UGIM2026

Mark your calendars!

UGIM 2026 will be held July 19-22, 2026 at Stanford University, at the Alumni Center. This is our silver anniversary, the 25th UGIM meeting since its inception in 1975.  The schedule will be similar to those in previous years, starting Sunday at noon and ending Wednesday at noon. Registration information will be posted on this site as it becomes available, in January 2026. Look also for announcements on the LabNetwork for pre-conference working groups. Any questions, contact ugim2026-info@stanford.edu.

The Agenda and Schedule

This year’s schedule features:

  • Pre-Symposium Session: Kick things off Sunday afternoon with focused discussions.
  • Main Symposium: Dive deep into critical topics from Monday morning through Wednesday at noon.
  • Exhibition & Networking: Sunday through noon Wednesday, featuring 50+ vendors and open to the public - connect with peers, discover new tools, and foster meaningful collaborations.
  • Pre- and Post-Symposium Vendor Showcase: Engage with equipment and service providers, through workshops, seminars, and demos.

The program will explore pressing questions::

  • Operational Excellence: What are the latest best practices in safety, contamination control, cost efficiency, and sustainability?
  • Workforce Development: How can our facilities contribute to training and empowering the next generation of professionals?
  • Funding & Growth: What is the outlook for government and industry support for researchers and facilities?
  • Personnel Development: What new opportunities can we create for professional growth within our facilities?
  • Data & Innovation: How can AI and other information technologies enhance facility operations and researcher productivity?
  • Future Trends: What kinds of forces and opportunities ahead may shape the research landscape we support?
  • Collaboration: What strategies can strengthen partnerships between facilities?

Our Purpose

For nearly 50 years, the University/Government/Industry Micro/Nanotechnology Symposium (UGIM) has been bringing together professional staff, educators and researchers who operate micro/nanotechnology R&D facilities, and serves as a forum for exchanging knowledge, best practices, and advances in research instrumentation and education. UGIM welcomes representation from facilities around the world and of all sizes, from single-manager labs to nationally recognized facilities. R&D micro/nano facilities are achieving widespread recognition as innovation centers, lab-to-fab enablers and workforce pipelines, with key roles in national initiatives, such as CHIPS Act funded programs and NSF Engines. These R&D micro/nano facilities are part of a vast ecosystem of partnerships with industry, academia, and government, working together to enable ideas and educate tomorrow's technology leaders.

The UGIM Symposium is a biennial event, but the UGIM community is active year-round, through MIT's Labnetwork list. For more information about our purpose, guiding principles and history, please refer to UC Berkeley's new site for the UGIM organization (and we invite you to add your facility!)  

Sponsorship

UGIM would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. Information about our program can be found on this UGIM 2026 sponsorship site. We welcome discussion about these and other opportunities, please reach out to  ugim2026-info@stanford.edu.