Introduction: Analysis of Cultural Heritage

The following seven papers in this section are from the 9th Region Workshop of the European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) on Electron Probe Analysis of Materials Today—Practical Aspects that took place April 25–28, 2010 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (ICN).

Microscopy Y'All: A Preview of M&M 2011 in Nashville

Microscopy & Microanalysis (M&M) is the annual meeting for the Microscopy Society of America, the Microbeam Analysis Society, and the International Metallographic Society, Inc. This is the premier conference for microscopists working in the physical, life, and analytical sciences.

Microscopy & Microanalysis 2010

On August 1–5, 2010, the Microscopy & Microanalysis meeting was held in Portland, Oregon. This annual meeting is sponsored by the Microscopy Society of America and the Microbeam Analysis Society. The meeting was enhanced by participation of the International Metallographic Society and the Microscopical Society of Canada, both of which held their annual meetings in conjunction with M&M. The conference attracted a total of 2,768 attendees from 34 countries, making the meeting the third largest in attendance after Philadelphia in 2000 and Chicago in 2006. The equipment exhibition, always a key element of any M&M meeting, was a great success with 1,007 exhibitor attendees from 108 companies occupying 333 booths, totaling 33,300 square feet (3,094 sq metres).

Introduction: 40 Years of EDS

2008 marked the 40th anniversary of the seminal paper “Solid-State Energy-Dispersion Spectrometer for Electron-Microprobe X-ray Analysis” by Ray Fitzgerald, Klaus Kiel, and Kurt Heinrich [Science (1968), 159, 528] that introduced the Si(Li) energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) detector as a practical analytical tool to the electron microscope community. In recognition of that anniversary, the Microscopy Society of America and the Microbeam Analysis Society organized a symposium at the 2008 Microscopy and Microanalysis Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico to review the remarkable progress in Si(Li) EDS that has made elemental analysis available on virtually any electron beam platform.

Microbeam Analysis Society

On behalf of the Microbeam Analysis Society (MAS), I welcome you to Richmond and Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009! This year we enter our fourteenth year in the agreement to jointly co-sponsor the annual meeting with the Microscopy Society of America (MSA), and our eighth year of meeting with the International Metallographic Society (IMS). Our technical program remains quite strong and diverse, a testament to what cooperation between the societies can accomplish. This year's program continues to offer a good blend of fundamentals, cutting edge technology and real world applications. I want to thank MSA Program Chair Janet Woodward, MSA Vice-Chair John Mansfield, MAS Co-Chair Luke Brewer, and IMS Co-Chair Fred Schmidt for constructing a program that has appeal to the novice as well as the expert. I would also like to recognize Stuart McKernan and Nestor Zaluzec for maintaining and guarding the program database, and Richard Edelmann, John Shields, and Charlie Lyman for all their efforts to publicize and produce our meeting materials.

International Metallographic Society

On behalf of the International Metallographic Society, welcome to Richmond for Microscopy & Microanalysis 2009, the premier event in our scientific field. IMS is pleased to again join the Microscopy Society of America and the Microbeam Analysis Society to offer a unique combination of Scientific Content, Exhibitions and, the most fun of all, the gathering of our peers involved in the field of studying the very small. This meeting represents the 42nd Annual Event for IMS, and the eighth year that we have joined in the M&M Event.

Welcome from the Society Presidents

The Presidents of the Microscopy Society of America, the Microbeam Analysis Society and the International Metallographic Society invite you to join them in Richmond for the 2009 Microscopy & Microanalysis meeting. This EXPO issue of Microscopy and Microanalysis provides you with full details of the scientific meeting and its ancilliary events, as well as giving valuable information about the many vendors who will be exhibiting their products at the meeting. Attendance at the meeting will provide you with a useful snapshot of the diverse activities taking place across the many scientific disciplines that currently utilize microscopy and microanalysis.