The Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute (ENSI) at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is devoted to creating powerful new approaches to energy conversion, utilization and efficiency taking advantage of new insights in nanoscience. Since the physical world seems to deal with energy differently at the nanoscale, understanding these phenomena will open doors to new approaches to solving our energy challenges. Training the next generation of nanoscience experts has been an important goal of the Institute since its inception. Currently there are over 150 UC Berkeley graduate students affiliated with the faculty who actively participate in Kavli ENSI’s research programs.
The Program
This Discovery Research Hub, in partnership with the Kavli Foundation, is a program designed to provide research leadership experience to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who are affiliated with the Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute (ENSI) faculty at Berkeley. This program enables graduate students and postdocs to develop crucial leadership skills; conceptualize, propose, and lead research projects; and to gain real-world experience creating budgets, managing projects, and mentoring undergraduates. Additionally, to simulate real-world conditions, participants are provided with funding for necessary resources and have the autonomy to recruit undergraduate students for their own research cluster. This endeavor is aimed at the expansion of the depth and intensity of graduate, post-graduate, and undergraduate training and professionalization.
The Discovery Research Hub in partnership with Kavli ENSI was the first of several “Discovery Research Hubs.” Since its inception in the Spring of 2025, it has supported 20 graduate fellowships, each with small research clusters of two to four undergraduate students. The pilot program was extended into a full-year offering starting in Fall 2025. Postdoctoral researchers are invited to apply to this expanded program beginning in 2026.
"This experience helped me grow into a more intentional leader and shifted the way I approach research—I began thinking like an advisor, not just executing tasks but also anticipating challenges and aligning team efforts with long-term goals. What makes the Hub unique is the balance it strikes: it trusts graduate students with real responsibility while providing structure and resources that are rare in most research settings.” - Kavli Discovery Fellow
“I think a lot of problems in advisor-student relationships come from the fact that PIs are hired for being good at research, which is a very different skill set than being an advisor. It's good for grad students to get the practice [being an advisor].” - Kavli Discovery Fellow
Leadership Development
The Discovery Hub supports graduate and postdoctoral research while developing the leadership and mentorship skills of these students and postdocs. Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellows (Fellows) assume leadership of their own scientific investigations, oversee small research groups, and receive regular guidance, networking opportunities, and presentation practice. The Fellows attend monthly workshops to learn skills for creating productive mentoring relationships, applying for professional and academic opportunities, developing coherent pitches and presentations, and other aspects of leadership development. Some workshops also include Undergraduate Scholars. This workshop series, facilitated by Berkeley Discovery, fosters community among the Fellows and undergraduate students. Meetings serve the dual purpose of fostering collaborations among the Fellows while helping to support them as they lead their independent research clusters. These sessions incorporate guest speakers, structured workshop time, and networking, and conclude in a symposium.
Research Clusters & Funding
Fellows recruit two to four Undergraduate Scholars who will join them in some aspect of their research. Fellows design a research agenda for the students and work with them throughout the year to hone methods and ideas related to the field of their specific project. To close the year, undergraduates and their graduate mentors present the year’s work at the Discovery Hubs Symposium. Fellows are funded for year-long projects, to ensure ample time for the development of both their ideas and of the community among their students.
To lead their research cluster, Fellows are provided with stipends of $1,000 per Undergraduate Scholar per semester. Fellows will also be able to apply for a small pool of research funds (up to $2,000) to support their work.
Research examples:
Learn more about our past and current Fellows and their diverse research areas. Project topics have ranged from photoemission spectroscopy, to graphene devices, to gas sensors, to semiconductor materials, to optical tweezers, among many others.
In partnership with...
“The combination of financial support and independence allowed me to consider projects I truly believed in and direct them in an effective way. The product of the research from the Discovery Research Hub felt justified and motivated whilst mentoring within my advisor’s lab required balancing my own interests with that of my advisors.” - Kavli Discovery Fellow
“Working with students on my own project was a valuable experience—I really enjoyed guiding them and seeing both their growth and the project’s success. It strengthened my interest in staying in academia and mentoring the next generation of researchers.” - Kavli Discovery Fellow