Our History

Hummingbird Scientific is founded by Norman Salmon and Eric Stach with a vision to develop advanced in-situ electron microscopy tools that push the boundaries of scientific discovery for researchers worldwide.

The first engineering and manufacturing workshop is established, creating in-house capability for rapid prototyping, precision machining, and custom sample holder development.

Launch of one of the earliest commercial in-situ liquid cell sample holders, enabling reliable liquid-phase electron microscopy experiments for researchers worldwide.

Pioneering results demonstrating in-situ liquid-phase electrochemistry inside the TEM, revealing the formation and dynamic evolution of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), presented at the 218th Electrochemical Society Meeting.

Introduction of the first in-situ gas-phase heating TEM sample holder, marking a major advancement in environmental TEM and in-situ materials research.

Hummingbird Scientific receives the Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for the development of the in-situ liquid-phase TEM sample holder, recognizing its contribution to technological innovation and the commercialization of breakthrough electron microscopy technologies.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center receives the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Award for its collaboration with Hummingbird Scientific for developing new in-situ liquid-phase TEM sample holder technologies.

The Microanalysis Society awards the Birks Award to Raymond Unocic (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) for collaborative work with Hummingbird Scientific from 2011 on in-situ TEM characterization of electrochemical processes in energy storage systems.

Collaborative work between Hummingbird Scientific and Chongmin Wang’s team (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) on the development of a multimodal electrochemical TEM sample holder is recognized with the 2012 Microscopy Today Innovation Award.

Expanding to meet growing business needs, Hummingbird Scientific moves its headquarters to a larger facility with dedicated space for TEM labs, system engineering, manufacturing, and assembly, creating a new home base for developing next-generation in-situ solutions.

To meet growing demand for SiN membrane window chips, Hummingbird Scientific launches a dedicated in-house microfabrication division to provide high-quality chips, custom microfabricated devices, and tailored solutions for advanced in-situ electron microscopy applications.

To support growing demand, Hummingbird Scientific establishes an in-house TEM lab equipped with a JEOL-2100 200kV LaB₆ electron microscope with a Direct Electron DE12 camera and EDS detector, accelerating product development, validation, and testing while enhancing customer training and collaborative application development.

Collaborative research between Hummingbird Scientific and Prof. Will Chueh's group at Stanford University received the 2018 Macres Award for the Best Instrumentation/Software Paper presentation at the Microscopy and Microanalysis conference, recognizing advances in operando X-ray microscopy instrumentation and the study of lithium dynamics in battery materials.

Hummingbird Scientific launches the Generation V in-situ bulk liquid electrochemical TEM sample holder, the first in-situ electrochemistry platform designed to accurately replicate the precision and repeatability of benchtop electrochemical systems inside the TEM.

Hummingbird Scientific adds a new JEOL 2100Plus as a second TEM to its in-house TEM lab, expanding product development capabilities while enhancing validation, application development, and customer training for next-generation in-situ microscopy solutions.

Hummingbird Scientific and Juken establish Nihon Hummingbird Scientific KK, expanding engineering, manufacturing, and customer support capabilities to better serve the Japanese and broader Asia-Pacific in-situ microscopy market.

Hummingbird Scientific receives the 2021 Microscopy Today Innovation Award for its multimodal in-situ bulk liquid-electrochemistry platform, enabling true bulk electrochemical measurements across TEM, SEM, and X-ray microscopy.

To better serve its growing customer base in Asia-Pacific, Hummingbird Scientific establishes Hummingbird Scientific Private Limited in Hyderabad, India, expanding regional sales, customer support, and access to advanced in-situ microscopy solutions.

Hummingbird Scientific establishes a European office in the Netherlands, led by Director of Research Daan Hein Alsem, Ph.D., to expand regional customer support, application development, and access to advanced in-situ microscopy solutions.

Hummingbird Scientific launches the Operando Plasma TEM Sample Holder, enabling direct nanoscale observation of plasma–material interactions in real time and opening new possibilities for in-situ studies of catalysis, materials synthesis, semiconductor processing, and sustainable energy technologies.

Hummingbird Scientific is developing a next-generation cryo-EM platform aimed at overcoming the variability and limitations of traditional sample preparation methods. Stay tuned for a new approach to capturing biological structures with greater speed, control, and reproducibility.

The future of electron microscopy demands more than conventional stage technology. Hummingbird Scientific is developing a next-generation TEM stage built for unprecedented precision, stability, and autonomous workflows. Stay tuned for what’s next in intelligent microscopy.