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The Colorado Shared Instrumentation in Nanofabrication and Characterization (COSINC) facility held its inaugural Community Connections Networking Event on November 13, 2025, bringing together researchers, industry partners, graduate students, and instrument manufacturers for a day of collaboration, learning, and celebration. The event was designed to foster information exchange, highlight research enabled by COSINC, and strengthen academic–industry relationships across the region.

More than 60 participants attended the day‑long program, including COSINC users, local companies, and representatives from 11 instrument manufacturers who sponsored and participated in the event. Sponsors included ,Ìý,Ìý,Ìý, , , , , ,Ìý,Ìý. Their support helped fund poster awards, lunch, refreshments, and ongoing partnerships with CU Boulder. The event also celebrated the recent acquisition of several advanced instruments made possible through the National Quantum Facility (NQN) NSF Award.

Activities and research highlights

Kendra Kreienbrink of the Shields Group presents her research.

The event featured a diverse program including a COSINC‑themed trivia game, a panel discussion on education and careers, and three faculty research talks spanning topics from evolutionary biology to quantum devices and microrobotics. Over 20 graduate students presented posters showcasing the breadth of research made possible through COSINC facilities. Poster award recipients included:

• Kendra Kreienbrink (Shields Group, Chemical and Biological Engineering): Microbots for Transport and Therapy
• Arkodip Mandal (Burdick Laboratory, BioFrontiers Institute): 3D Printable Block Copolymer Hydrogels
• Megan Greenwood and Mailor Amaral (Kociolek Group, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology): Science and Art of Diatomic Cells

These presentations highlighted COSINC’s impact across disciplines, technologies, and applications.

Building community and industry partnerships

Panel discussion on career opportunities enabled by COSINC.

Attendees noted the value of connecting with faculty, students, and industry partners, as well as the opportunity to learn more about COSINC’s instrumentation and capabilities. Comments from participants praised the event’s organization, breadth of research topics, and engaging programming, including trivia and interactive discussions.

The event also offered updates on the development of the forthcoming National Quantum Facility (NQN) facility, an integrated expansion of COSINC’s cleanroom capabilities that will support cutting‑edge quantum device fabrication.

Looking ahead

Given the success of the inaugural gathering, COSINC plans to host this networking event annually. Future events will continue to highlight the COSINC's contributions to research advancement, technology development, education, training, and workforce preparation. The facility intends to strengthen collaborations among users, industry partners, and manufacturers while expanding research and career opportunities for students and researchers across CU Boulder.