Microanalysis Society

The Royal Microscopical Society Awards Its Most Prestigious Honor to David B. Williams and C. Barry Carter!

February 13, 2020/in Awards, MAS Fellows, News Item /by avdhandt

The Royal Microscopical Society has unanimously voted to award two of our MAS Fellows, David B. Williams and C. Barry Carter, Honorary Fellowships. Since 1840, only 272 have been awarded to scholars from a variety of scientific disciplines worldwide. The luminaries include eight Nobel Prize winners — Joachim Frank, Stefan Hell and Sir Howard Florey among them — as well as 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Millie Dresselhaus.

https://www.rms.org.uk/study-read/news-listing-page/new-honorary-fellows-appointed.html

Lehigh Microscopy School 2020

February 6, 2020/in News Item /by avdhandt

The Lehigh Microscopy School 2020 dates are available. Lehigh’s SEM courses were founded in 1970 by Joe Goldstein, honored by our Goldstein Scholarships, and the school offers now basic and advanced courses that combine theory with lab practice for a variety of microscopy techniques.

Lehigh Microscopy School

May 31-June 5, 2020

Bethlehem, PA

Introduction to SEM and EDS for the New Operator
Introduction to TEM
Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis
Focused Ion Beam (FIB): Instrumentation and Applications
Quantitative X-Ray Microanalysis: Problem Solving Using EDS and WDS Techniques
Transmission Electron Microscopy

For more information contact:
Nikki Rump

610-758-1112

nir419-at-lehigh.edu

www.lehigh.edu/microscopy

2020 Microscopy Today Micrograph Awards Competition Deadline Approaching!

January 23, 2020/in News Item /by avdhandt

Less than 30 days left to submit your entries for the 2020 Microscopy Today Micrograph Awards Competition! The competition, open to all types of microscopy, is divided into three categories: published, open, and video. The submission deadline is February 21, 2020.

Visit microscopy.org/MTMA for full details!

2019 MAS Election Results

December 19, 2019/in Leadership /by Webby

The MAS is excited to announce the results of its 2019 election results. By vote of the members of the MAS, Chad Parish has been overwhelmingly re-elected as Secretary. Our new directors for the three year term are Michelle Thompson of Purdue University and William (Will) Bowman of the University of California, Irvine. The new directors will replace Roseann Csencsits and Emma Bullock who are rotating off council after their three year stint. Emma Bullock will continue her service to the society by taking over from Mike Nagorka as the Chair of the Membership Committee.

In addition, all of the changes to the By-Laws passed. In general, they reflect changes in how the society is managed, replacing the corporate seal with corporate letterhead and defining eligibility for becoming a Fellow of the Society. The details are below.

Thank you to everyone who voted and to the individuals on council and the committees who through their service help to make the MAS a vibrant “member run” society.

Changes to the MAS By-Laws (changes are in bold-italics)

ARTICLE I

Offices

The Principal office of the Society shall be located with the Treasurer for the Society. The Society may also have an office or officers at such other places as the Executive Council may from time to time designate.

ARTICLE II

Corporate Letterhead

The Corporate Letterhead used for business documents shall include the name of the Society, the year of its incorporation, the words “incorporated in New York“, AND THE SOCIETY FEDERAL EIN (TAX ID).

ARTICLE III, Section 1. ELIGIBILITY:

Fellows: Fellows of the Society shall be nominated from the Regular and Emeritus Membership by a selection committee designated by the Executive Council, and ratified at a regular Council meeting by two thirds of the members present and voting. Fellows are required to maintain membership in the Society according to one of the categories above, and retain the privileges and responsibilities according that category. The number of newly designated Fellows in any one calendar year shall not exceed 0.5% of the total membership.

ARTICLE VI, Section 6

Indemnification: All Officers and Directors as defined in Article V, Appointed Officers as defined in Article VI, Chairmen of duly appointed Committees under Article VII or employees of the Society shall be indemnified by the Society against all expenses and liabilities, including counsel fees, reasonably incurred or imposed upon him or her in connection with any proceeding to which he or she may be made a part, or in which he or she may be involved, by reason of his or her being or having been a member of the Executive Council, officer or employee of the Society, or any settlement thereof, whether or not he or she is a member of the Executive Council, or employee at the time such expenses are incurred, if such individual acted in good faith, for a purpose they reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation and had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. The foregoing right of indemnification shall be in addition to and not exclusive of all others to which such member of the Executive Council, officer, or employee may be entitled.

Announcing the Fall 2019 Goldstein Scholarship Winners

December 16, 2019/in Awards, Goldstein /by Webby

The Microanalysis Society, Springer and the Meteoritical Society are pleased to announce the winners of the Fall 2019 round of winners of the Joseph Goldstein Scholarship. This scholarship, intended to promote career advancement for early career members of the Microanalysis Society, increase interactions of junior and established microanalysts, and to advance the state-of-the-art in microanalysis measurements. Up to $1000 is provided for attending a microscopy or microanalysis training course or to travel to another facility for measurements that enhance the Scholar’s skills or the state of microanalysis.

Zachary Hasenbush from the University of Alabama
Kenta Ohtaki from the University of Hawaii
Olusegun Olisa from the University of Nigeria

GSA Announces Partnership with Zeiss for Scholarship in Microscopy Research

December 13, 2019/in News Item /by avdhandt

Boulder, Colo., USA: The Geological Society of America (GSA) is pleased to announce a new research grant for 2020 in partnership with The ZEISS Group, a leading international technology company in the fields of optics and optoelectronics.

Together, GSA and ZEISS are offering GSA members an opportunity to apply for a new research grant of up to US$10,000, to be used for innovative microscopy in geoscience projects. ZEISS will also provide access to technology and expertise with the instrumentation.

Members of GSA who are master’s or Ph.D. students, post-doctoral researchers, or early career researchers (most recent degree completed within the last five years), at an institution in North America or Central America, are eligible to apply.

Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and members of other groups underrepresented in the geosciences are strongly encouraged to submit proposals.

Applications are being taken online now through 3 February 2020, and the winner will be notified in April. Learn more and apply.

Microscopy image from Zeiss.

# # #

The Geological Society of America, founded in 1888, is a scientific society with members from academia, government, and industry in more than 100 countries. Through its meetings, publications, and programs, GSA enhances the professional growth of its members and promotes the geosciences in the service of humankind. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA, GSA encourages cooperative research among earth, life, planetary, and social scientists, fosters public dialogue on geoscience issues, and supports all levels of earth science education.

Remembering Tom Huber, former MAS president

December 11, 2019/in News Item /by Webby

Thomas G. Huber, the former MAS president, the MAS Fellow, the first CEO of JEOL USA and our friend passed away on Thanksgiving weekend after enjoying Thanksgiving with all his family. Tom was instrumental in creating an applications and service support network as well as field sales staff as part of forming JEOL, which becomes what is today JEOL USA, Inc. Tom also founded the JEOL Institute with the explicit task of hiring skilled applications staff in both TEM and SEM to properly and completely train the customers on not only what button to push or knob to twist but about the fundamental science behind the techniques.

Tom’s citation for the MAS Fellow is as following:

For outstanding leadership and sustained contributions to the development of commercial electron microscopes, development of MAS sustaining membership and financial support of the society.

Tom has been a strong bridge not only to connect academia and manufacturers but also to connect users and developers. We truly miss Tom.

Visitation will be held at the Eustis & Cornell Funeral Home (142 Elm Street, Marblehead, MA) on Friday, December 20, 2019 between 4:00 to 7:00.

Nominations for MAS Fellow Due December 1

October 2, 2019/in MAS Fellows /by Webby

Dear MAS Members,

Following our successful first two years of election of the Legends Class and then the Inaugural Class of MAS Fellows, MAS is soliciting nominations for the 2020 Class of MAS Fellows to be presented at M&M 2020. This 2020 Class should represent outstanding MAS members who have made sustained contributions to the field and the Society. Our long-term intent is that less than 10% of MAS membership will be designated “Fellow” at any given time. With the Legends Class and the Inaugural Class, we achieved this goal with the first two years of the program. Hereafter, we expect to elect about 0.5% of the membership each year (two to three).

Please consider any nominations you wish to make and submit a 2020 Fellow nomination package. The deadline for 2020 nominations is December 1, 2019. You may find directions for the nomination at https://the-mas.org/awards/mas-fellows/.

Thank you in advance on behalf of the Fellows Committee of MAS.

Tom Kelly

Chair, MAS Fellows Committee

One student’s experience at QMA-2019

October 1, 2019/in Topical Conferences /by Webby

GEO777 poster presenters (Ben Bruck, Alex Villa, Emily Mixon, John Fournelle)

by BENJAMIN T BRUCK, University of Wisconsin

This spring, as a final project in John Fournelle’s Electron Microprobe Analysis course, our class performed experiments to compare the accuracy of energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) vs. wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), and to assess the suitability of two new materials for use as microanalysis standards. As we neared the end of the semester, John suggested that we present our findings at the Quantitative Microanalysis conference in Minneapolis. Minneapolis is only a four-hour drive away, and there was funding for students, so it seemed like a great opportunity.

Even so, I must admit, I was a little hesitant. I had never been to a “real” academic conference before, (only an undergraduate research symposium back in Boise), and the work we’d be presenting felt a little out of my wheelhouse, as it didn’t directly relate to my master’s thesis. Fortunately, John talked me into it, and I’m so glad he did. The conference was a blast!

Our class made a poster for the conference, and Emily Mixon and I tag-teamed a presentation of our results. Speaking to an audience of scholars and industry professionals was a little scary, but everyone was very encouraging, and we got lots of great questions. Ultimately, it was a fantastic opportunity to practice my poster-design and presentation skills.

My favorite part of the conference was probably the Oxford Instruments demo, where they showed off the real-time mapping capabilities of their new EDS detectors. Imagine being able to instantly see how chemical composition varies across your sample, and to navigate to different areas of your sample based on the presence or absence of certain elements. Pretty amazing stuff! It would certainly make identifying sanidine crystals for in-situ analysis much easier.

I was also excited to visit the University of Minnesota, which hosted the conference. Not to knock our own fine campus, but UMN is beautiful. One of the other students from John’s class who joined us wanted to cross the Mississippi river, so we took a walk across the Washington Avenue Bridge one evening for dinner. The University of Minnesota was also where Alfred O. C. Nier did much of his pioneering work on mass spectrometry and geochronology, so I got to nerd out a bit over visiting his old stomping grounds.

I’m so glad I attended QMA. Not only do I feel it was a rich and rewarding experience for me as a grad student, but it was also tremendous fun. As a smaller conference (especially compared to something like GSA or AGU), it felt very low-key, and all the speakers and industry associates were very approachable. I highly recommend going, if you get the chance.

First published on the University of Wisconsin’s Geoscience BLOG

QMA-2019 Swag – Microanalysis poetry refrigerator magnets!

Plaque honoring Alfred O. C. Nier, located in Tate Hall at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis campus.

President’s Address – September 2019

September 9, 2019/in Leadership /by Webby

MAS Members,

For many us of, the beginning of September marks the end of the summer conference and vacation season. We return to work and school with a renewed sense of accomplishment and focus on goals for the coming year. It is a time for taking stock, and planning for the future. For MAS, 2019 has been an excellent year. Our membership numbers, > 500, and financial picture, > $750K in combined invested and liquid assets, are at historically high levels. Beyond just the numbers, the active engagement of society members in person and on-line visibly demonstrates the strength and vibrancy of MAS. Total attendance at the annual Microscopy and Microanalysis Meeting in Portland this summer reached record levels, with over 3,000 total participants, including 11 Distinguished Scholars and an AMAS student representative with financial support from MAS. The annual Meal with a Mentor connected nearly 100 early career M&M attendees with the senior members of the society. The induction of the Inaugural Class of MAS Felows recognized the long-standing contributions of some of our most dedicated members to the goals of MAS. QMA 2019, held in June at the University of Minnesota as part of our on-going Topical Conference series, provided the premier international venue for in depth discussion of quantitative microanalysis methods and applications. Six Goldstein Early Career scholars were awarded travel grants to develop their microanalysis technical skills and the Tour Speaker program supported Affiliated Regional Societies through travel subsidies for invited speakers to local meetings. MAS leadership and early career scholars participated in the European Microanalysis and the Australian Microanalysis meetings. On-line, our newly revamped web page and our growing social media presence provided connection to members worldwide. I’d like to take this opportunity to give a sincere thank you to the Council, the committee chairs and members, the M&M Meeting Co-Chair and Symposia organizers, and Sustaining members for all the volunteer time and resources they contributed to making 2019 such a successful year for MAS.

For 2020, MAS Council is continuing to look at ways to grow our value to the MAS membership through promotion of the advancement of microanalysis methods, instrumentation, and applications. Planning for EBSD 2020 (June 24-26th, 2020, University of Michigan), latest of the bi-annual EBSD TCs is well underway. A permanent home for the MAS archives at the Science History Institute in Philadelphia is in development. The Executive Council will work on establishing a dedicated strategic initiative fund from our current assets, to make funds available for one-time and on-going expansion of MAS activities.

In closing, I invite all members to make the most of their membership in 2020 by nominating your colleagues for a Best Paper Award, sponsoring an early career member through the Goldstein Scholar Program, inviting an MAS expert to speak at your regional society meetings through the Tour Speaker program, submitting an MAS-focused topic to the M&M 2021 call for symposia, and voting in the upcoming society elections in November. Stay connected, and send us your news and events to highlight on the MAS web page and social media platforms!

Sincerely,

Rhonda Stroud

President of the Microanalysis Society, 2018-2020

Funding for Young Scholars – The Goldstein Scholars Program

September 8, 2019/in Awards, Goldstein /by aplindstrom

Applications are now open for the fall 2019 round of the Joseph Goldstein Scholars sponsored by the MAS and the publisher Springer.

This on-going award is intended to promote career advancement for early career members of the Microanalysis Society, increase interactions of junior and established microanalysts, and to advance the state-of-the-art in microanalysis measurements. Activities eligible for the awards are: (1) travel costs for the Goldstein Scholar to visit a microanalysis facility to make measurements that advance the Goldstein Scholar’s skills and/or the state-of-the-art in microanalysis; (2) Travel costs/fees associated with attendance at a microanalysis school or training course, e.g., Lehigh Microscopy School, Hooke College of Applied Sciences, ASU, etc. Up to five awards of up to $1000 each will be granted each year, with applications reviewed twice yearly in conjunction with the Winter and Summer Council Meetings. All MAS members who are less than 5 years beyond their terminal degree, and who have not received a Goldstein Scholar award within the prior 5 years, are eligible to apply. A one-time renewal for current awardees who need to make a return visit for additional measurements will be considered, in cases where this will have a clear impact on the results obtained, e.g., equipment failure on the first visit.

Some testimonials from past winners:

George Burton, Colorado School of Mines

“The Goldstein Scholar award provided me the opportunity to travel abroad to for a month and a half research opportunity. During my time in Germany, I was able to collaborate with world-class researchers with access to cutting-edge electron microscopes not available to me at my home institution. This collaboration provided interactions and mentorship from a leader in electron holography while also enabling the advancement of my thesis project for a direct structure-property correlative study.”

Sean Collins, University of Cambridge, UK

“The unique access to these capabilities and training made possible through the award have given me the opportunity to undertake research on a challenging materials system, and the success around these first experiments now motivates me to launch an expanded research program on organic semiconductors through cutting edge electron microscopy in my future career.”

The deadline for applications is November 1, 2019, and the results will be announced on December 15, 2019.

More information can be found at https://the-mas.org/awards/goldstein-scholar/

Announcing: EBSD 2020 Topical Conference

July 16, 2019/in Topical Conferences /by Webby

EBSD 2020 is on! EBSD 2020 will be held June 24-26, 2020 (note the new dates) at the University of Michigan, the site of the extremely successful EBSD 2018 meeting. EBSD 2020 will start with a day of tutorials and hands on demonstrations followed by 2 days of technical presentations and discussions and vendor demonstrations. EBSD 2020 will be an opportunity for all practitioners of EBSD—from newcomers to seasoned professionals—to learn about the latest technical advanced and share their experiences.

Download this tri-fold brochure with more information

2019 MAS Society Awards

July 10, 2019/in Awards /by Webby

The Microanalysis Society is proud to announced its award winners for 2019.

MAS Society Awards

Presidential Science Award – Lawrence Allard (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Presidential Service Award – Lucille Giannuzzi (EXpressLO LLC)

Peter Duncumb Award for Excellence in Microanalysis – David Seidman (Northwestern University)

Kurt FJ Heinrich Award – Miaofang Chi (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

2019 Best Paper Awards for papers presented at M&M 2018

Castaing – Best Student Paper

Ery Hughes (University of Bristol)

Analysis of Redox Changes in Silicate Glasses Using EPMA and Raman Spectroscopy (Paper 2022)

Macres – Best Instrumentation/Software Paper

Lewys Jones (Trinity College Dublin)

The MTF and DQE of Annular Dark Field STEM: Implications for Low-dose Imaging and Compressed Sensing (Paper 478)

Birks – Best Contributed Paper

Bradley De Gregorio (Naval Research Laboratory)

Low Energy STEM-EELS Characterization of Primitive Organic Matter and Silicates in the Meteorite LAP 02342 (Paper 2074)

Cosslett – Best Invited Paper

Jordan Hachtel (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Novel EELS Experiments in the Newly Opened Monochromatic Regime (Paper 418)

M&M Student Scholar Awards

Winning registration and travel support for M&M 2019

Charles Fletcher	Oxford University	Fast Continuum Models for Atom Probe Simulation and Reconstruction
Brian Zutter	University of California, Los Angeles	Inducing Electrically-Active Defects in a Gallium Arsenide Nanowire with an Electron Beam
Kevin Schweinar	Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung	An Integrated Workflow To Investigate Electrocatalytic Surfaces By Correlative X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy, Scanning Photoemission Electron Microscopy and Atom Probe Tomography
Kousuke Ooe	University of Tokyo	Light Element Imaging Technique at Low Dose Condition by Processing Simultaneously Obtained STEM Images Using a Segmented Detector
Berit Goodge	Cornell University	Harnessing Local Sample Variations to Generate Self-Consistent EELS References for Stoichiometry Quantification
Parivash Moradifar	Pennsylvania State University	Plasmonic Metalattices: A Correlated Monochromated Electron Energy Loss Study and Theoretical Calculations
Heena Inani	University of Vienna	Substitutional Si Doping of Graphene and Nanotubes through Ion Irradiation-Induced Vacancies
Yichao Zhang	University of Minnesota	Direct Imaging of Localized Anisotropic Acoustic-Phonon Dynamics in MoS2
Komal Syed	University of California, Irvine	Analytical STEM/EDS Characterization of Elemental Segregation and Solid Solution Formation in Multiphase Ceramics
Meredith Sharps	University of Oregon	Nanoscale Analysis of Manganeous Oxide Rock Varnish on the Smithsonian Castle, Washington, DC
Yitian Zeng	Stanford University	Optimizing Nanostructure Size to Yield High Raman Signal Enhancement by Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy

QMA-2019 – Round-up

July 1, 2019/in Topical Conferences /by Webby

QMA-2019, a MAS Topical Conference, was a yet another rousing success. Meeting at the University of Minnesota with one day of tutorials and three days of talks, there was something for everyone in the X-ray microanalysis community. The program is still available here (low res/high res.) Day one was filled with vendor tutorials from Cameca, JEOL, NCI Micro, Hitachi, Electron Microscopy Sciences, Mager Scientific, ThermoFisher, Oxford Instruments, Bruker, Probe Software, SPI Supplies, ibss Group, and EDAX followed by an opening reception in the magnificent Northrop Hall. Day two was dedicated to best practices in wavelength spectrometry; day three to best practices in energy dispersive spectrometry; and the final day to XRF and cathodoluminescence. The banquet on Wednesday night was enjoyed by all but particularly those who were fortunate enough to merit additional drink tickets. Cheer and goodwill reigned particularly on the 4th floor deck overlooking the campus quad.

Most important of all, through the generosity of the NSF, MAS, our corporate sponsors and the IUMAS we were able to offer financial support to 35 Early Career Scholars. This program encourages students, post-docs and early career professionals to attend MAS Topical Conferences and other events. Along with the Goldstein Scholar Program, this program demonstrates the MAS’ commitment to building the next generation of microanalysts.

Thanks to University of Minnesota and Anette von der Handt for hosting the event, to Heather Lowers and the full organizing committee for building the strong program and taking care of every detail. ‘Til we meet again in Portland at M&M 2019…

QMA 2019 Program now available online!

June 11, 2019/in Topical Conferences /by emmafisi

The QMA 2019 Topical conference is now only a couple of weeks away. If you are attending the meeting, please make sure you have registered (here) and let us know your food preferences for the banquet (yum!). We also strongly encourage you to support our wonderful sponsors by signing up to attend the User group meetings on Monday (link).

The full program can be dowloaded now too:

High-resolution: here (62MB)

Low-resolution: here (12MB)

(We recommend that you right-click and save the program guide to your computer).