Big data powers university’s nanofabrication lab
Berkeley Marvell NanoLab relies on operational data to efficiently manage and monitor lab operations.
About the Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory at UC Berkeley
The Marvell NanoLab is a shared research center providing a wide range of micro- and nano-fabrication tools to more than 100 Principal Investigators and over 500 academic and industrial researchers annually. The NanoLab has been in real-time operation since 2009; its predecessor facilities, the Berkeley IC Lab and the Berkeley Microlab, were active from 1962 – 2008.
Challenge
The Marvell Nanolab must manage and analyze a wide range of data collected by its lab management system, Mercury. Mercury is an in-house developed workstation/server based, research facility interface and information system designed specifically to operate the Berkeley Marvell NanoLab.
Solution
To efficiently manage much of the lab’s operations, the Marvell NanoLab required a robust and dependable system for storing and managing operational data. This includes equipment status and reservations, utility system monitoring, researcher credentials and training, and chargeback financials.
Outcome
Based upon their mutual experience with the Ingres database technology, developed initially at Berkley, Marvell NanoLab selected and relied upon Actian for scalable and dependable database management to monitor many aspects of the nanofabrication environment. Over decades, the lab has consistently improved its Lab Management System (LMS) to adapt to the evolving demands of the lab environment. A reliable foundational database product, now supported by Actian, is an ongoing critical component of the Mercury system.
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