Aberration-Corrected Electron Microscopy (ACEM) Core

We welcome collaborations that use atomic-resolution tools to tackle grand challenges in science.

In-situ electron microscopy and ptychography

Imaging materials under heating, biasing, light and cryogenic conditions, with ptychography on EMPAD and Gatan K3 detectors.

We have built capabilities to image materials under a range of external stimuli:

• Heating and biasing: Devices can be heated and electrically biased with the DENSsolutions Lightning holder.
• Light: Light can be delivered into the sample with the Attolight mirror system.
• Ptychography: Data are recorded on an EMPAD or a Gatan K3 detector.
• Vacuum transfer and cryo: A Mel-Build holder transfers samples under vacuum or cools them to −160 °C.

This is just the beginning. We plan to grow these capabilities through collaborative projects and new funding opportunities. Collaborate with us.

AI and automation for electron microscopy

AI agents, a custom MCP server and automated control that put large language models to work at the microscope.

We welcome collaborations that use atomic-resolution tools such as the Spectra Ultra to tackle grand challenges in science. Our toolkit includes:

• the Thermo Fisher AutoScript API;
• a custom MCP server that provides a user-interface simulator together with instrument status and control;
• commercial large language models;
• AutoACEM, our automated control interface.

At the heart of this project is continuous, reinforcement-driven learning, which steadily expands what the ecosystem can do. Collaborate with us.

Please acknowledge the core in publications that use its instruments or services with the following language: 

Acknowledgment: We acknowledge Yale ACEM Core for carrying out structural characterization.

As artificial intelligence reshapes how we image, analyze and interpret the world, the ACEM Core remains committed to the arts and the humanities. Advanced microscopy and computation show us materials at atomic scales, but art, objects and cultural memory tell us why those materials matter to people.

The Art Program connects our instruments and expertise with Yale's collections and heritage research. We draw on the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Peabody Museum, and the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, with the Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media and the Life Worth Living initiative as creative and reflective partners. Together they remind us that human creativity and careful stewardship of the past should guide how we use powerful new technology.

Join the ACEM Core Advisory Circle

Alongside our faculty committee, we are forming an Advisory Circle: a flexible, informal group that brings in perspectives from beyond the lab. Electron microscopy reveals a hidden world at the scale of atoms, and we believe it belongs to everyone curious about it. We welcome artists, designers, educators, students, community members, science communicators and industry partners who would enjoy sharing ideas with us.

Circle members might help shape our art program, suggest ways to open the core to schools and the New Haven community, give feedback on how we explain our science and images, or simply join a conversation when a topic interests them. There is no fixed term or meeting schedule: take part as much or as little as you like, from one coffee chat to an event you help plan or an ongoing role.

To join or recommend someone, write to shize.yang@yale.edu or use our contact form.