Establishing the ecosystem for community driven scanning probe microscopy research and development

Custom instruments designed by researchers in academia are a key resource for advancing discovery and technology. However, they are very difficult and thus rarely shared openly with the scientific community. In the previous Explore project we have built an OpenSPM ecosystem around our custom OpenSPM prototypes. Through the rapid growth and success of this project, we have identified what will be required to sustain the growth of the OpenSPM ecosystem to become a global platform for future SPM research and development. In this second Explore grant call, we will continue to increase the available open technology, focus on maintenance and long-term viability by developing a professional development framework, and expand the community through international outreach and expansion beyond the field of SPM. The result will be a long-term sustainable, globally distributed network of users and developers from academia and industry