablab