Paul Ashby is a staff scientist in The Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research group aims to bring a physical understanding to materials design through nanoscale characterization. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a common motif in their research leading to many novel techniques and methods. Recent research includes projects investigating photovoltaics, biomimetic mechanical materials, and reconfigurable films at liquid-liquid interfaces. Paul received his PhD in physical chemistry from Harvard University and started at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2004. He has 89 publications and 5 patents. He was recently a cofounder of Scuba Probe Technologies, an AFM probe manufacturer.