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_posts/2024-12-6-sdg_molecularnodes.md

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-title: "NumFocus Small Development Grant: Customizable and Automated Scientific Molecular Rendering with Molecular Nodes"
+title: "NumFocus Small Development Grant: Advancing Molecular Visualization with MolecularNodes"
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+<img
+src="{{site.images}}/numfocus.png"
+title="NumFOCUS Foundation" alt="NumFOCUS Foundation"
+style="float: right; width: 10em;" />
 
+We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a [Small Development Grant][SDG] by NumFocus to enhance scientific molecular rendering with [MolecularNodes][MN] in 2025. This initiative is a collaborative effort between [Yuxuan Zhuang][Yuxuan] and [Brady Johnston][Brady].
 
-- @yuxuanzhuang @bradyajohnston
+MolecularNodes has sparked great enthusiasm among scientists for its ability to produce stunning and insightful molecular visualizations. However, the current version has limitations when it comes to scripting and automating the rendering process. Our project aims to overcome these challenges by developing a robust API that enables users to render molecular structures with simple, customizable code.
+
+<a href="https://github.com/yuxuanzhuang/ggmolvis">
+<img src="{{site.images}}/mn_example.png" title="MolecularNodes" alt="MolecularNodes" style="display:
+    inline; float: right; height: 10em; margin: 0 0.5em" /></a>
+
+### Project Overview
+
+The development will proceed in three key stages:
+
+1. **API Development**: We will create a stable API for MolecularNodes, empowering users to fully customize and automate molecular rendering with minimal effort.
+
+2. **Interactive Jupyter Integration**: A Jupyter widget will be built to integrate with MDAnalysis, providing an interactive environment for controlling and rendering molecular objects directly within notebooks.
 
+3. **Advanced Visualization Tools**: We will develop tools for visualizing basic geometric features and complex analysis results, seamlessly integrating outputs from MDAnalysis.
+
+### Be Part of the Process!
+
+We invite you to join our [Discord channel][discord] to share your ideas and feedback as we build these tools. If you'd like to be a beta user, let us know—--your input will help shape the future of MolecularNodes! Stay tuned for updates and sneak peeks of our progress.
+
+Thank you to [NumFocus][NumFocus] for supporting this exciting project!
+
+- @yuxuanzhuang @bradyajohnston
 
 [MN]: https://github.com/BradyAJohnston/MolecularNodes
+[SDG]: https://numfocus.org/programs/small-development-grants
+[NumFocus]: https://numfocus.org/
+[Yuxuan]: https://github.com/yuxuanzhuang/
+[Brady]: https://github.com/BradyAJohnston/
+[discord]: https://discord.com/channels/807348386012987462/1256156074008903741