On the heels of a team-forming workshop between Lehigh University and the National Synchrotron Light Source program (NSLS-II), Lehigh has unveiled a plan for long-term collaboration between the two institutions. The announcement is part of Lehigh's broader, $150 million effort to launch interdisciplinary research institutes (IRIs) that coordinate and encourage crucial research projects. The Institute for Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD) hosted a workshop to kick off its relationship with NSLS-II, a key national resource within the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), a multipurpose research institution funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. NSLS-II is a synchrotron that enables the study of material properties and functions with nanoscale resolution and sensitivity through x-ray imaging and high-resolution energy analysis. Such synchrotron-based techniques provide advanced tools for basic and applied physical, chemical, and biological characterization of hard and soft materials and devices. "Lehigh's new IRIs are designed to foster and enhance collaboration among researchers at Lehigh and our colleagues from academia, government labs, and industry who address similar issues," says Himanshu Jain, I-FMD director, Lehigh's Diamond Distinguished Chair and professor of materials science. "We're proud to have introduced our colleagues at NSLS-II to Lehigh researchers in a one-day workshop to start a partnership that serves as a model for promoting and enhancing collaboration between university communities and national laboratories."