Summer
2002 Newsletter
MSNO needs a secretary! Dr. Sherry Steusse, NEOUCOM, received a prestigious appointment to NIH and resigned her position as MSNO secretary in January 2002. Dr. Kathleen Doane, MSNO immediate past-president, handled the Winter 2002 meeting announcement, and Valerie Woodward, current newsletter editor, handled the Spring 2002 meeting announcement and the elections; however, both members volunteered only temporarily to help the society. The secretary’s responsibilities include three technical meeting announcements per year, Board meeting minutes (production and distribution to the Board members), any correspondence (including electronic announcements to the Board regarding Board meetings), and election information dissemination. Keep in mind that much of this can be accomplished electronically, including through the website, and that the Board is going to consider changes in the election and meeting announcement procedures during the 2002-2003 technical year. If you are interested, contact any of the Board members (our contact information is on the last page of this newsletter) to find out more details.
The newsletter needs submissions from you – our members! Items that are welcome include articles/reviews from other society meetings (provided they have pertinence to MSNO), upcoming events or capability additions at your laboratory/facility/department and personal news (promotions, job changes, professional society offices, etc.). Digital images are welcome as well! Anyone who would like to write a review article about any session, talk, symposium, etc., from M&M 2002 or the May Conference, or CAPRI, or something similar, is perfectly welcome to do so! This is your newsletter – please feel free to submit information to it. I would like to start a “personal news” column, so if you have news, send it to me at valerie.woodward@noveoninc.com. I have also received some ideas for member submissions – interesting micrographs (providing you are the owner and have your company’s permission to publish), featuring a laboratory in an issue (complete with digital pictures and interviews), a “where are they now?” item for retired or relocated members, and a questions and answers column. So, let me know what you think about these, and how you think we can make the newsletter more serviceable to the membership.
The MSNO website (www.msneo.org) has been updated, and will provide you with information on upcoming meetings and events, both MSNO and otherwise; member happenings; a downloadable membership form; upcoming elections; and www links. In addition, the current edition of the newsletter will be posted. So visit our website for all your microscopy needs!
MSNO board elections were held in time for announcing at the April meeting. Elections were held as last year, with mail-in ballots. Open positions included President-elect (physical), Treasurer and one Trustee. Valerie Woodward of Noveon, Inc. (formerly BFGoodrich), long-time MSNO secretary, was chosen as President-elect. Bill Butler, our treasurer “in perpetuity,” agreed to run for the position one more time. For the open Trustee position, there was a tie between Vicky Bryg of Ferro (former trustee and president) and Dr. Lorraine Siperko of NEOUCOM, outgoing trustee. As in 1998, when there was a tie for trustee, the Board allowed that both members would serve as Trustees for 2002-2005. Dr. Bill Landis, president-elect biological from the 2001 election, took office from outgoing president Ed Boyd of Noveon, Inc.
The number of ballots returned increased again, from the inaugural year (2000), which is encouraging. However, the percentage is still less than 30% returns – while this is better than most professional societies, the procedure is still not cost-effective and does not engage the entire membership. The Board welcomes any suggestions from the membership in how to improve the process and the participation.
by Jeanette Killius
August 5th is just around the corner and that means the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2002 conference in Quebec City is poised to begin. Quebec is picturesque city in North America that has retained its Old World charm. From its walled Old Town to the Chateau Frontenac, from the St. Laurence River to Parliament Hill, this is a beautiful city! While many of the residents only speak French, do not fear. There are plenty of people in the tourist industry who are bilingual and willing to assist you with directions, menus, shopping, and other necessities. The climate is very comfortable in the summer (mid to upper 70's for a high) and good walking shoes are a must if you will be doing much site seeing. Check your diet at the door because you will want to enjoy the delicious French cuisine found in the many delightful restaurants, bistros and cafes that line the narrow streets of Vieux Quebec. Exchange rates for US dollars to Canadian dollars are very good and will allow you to fit many souvenirs into your travel budget.
Sunday night's Opening Reception will be at the Museum of Civilization in the Old City. Musicians will be there to entertain you as you enjoy food and beverages in the foyer. The museum will be open exclusively for our attendees for the evening. Busses leave the Convention Center starting at 6 PM and will bring you back after 9:30. Admission is included in your registration.
Pierre Charest and his Local Arrangements Committee have put together several extra events that may interest you or family members. The annual golf outing is Sunday at the Mont Tourbillon Golf Club in the foothills of the Laurentian Mountains. Two optional events are scheduled for Wednesday evening. The first is a dinner at the Manoir Montmorency, an English manor house steeped in history and natural beauty. Capping the meal are stunning fireworks over the cliffs and falls of the St. Laurence River. The second choice is dinner and an evening of music and opera at the Amérique Française museum. Peerless musicians, exquisite singers and gorgeous costumes combine for a thoroughly enjoyable event for all. Tickets for these socials can be purchased on the registration form.
A wide variety of categories for scientific papers are available at this meeting. With everything from polymers (co-chaired by TF Vice-chair Cathy Johnson, and TF and MSNO member Valerie Woodward) to nanoscale technology; from corrosion casting to confocal microscopy; from VPSEM to microanalysis; and from immunolabeling to biominerals; there is something for each individual interest. MSNO member Valerie Woodward is again teaching her short course, “What the Heck Happened to This?,” a practical problem solving class.
Make your plans today to attend this wonderful meeting. Canadian exchange rates are good so this would be an excellent opportunity to bring the family for an affordable vacation too.
Tech Forum Program at M&M 2002
By Jeanette Killius
As many of you know, 2002 is the 20th anniversary of the Technologists' Forum and we will be celebrating that event in Quebec with a special luncheon along with our regular features. Monday afternoon, August 5th in Room 201BC will feature a Special Topics presentation by W. Gray Jerome on "Immunology 101: Back to Basics. Jay will condense the broad field of immunology as it pertains to microscopists into an hour and a half and hold a Q/A session at the end for those with special queries.
The TF Symposium on Special Staining Techniques for Biological/Materials Samples will be on Wednesday, August 7th starting at 8:30 AM in Room 201 BC. MSNO member Ron Smith, formerly of BF Goodrich, leads off with a discussion on "The Staining of Polymers". Eileen Boylston of the USDA Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans will follow with "Staining and Other Microscopic Techniques for Textiles". Former MSA President Ralph Albrecht will present "All that Glitters is not Gold: Approaches to Labeling for EM". Concluding the morning session will be MSA Secretary Janet Woodward from Buckman Laboratories who will talk about "Stains for the Determination of Paper Components and Paper Defects". The afternoon session is devoted to a lengthy discussion on "Fluorescent Specimen Preparation Techniques for Confocal Microscopy" being given by MSNO member Judy Drazba of the Cleveland Clinic. At the conclusion of Dr. Drazba's talk, there will be a short TF Business meeting.
In between the morning and afternoon sessions on Wednesday will be a special luncheon to commemorate the 20 years the Tech Forum has been an officially recognized group within MSA. As MSA's oldest Special Interest Group (SIG), our success is now being studied as a template for other fledgling SIG's out there. Come to Room 200B and enjoy a nice lunch with friends and receive a memento signifying our longevity. Ron Anderson will give a review of the TF's early days and we will have a Power Point presentation showing the history of the TF through pictures. Cost of the luncheon will be $15 US and tickets will be available at the TF booth. Plan now to attend!
At 10:30 Thursday morning, August 8th, the final portion of the TF program will be held in Room 201BC. Debby Sherman, Tech Forum Secretary, will chair the Roundtable Discussion on the Legal and Ethical Issues of Data Ownership. Panelists include Dr. Louis Sherman of Purdue University, Jeff Hanson of Eli Lilly, and Prof. Bartha Knoppers of the Université de Montréal. If you have any special questions of the panelists, email Debby at dsherman@purdue.edu so she can have each prepare an answer. Be sure to arrange your schedule to attend this very timely discussion.
This year posters will only be up on the assigned day in the Exhibit Hall. If you have a particular author or subject you want to view, check the program for which day of the week it will be shown. They will be on view all day with authors available for questions from 1-3 PM. Awards will be given at the MSA Business meeting at noon on Thursday, August 8th in Room 208B.
The July 6th deadline is rapidly approaching for discounted registration for the meeting. You can go online at www.microscopy.com and click on the Microscopy & Microanalysis '02 button. Follow the directions to submit an electronic registration. Hotel rooms are almost gone so hurry and make your reservations now. The deadline for obtaining the convention rates is June 29th. Online reservations can be made at www.houseol.com or call 800-481-7901.
A final reminder: you will need your passport or a certified copy of your birth certificate and a photo ID when you travel to Canada. Please remember to pack them where they can be easily shown to customs agents.
See you all in Quebec!!
by Kathleen Doane, Ph.D. and Jeanette Killius
MSNO opened the fall season on October 23rd with a symposium on Pharmaceutical microscopy at Ricerca, LLC in Concord, OH. Members relaxed at the wine and cheese opening reception, hosted by Ricerca. Larry Powers, Vice President of Analytical and Medicinal Chemistry, welcomed everyone and gave a short overview of Ricerca's history. The company has undergone many changes - from the former Diamond Shamrock to Swedish-owned Ricerca (which means "Research" in Italian) to a Japanese-directed Ag-chem group and now to its current status as a British subsidiary doing contract work for the pharmaceutical industry.
Dr. Robert Carlton, Ph.D., from Elan Corporation was the first speaker and he discussed the use of “Microscopy in Pharmaceutical Development”. In determining what makes a good drug, much analysis must be done on its chemical make-up. All forms have to be identified and characterized. Polarized light microscopy is essential to observe the different crystalline forms on the way to selecting the ideal state. Dr. Carlton discussed a search for the bioactive form of a steroid used as an anti-inflammatory, which was believed to have one form but anecdotally was said to have two forms. Using microscopy at different temperatures, it was determined that two forms did indeed exist. One form, the older form, was hexagonal, and actually a hemi-hydrate. The second newer form was tetragonal and anhydrous. The eventual use of the drug will help determine its optimal properties such as: stability on the shelf, solubility for delivery, the correct breakdown temperature, moisture content, ability to compress into tablets, presence of contaminants and a size and shape easily absorbed. While many chemical techniques play a role in drug characterization, microscopy - esp. polarized light diffraction - and digital image analysis have been shown to be extremely important in visualizing the crystals. Dr. Carlton’s talk contained many beautiful micrographs of drugs in various forms.
After a delightful buffet dinner, guests helped Mager Scientific celebrate 40 years as a supplier for microscopy products and 20 years as a Leica distributor by enjoying a piece of chocolate birthday cake. In addition, Mager hosted a raffle for a free Palm Pilot to be given to a lucky attendee. Mike Boykin, regional sales representative for Mager, drew the winning ticket. Congratulations to Jeanette Killius of NEOUCOM on being the recipient of the Palm Pilot!
The after-dinner speaker was Dr. Michael Cheung, Ph.D., from the University of Akron’s Department of Chemical Engineering, who spoke on the “SEM as a Member of the Characterization 'Suite' Used in Studying Nanoporous Materials Produced via Microemulsion Polymerization". A microemulsion is a thermodynamically stable, microstructured system, with two normally immiscible subphases, usually a polymerizable oil and an aqueous solution. These subphases are often stabilized by a surfactant, with a co-surfactant used routinely as well. Together, these phases can produce a nanoporous material. Microemulsions form due to dynamic competition between such things as gravity, interfacial tension forces, configurational entropy due to dispersed “droplets”, and chemical forces such as hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic effects. A variety of experimental approaches can be used to examine these controlled-release matrices. Pre-polymerization, the phase behavior, laser light scattering, viscometry, and conductivity of microemulsions can be studied. Post-polymerization, scanning electron microscopy, freezing point depression, and NMR, among other techniques, can be utilized to distinguish these emulsions. These microemulsion characteristics and release conditions such as pH, ionic strength, and temperature can be adjusted to control the release of materials. Understanding these release characteristics is vital in generating materials with appropriate release properties for drug delivery.
We would like to thank Ricerca, LLC for hosting the wine and cheese reception and to Mager Scientific for providing dessert and a Palm Pilot for the raffle.
MSNO Winter 2002 Meeting Review
by Valerie Woodward
The Winter 2002 Meeting was held at the Center for Surface Analysis of Materials (CSAM) at Case Western Reserve University Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The meeting was hosted by Professor Arthur Heuer, and supported by FEI Company and Gatan. High points of the afternoon was the introduction of the new FEI Tecnai TEM with adjunct Gatan equipment, and the tour of the CSAM facility by led by Professors Heuer and Gary Michal and some of the CSAM staff, including Alan McIlwaine and Wayne Jennings. The CSAM is a user facility that has several SEMs, two TEMs, x-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, or colloquially, ESCA), scanning Auger microscopy (SAM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). This was also the occasion to introduce the newest CSAM faculty member, Professor Frank Ernst. A wine and cheese social was sponsored by FEI and Gatan, and the social time allowed the MSNO members to browse through the laboratories, interact with the students, and talk with the CSAM faculty and staff.
The first speaker of the evening was Professor Frank Ernst of CWRU, whose talk was titled “Quantitative Aspects of High Resolution TEM (HRTEM) of Interfaces.” Professor Ernst was the lead investigator on the NSF proposal to obtain the FEI Tecnai F30 high resolution TEM/Stem, a 300 KV instrument with energy filtering capability and a FEG source. The importance of HRTEM cannot be underestimated in the assessment of material performance. Actually, defects in materials are much more important in their performance than the ideal structures, with interfaces between crystallites or phases being some of the most important. However, the HRTEM is not without its deficiencies, mostly because eof finite aperture diameter and phase shift from the lens. These deficiencies lead to artifacts that must be dealt with, especially when examining unknown structures. When working with a true unknown structure that one has newly acquired, it is important to compare the structure to a number of computer-generated models of it and arrive at the “best fit.” The “best fit” can be subjective (human comparison) or objective (computer modeling). Then, one can perform iterative image comparisons (via PC) and attempt to match the crystalline structure using ED. Even then, there can be problems with simulated images, including noise, optics, specimen issues and the actual algorithms used to simulate the image.
The scientist must keep all of these issues in mind when determining structure with the HRTEM. That being said, the HRTEM is still a most powerful tool in allowing today’s scientists to probe materials to atomic resolution level and obtain usable information about why a material works or fails.
Also learned from this talk was a very important bit of information to the MSNO membership who might have the occasional need for HRTEM, but cannot support one financially: there are three Tecnais in the MSNO geographical area. One is at Ohio State University (Professor Hamish Fraser), one at CWRU (Professors Heuer, Ernst and Michal, all MSNO members) and one at UAkron (Professor Mark Foster, MSNO member).
After Professor Ernst’s talk, MSNO president Ed Boyd presented him with an MSNO mug, and Professor Ernst presented MSNO with a membership application. The group adjourned to the Faculty Club for a delicious plated dinner in a sophisticated setting. After dinner, the brisk walk to the meeting room was just what the doctor ordered to reinvigorate the group for the evening talk. Nothing like Cleveland in February to negate the effects of some wonderful desserts!
The second talk of the evening, by Professor Wah Chiu of Baylor University College of Medicine, was titled “Electron Cryomicroscopy as a Structural Biology Tool.” Professor Chiu’s presence was courtesy of the Microscopy Society of America’s Tour Speaker Program. Professor Chiu opened his talk by asking “why use HRTEM for the study of biological macromolecules?” The short wavelength of the high energy electrons allows for resolution beyond 2.5Å, the specimen can be kept near its native environment during observation (frozen and hydrated), and it is ideal for studying macromolecular assemblies that are not amenable to NMR and XRD. Professor Chiu works with biological crystals – 2D monolayer protein crystals that have a-helices and b-sheets. Professor Chiu refers to these macromolecules as single “machines,” formed of 6.8-9.0Å large aggregates of molecules with the a-helices and b-sheets visualized. After one obtains the images using electron cryomicroscopy (which yields medium resolution structure and helix and sheet information), one must mine the data using bioinformatics. The data mining leads to primary sequence analyses, secondary structure analyses and 3D folds. Combined with the helix and sheet information, one can correlate sequence and structure to actual biological functions, as well as develop a pseudo-atomic model. Professor Chiu provided the rice dwarf virus as a specific example of this type of work – this is an important virus to a very large percentage of the world’s population, as it infects rice plants and causes stunted growth and failure to bear seeds. Knowing its structure will allow scientists to battle it in the war on hunger. So far, Professor Chiu has determined that the virus has two layers; the inner layer is a very large molecule. He has elucidated the layer sizes and molecular weights as well. Armed with the knowledge, one can determine how molecular interactions lead to gene expressions, which is the science of proteomics. Future directions in this work include extending structure resolution to 3-4 Å by improving specimen preparation, improving data automation, obtaining higher image yield and improving software to handle the very large data sets; trying to reduce the number of particles examined to improve throughput; development of higher throughput data collection and analysis; and finding more people who are interested in the filed of study to keep up with the sheer volume of the work.
The annual
Spring Symposium and second annual student poster session were held on April
30, 2002 at Summa Akron City Hospital. Mark Kovacik graciously hosted the meeting,
which featured an elegant hot and cold hors d’oeuvres selection with several
wines and soft drinks, and a delicious buffet dinner with perennial MSNO favorite
rich desserts! Dave Angle of JEOL, an MSNO corporate member, generously sponsored
the social hour. Thanks Dave and JEOL! This was the second year that Mark
and Summa have hosted an MSNO meeting, and as before, the facilities and dining
were top drawer.
The student poster session was better attended this spring than last year, with a total of seven submissions. The presenters, affiliation, advisor, title and ultimate goals were:
1. Denise Wade Rafferty, CWRU Department of Macromolecular Science, Professor Jack Koenig, “FTIR Imaging of Nematic Liquid Crystals,” awareness of orientation (nematic vs. isotropic) and alignment (perpendicular or parallel to the IR beam) effects in IR imaging.
2. Carrie Coutts, CWRU Department of Macromolecular Science, Professor Jack Koenig, “FTIR Imaging of Drug Release Polymer Matrices,” characterization of time release medication mechanisms.
3. Kimberly Sloane-Stakleff, Akron General Medical Center and NEOUCOM, Professor Kathleen Doane (NEOUCOM), “Breast Cancer Cell Invasion Associated with a Decrease in b-Integrin Production,” use of cell morphology and adhesion properties to predict levels of invasiveness of breast cancers.
4. Weinxia Liu, UAkron Department of Polymer Science, Professor Darrell Reneker, “Capture of Oil Droplets on Nanofibers,” establishing the use of nanofiber materials as aerosol filter media.
5. Ratthapol Rangukpan, UAkron Department of Polymer Science, Professor Darrell Reneker, “Electrospinning of Molten Polymers in Vacuum and Air,” improvement of electrospinning of polymer fibers dependent upon their state (melt or solution) and spinning atmosphere.
6. Han Xu, UAkron Department of Polymer Science, Professor Darrell Reneker, “Behavior of Electrospinning Jet,” development of a large-scale microscope for use on line to determine jet electrospinning fiber diameters.
7.
Woraphon Kataphinan, UAkron Department of Polymer Science, Professors Darrell
Reneker and Daniel Smith, “Encapsulations in Polymer Nanofibers by Electrospinning,”
incorporation of drugs/palliatives for wound dressings in situ during the electrospinning
process.
Each presenter gave a 5-minute presentation at his or her poster and Board member judges asked specific questions. The Board divided the posters into three categories – biological sciences, physical sciences and biomaterials. After spirited and difficult deliberations, the winners were chosen: Carrie Coutts for biomaterials, Kimberly Sloane-Stakleff for biological sciences, and Ratthapol Rangkupan for physical sciences. Outgoing MSNO President Ed Boyd presented the awards, and thanked all of the presenters. The winners received $50.00 from MSNO, and all presenters received certificates of achievement. The rest of the social hour provided a more relaxed atmosphere for other MSNO members to chat with the presenters and find out more details about their projects.
After dinner, which included more than a few interesting discussions about subjects other than microscopy (winemaking being one of them), the group convened in the auditorium to hear the evening’s featured speaker, Dr. Lorraine Siperko of NEOUCOM (and an MSNO trustee). Dr. Siperko’s talk was titled “AFM of Biomaterials.” She began the talk by reminding us that although the technique is over 20 years old, its use in biological applications is relatively new. There is quite a bit of flexibility in AFM methods, including linear, angular and height measurements, RMS roughness measurements, hard vs. soft domain elucidation, force-distance plots to evaluate adhesion properties, and imaging in liquids. The last technique lends a very big advantage to the analysis of biological systems, because one can work in a near-live environment. To achieve that situation, Dr. Siperko uses a special cell attachment that gives her the ability to image in a liquid environment. The cell sits on the sample and is sealed with o-rings; it allows the introduction fluids and changing of environments as one proceeds with the experiments. An example of this is the observation of electrical pulses in live heart muscle in physiological environments. Tip modification is another way of obtaining more information from the AFM. One can physically modify a tip (sharp vs. blunt tip, attachment of a C nanotube), or chemically modify it (a specific protein, or a functional group such as carboxyl) to make it an even more specific probe. An example of this modification is the use of a glyconectin modified tip used in a seawater environment to image glyconectin in a series of different buffers. The buffers can change the adhesive forces between the glyconectin tip and the protein itself.
Currently Dr. Siperko is working in several AFM projects. One is the AFM of vitrogen (type 1 collagen). Vitrogen self-assembles as helical fibrils that associate with other fibrils to form a single fiber. There is observable periodicity in the larger fibers, on the order of 60 nm. Vitrogen interacts with decorin (as adhesive present in tissue along with collagen). Without decorin, vitrogen aligns nicely on the surface; with decorin, vitrogen fibrils do not align and they become thicker and start to link together, branch and coil. The coiling leads to tension in the fibers. Dr. Siperko is making viscoelastic measurements on the assembled fibers to assess the degree of coiling. Another project is the monitoring of the mineralization of reassembled chick tendon collagen fibrils from simulated body fluids, and a third involves the AFM of the bone morphogenetic protein OP-1, which is involved in the mineralization of bone.
Further analyses include AFM array analysis (a number of tips in a line plus a number of diode lasers), combination of AFM and IR analyses (presents some challenges because of IR sensitivity to molecular structure and topography), and DNA sequencing (still not very useful because of tip size, buried structure and time requirements).
After Dr. Siperko entertained some questions from the audience, Ed presented her with an MSNO mug. Then, Ed transferred the presidency to Bill Landis, NEOUCOM, our new president.
From the MAS Director’s Chair….
by Valerie Woodward
MAS Winter Council met January 26, 2002 in the suburban Virginia area of Washington, D.C. We had a very full agenda. We welcomed the President-Elect, Edgar Etz (NIST – Gaithersburg), new Secretary Inga Musselman (University of Texas – Dallas), and new Directors, Charlie Neilsen (JEOL) and Paul Kotula (Sandia). We also acknowledged the service of outgoing Directors Raynald Gauvin and Ian Anderson. MAS has a new domain name – www.microbeamanalysis.org. Apparently, our previous domain name was not protected and we had to come up with a new one.
The topic of most interest was the representation of MAS in the organization of M&M 2002. Our M&M liaison, Ian Anderson, has been very active, making sure that MAS interests are kept at the forefront in the planning of the program and the symposia. The program production meeting (PPM) was held in Quebec City in March, and MAS was quite well represented at that event.
Stan Erlandsen, MSA President, was a guest at our meeting, and provided a number of insights from the MSA perspective. MAS President-Elect Edgar Etz was invited to attend the MSA Winter Council meeting in February (President Meeker was out of the country at that time). Stan was quite helpful in sorting out the details of the proposed sale of Don Grimes’ “Microscopy Today” journal to MSA. Ron Anderson, MSA immediate past-president will become the editor of “MT.” In addition to retaining the current “MT” format (technical articles, hints and tips, employment opportunities, etc.), it will also replace the sporadic “MSA Bulletin,” the newsletter that kept tabs on the local affiliate societies of MSA. There was much discussion about MAS joining this venture and using the publication to replace our own “Micro News,” but after about a month of discussions among the MAS Council members, we decided to forego the opportunity and keep the MAS “Micro News” as it is to preserve our identity.
There was a special NIST-MAS workshop in Gaithersburg in early April 2002 as part of the NIST Centennial celebration. This workshop was postponed from its original October 2001 dates because of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, and Western Pennsylvania. It is titled “Understanding the Accuracy Barrier in Electron Probe Microanalysis and the Role of Standards.”
The aforementioned NIST-MAS workshop was an example of a MAS Topical Conference (MAS-TC), i.e., a smaller-venue meeting than M&M that is entirely dedicated to MAS interests. There is financial support available from MAS to stage a MAS-TC, provided the applicants meet the criteria established by the MAS Council. Valerie Woodward is the MAS-TC coordinator, and she can be contacted for application and criteria information (her e-mail is at the end of this article). MAS is also open to having joint regional or topical meetings with other societies, provided the MAS interests are maintained.
The MAS tour speakers program is in high gear, with Paul Hlava (Gemstone Microprobe Analysis, Sandia), Phil Russell (AFM, NCState) and Lucille Gianuzzi (FIB Prep, U Central Florida) being invited to several affiliated regional societies since August 2001. New tour speakers will be chosen at Quebec City in August 2002, and published on the MAS website. Remember that member societies (of which MSNO is one) can request a tour speaker for a meeting – MAS pays for the speaker’s travel and accommodations.
The new MAS directories are a big hit among the membership. It is a spiral-bound notebook-sized volume, and in addition to the member info, there is history of the MAS, significant awards given by the society (and a list of past winners), and the by-laws of the Society. You can receive one by joining the MAS!
The journal, Microscopy and Microanalysis, is gaining more technical ground each year. The editor, Charles Lyman, noted that the number of submitted papers has steadily increased, and that the journal is gaining in citations in other refereed journals.
At M&M 2002, the MAS business meeting will be on Wednesday, August 7th at 5:00 p.m., immediately followed by the MAS Social. Check out both the MAS and M&M 2002 websites for the locations.
The next MAS Council meeting will be in Quebec City on August 4th, 2002. If you have any items that you would like to bring into consideration for the MAS Council, please forward them to Valerie Woodward at valerie.woodward@noveoninc.com.