— facilitating access to this state-of-the-art technology, which promises to be particularly useful for structural determination. The services offered by the NI Lab now also include analyses using a new atomic force microscope (DriveAFM, Nanosurf ) that allows fast and precise measurements of wide-ranging samples thanks to excitation with an additional laser. The NI Lab staff member responsible for AFM, Monica Schönenberger, has already used the instrument to analyze two-dimensional materials as part of a collaboration with Professor Ernst Meyer’s team and is looking forward to other exciting applications. Commitment to public relations work The fascinating images from the nano and microcosmos that are produced at the NI Lab are ideal for getting a wider audience excited about tiny structures. In 2025, the team therefore taught evening classes on electron microscopy, gave a talk to the me- chanical engineering team of the general vocational school (All- gemeine Gewerbeschule, AGS) of Basel, invited people to attend the NI Lab User Event, and welcomed numerous visitor groups for tours of its laboratories. The aim was to give people insights into the work and functionality of the microscopes, as well as to generate enthusiasm for the nanosciences. Layers of graphene in an image captured with the new DriveAFM and an optical microscope. (Images: M. Schönenberger, NI Lab, SNI, Uni- versity of Basel) 56 SNI Annual Report 2025