NSF PCL-test bed: collaborative for the realization of autonomous biomanufacturing (crab) lab

The National Science Foundation awarded a $5 million cooperative agreement to the University of Maryland, College Park on August 1, 2026, to establish and operate the NSF CRAB (Collaborative for the Realization of Autonomous Biomanufacturing) Lab, a component of the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084).

The CRAB Lab will deliver a remotely accessible, AI-enabled testbed for biomanufacturing research and development located in College Park, Maryland. The testbed will combine high-throughput measurement, cutting-edge sensor technologies, robotics, and real-time data analytics to enable users from universities, startups, industry partners, and government to program automated workflows that design, execute, and analyze biomanufacturing experiments. The facility will integrate human and artificial intelligence to accelerate knowledge generation and shorten time-to-market for biomanufactured products. In addition to conducting research, the CRAB Lab will create a learning ecosystem that identifies industry best practices, establishes industrial standards, and delivers on-site and remote educational programs. The initiative aims to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness in the bioeconomy by translating American leadership in AI and biotechnology into a robust, publicly available testbed capable of real-time training of AI models for bioprocess analysis, optimization, and control.

The award obligated $5 million and carries a period of performance through July 31, 2030. The work will leverage existing investments in instrumentation, facilities, and personnel at the University of Maryland's Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, a long-standing partnership between the University and NIST.

Abstract

NSF PCL-test bed: collaborative for the realization of autonomous biomanufacturing (crab) lab the crab (collaborative for the realization of autonomous biomanufacturing) lab will align industry/academia/government activities in biomanufacturing to ensure economic competitiveness, train a world-class workforce, and strengthen US supply chains. Specifically, the NSF crab lab programmable cloud laboratory node will create accelerated pathways for knowledge-generation that shorten the time-to-market for a diverse portfolio of biomanufactured products. This will be achieved by providing a remotely accessible, AI-enabled testbed for users from across the US, including from universities, startups, industry partners, and the government, to program automated workflows that design, execute, and analyze biomanufacturing experiments. This testbed will combine high throughput measurements and cutting-edge sensor technologies with robotics and real-time data analytics to fuse human with artificial intelligence. In addition to generating biomanufacturing knowledge, the crab lab node will work closely with the biomanufacturers and other stakeholders to create a learning ecosystem that: identifies best-practices, creates industrial standards, and provides on-site and remote educational programs. The NSF crab lab PCL test bed node aims to translate US leadership in AI and biotechnology into a robust bioeconomy by providing a publicly available, remotely accessible testbed with the automated molecular and electronic measurement capabilities to enable the real-time training of AI models for bioprocess analysis, optimization and control. The crab lab will leverage investments in instrumentation, facilities, and personnel at the university of maryland?s institute for bioscience and biotechnology research, which is a long?standing partnership between the university and NIST, that is strategically located within maryland?s biotech corridor and near northern virginia?s IT hub. The crab lab will combine the institute?s instruments, facilities, and personnel with the university of maryland?s strengths in AI and biosensor prototyping along with the expertise in bioprocess automation provided by ginkgo bioworks. The crab lab will also serve the consortium of end-users from the advanced mammalian biomanufacturing innovation center (ambic), a multi-university site in the NSF industry?university cooperative research center program. This consortium of 30 biopharmaceuticals companies already accesses NIST?s biomanufacturing standards and invests in academic research to solve generic industry-wide challenges in biomanufacturing. The crab lab aims to expand this consortium and extend capabilities by providing end?to?end ?walkaway? Automation and a cloud?based interface to allow remote, high?throughput experiments to optimize bioprocesses for various bioproducts. The crab lab is located in university of maryland?s shady grove campus which provides a vibrant ecosystem along with a remote training hub to train the workforce needed for high?demand jobs in biomanufacturing. In summary, the crab lab will provide a vital biomanufacturing resource for the nation, enabling the conversion of AI and biotechnology research into a robust bioeconomy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are planned for this award.