In 1995, the Surface Analysis Facility (SAF) was established by Prof. Tom Beebe at the University of Utah in the Chemistry Department through funding by the National Science Foundation (NSF). In September of 2001, this facility was moved to the University of Delaware, where it was managed by Prof. Beebe.
In 2022, the SAF went through a major transition to become a full-time, state-of-the-art shared facility at the University of Delaware. Dr. Xu Feng was hired to be the new director of the surface analysis facility.