MeetingReport
Microscopy & Microanalysis 2018 Yoosuf Picard, Program Chair Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
ypicard@cmu.edu Te Microscopy & Microanalysis 2018 (M&M 2018)
meeting was held this past August 5–9 in Baltimore, MD. Tis conference was co-sponsored by the Microscopy Society of America (MSA), the Microanalysis Society (MAS), and the Microscopical Society of Canada/Société de microscopie du Canada (MSC/SMC). Te meeting featured 1,236 scientific papers (718 platform presentations and 518 posters) and hosted 2,897 attendees (1,693 scientific and 1,204 exhibitor) from over 40 countries. Te microscopy and microanalysis exhibition showcased state-of-the-art instruments, support equipment, and specialized services from 116 companies from around the world. Highlights of the opening session
were two truly inspiring plenary speakers who showed the power of microscopy for outreach and societal impact. Te first speaker was Jon Larsen, a former professional jazz guitarist and self-described “citizen scientist,” who became the first person to demonstrate reliable collection and identification of micrometeorites from populated areas. For seven years, Jon exhaustively analyzed terrestrial dust particles, including man-made particles he collected at locations around the world. Jon rigged a special camera/lens setup for this work. Trough morphological assessment of thousands of micro- particles, Jon was able to isolate and identify particles of potential extraterrestrial origin. Te nature of these micrometeorites was eventually confirmed via microanalysis at Imperial College London. Te culmination of this work can be found in his recently published book, In Search of Stardust: Amazing Micrometeorites and Teir Terrestrial Imposters. Our second plenary lecture was
Jon Larsen describing micrometeorites
delivered by Manu Prakash, Associate Professor of BioEngineering at Stanford University. Manu invented the “Foldscope,” a fully
functional
50-cent microscope made mostly of paper but capable of useful magnifications up to 1400×. His company,
Foldscope Instruments,
has distributed over 400,000 of these affordable microscopes to clinics and schools in 135 countries over the past
30
Manu Prakash describing his Foldscope
Assembling and using Foldscopes at the Microscopy Explorations session doi:10.1017/S1551929518001244
www.microscopy-today.com • 2019 January
five years. His talk included numerous examples where these microscopes provided life-saving medical diagnostics to people in extremely remote regions. He also showed examples where rural villages and schools used Foldscopes for research and education. A global online community, “Microcosmos,” features these explorations (
http://microcosmos.foldscope. com). Prakash’s talk ended poignantly with a story about a Kentucky teenager and cancer
survivor who used his
winnings from a science competition to purchase Foldscopes for hundreds of other students. Quoting the teenager: “If something as simple as this foldscope can get someone interested in a medical career or in scientific research, then
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