| Tutorial | Description | Instructor Version | Student Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Introduction to small-angle scattering and the concept of phase mapping |  |
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| 02 | Building decision pipelines (AI agents) using scikit-learn | |
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| 03 | Building decision agents with the AFL.double_agent library | |
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| C1 | Build an agent that tolerates measurement noise | |
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| C2 | Discover the boundaries of multiple phases | |
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| C3 | Handle second order (continuous) phase transitions | |
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| CX | Ideas and inspiration for the challenges | |
The goal of these tutorials is to introduce the software tools developed to run the Autonomous Formulation Lab. We introduce our AI agent software (AFL.double_agent) and show how it can be used to build decision pipelines. The notebooks leverage widely used open source libraries (scikit-learn) and our new library for building decision pipelines (AFL.double_agent). We are in the process of developing tutorials for our orchestration software (AFL.automation) so check back soon
These tutorials are highly interactive, making it suitable for both self-paced learning and guided tutorial presentation settings.
The Autonomous Formulation Lab (AFL) is a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) program that seeks to accelerate the discovery and optimization of soft materials through the development and application of autonomous techniques to high-value measurements. Specifically, we design robotic platforms that autonomously mix, synthesize and evaluate soft materials and we study them using small-angle scattering (SANS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and other techniques.
No installation required! All tutorials are designed to run directly in Google Colab.
- Student Notebooks: These notebooks are designed for guided tutorial presentations. They have sections of the code removed that are meant to be filled in by the active participants.
- Instructor Notebooks: These notebooks are designed for self-paced learning. They contain all the code and can be used to work through the tutorial at your own pace.
- Click the "Open in Colab" button for the notebook version you want to use
- Make a copy of the notebook to your own Google Drive to save your work
- Work through the tutorials in order (01 → 02 → Challenges)
| Date | Event | Location/Event |
|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | Virtual Tutorial Lecture @ MLXN | Virtual, 24h Event |
| February 2025 | Virtual Tutorial Lecture @ UIC | Chicago, IL |
| April 2024 | Spring MRS 2024 Tutorial | Seattle, WA |
Any identification of commercial or open-source software in this document is done so purely in order to specify the methodology adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the softwares identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
This software was developed by employees of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the Federal Government and is being made available as a public service. Pursuant to title 17 United States Code Section 105, works of NIST employees are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. This software may be subject to foreign copyright. Permission in the United States and in foreign countries, to the extent that NIST may hold copyright, to use, copy, modify, create derivative works, and distribute this software and its documentation without fee is hereby granted on a non-exclusive basis, provided that this notice and disclaimer of warranty appears in all copies.
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