We present a microrobotic system for protein crystal micromanipulation
tasks.  The focus in this paper is on the task known to
crystallographers as streak seeding -- it is used to entice certain
protein crystals to grow.  Our system features a set of custom
designed micropositioner end-effectors we call microshovels to replace
traditional tools used by crystallographers for this task.  We have
used micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) techniques to design
and manufacture various shapes and quantities of microshovels.  Visual
input from a camera mounted on the microscope is used to detect the
locations of the source crystals which the tool needs to touch as well
as the locations of the target protein droplets for seeding.  We
present experimental results that illustrate the applicability of our
approach.