From the Editor Twelve Years of Dear Abbe


It is hard to conceive that we have been dispensing questionable advice to our colleagues


all this time. Much less be funny. Dear Abbe started one morning over the usual lab meet- ing with coffee and snacks in the break room of the University of Georgia’s EM Lab. Mark Farmer and I were joking about giving bad personal advice to grad students, researchers, and each other when the idea of Dear Abbe (with apologies to Pauline Phillips) came to mind. We envisioned a curmudgeonly, old German scientist fashioned as a mythical man with no chronological, or ethical, constraints. Aſter conjuring up a couple of short advice columns, we wondered if someone would be


foolhardy enough to let us publish them. We approached Ron Anderson of Microscopy Today, who enthusiastically said yes (and contributed several questions and suggestions of his own)! Eventually Charles Lyman became the current Editor-in-Chief, and he began to have some influence over Herr Abbe’s free-ranging style. Charles has been a strict mediator and has been known several times to bluntly note, “I don’t see the humor in this…” Several years ago, I approached Phil Oshel over beer and popcorn at a Microscopy and Microanalysis poster session to join us. He was reluctant at first, but his input added a radical look to our irascible character. Tese men, and many others, keep Abbe from going off the metaphysical deep end. Do scientists really ask Dear Abbe all those questions? Some questions (particularly


early on) were created by us. Ten some brave souls began to write in, and a few also provided their own answers! Several questions were inspired by comments or motions at Microscopy Society of America executive council meetings. We also gleaned many from the micros- copy listserver—from people who allowed us to use their unintentionally (or intentionally) humorous queries as fodder for Abbe. Our loyal fans may not realize this, but we did attempt to interject obscure, true historical characters, modified historical events, and some actual science while helping the illustrious Abbe advise microscopists. Dear Abbe may last another ten years, or he may evolve into something else entirely.


Whatever happens, it will be the microscopy and microanalysis community at large that determines his fate and caricature. Aſter all, Abbe’s world is created by the oddities of lab life, the curious characteristics of scientists, and the antics of our students and colleagues—and there is plenty to go around.


John P. Shields Guest editorial University of Georgia


Publication Objective: to provide information of interest to microscopists.


Microscopy Today is a controlled-circulation trade magazine owned by the Microscopy Society of America that is published six times a year in the odd months. Editorial coverage spans all microscopy techniques including light microscopy, scanning probe microscopy, electron microscopy, ion-beam techniques, and the wide range of microanalytical methods. Readers and authors come from both the life sciences and the physical sciences. The typical length of an article is about 2,000 words plus figures and tables; feature articles are longer. Interested authors should consult “Instructions for Contributors” on the Microscopy Today website: www.microscopy-today.com.


ISSN 1551-9295


Disclaimer The Microscopy Society of America and the editors cannot be held responsible for opinions, errors, or for any consequences arising from the use of information contained in Microscopy Today. The appearance of advertising in Microscopy Today does not constitute an endorsement or approval by the Microscopy Society of America of any claims or information found in the advertisements. By submitting a manuscript to Microscopy Today, the author warrants that the article is original or that the author has written permission to use copyrighted material published elsewhere. While the contents of this magazine are believed to be accurate at press time, neither the Microscopy Society of America, the editors, nor the authors can accept legal responsibility for errors or omissions.


© Copyright 2019 by the Microscopy Society of America. All rights reserved.


Editorial Staff


Charles E. Lyman, Editor-in-Chief charles.lyman@lehigh.edu (610) 758-4249


Gennifer Levey, Production Manager glevey@meridianartpro.com (212) 780-0315


Ron Anderson, Executive Editor randerson20@tampabay.rr.com Phil Oshel, Technical Editor oshel1pe@cmich.edu Robert Price, Associate Editor bob.price@uscmed.sc.edu Stephen Carmichael, Columnist carmichael.stephen@mayo.edu Eric Clark, Pioneers Editor eclark@magnet.fsu.edu Richard Edelmann, Education Editor edelmare@miamioh.edu Deb Kelly, Microscopy 101 Editor debkelly@vt.edu Thomas E. Phillips, Consulting Editor phillipst@missouri.edu Paul Webster, Calendar Editor p.webster@oak-crest.org John Shields, Humor Editor jpshield@uga.edu Nikolaus Cordes, Digital Content Editor ncordes@lanl.gov Thomas Kelly, Chief Awards Judge Tomas.kelly@ametek.com


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Circulation: 18,000


Editorial Board Nasim Alem, Penn State University Arlan Benscoter, Lehigh University John Bozzola, Southern Illinois University Peter Crozier, Arizona State University Vinayak Dravid, Northwestern University David Grubb, Cornell University Bryan Huey, University of Connecticut Heather Lowers, U.S. Geological Survey John Mackenzie, North Carolina State Univ. Paul Maddox, U. of North Carolina–Chapel Hill Ania Majewska, U. Rochester Med School Joseph Michael, Sandia National Labs Caroline Miller, Indiana University Brian M. Patterson, Los Alamos National Lab John Reffner, John Jay College, SUNY Ian Robertson, University of Wisconsin Phillip Russell, Appalachian State University Glenn Shipley, Citizen Microscopist Robert Simmons, Georgia State University Bradley Thiel, SUNY Polytechnic Institute Simon Watkins, University of Pittsburgh Cynthia Zeissler, Nat. Inst. of Stds. and Tech. (NIST)


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