December  2015
 
 
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ASSOC. Association News


The Results are In! The Elected Candidates are:
* President - Elect: Ian Anderson
* Director- Biological: Andreas Holzenburg
* Director- Physical: Luisa Amelia Dempere

A New FIG on " MicroAnalytical Standards"  Has Been Established!
Open to any MSA, MAS, IMS, or MSC/SMC member, for more info please follow this link:  http://www.microscopy.org/communities/fig.cfm .To download registration form to join the MicroAnalytical Standards FIG go directly to http://www.microscopy.org/communities/2016_FIGMAS_App.pdf 

The Membership Renewal Deadline is December 31st  don't wait
  renew yours now! 

M&M 2016 Call for Papers Submission site is Now Open!
The deadline for paper submissions is February 8, 2016. P rinted Call for Papers brochure and a handy poster (for hanging in an office or lab) were mailed with everyone's November Microscopy Today.  

MSA Undergraduate Scholarship Program

Reminder: MSA Undergraduate Research Scholarship applications are due
December 31st .

The Program is in its 27th year of providing funding for undergraduate research and is currently soliciting applications from students interested in conducting research projects which involve the use of any microscopy technique.

Sponsorship by a member of MSA is required. To date over 130 projects covering a wide range of topics in the physical and biological sciences have received support through this program. Over the years nearly all the scholarship recipients have maintained a strong interest in imaging sciences and have gone on to graduate school, professional school, teaching, or industry positions. The program has been able to support approximately 50% of applicants.

This year the MSA Council approved an increase in support for the program which will enable funding of several additional projects per year. The maximum award for the Scholarships is $3000 and helps to provide student stipends, supply costs, and limited travel expenses associated with the research. Support in the form of instrument use time, equipment purchases, substantial travel costs, etc. is generally provided by the student's supervisor and/or through the sponsoring institution.

Two page abstracts reporting the research results, are prepared by scholarship awardees and published in Microscopy and Microanalysis. The reports can be referenced and are searchable. Information regarding the scholarship program and instructions for applying are available here http://www.microscopy.org/awards/scholarship.cfm or call toll free at (800) 538-3672.



SCI.Science News
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New Microscopy Technique Maps Mechanical Properties of Living Cells
Researchers have developed a new way to use atomic force microscopy to rapidly measure the mechanical properties of cells at the nanometer scale, an advance that could pave the way for better understanding immune disorders and cancer. Read more...

The Mud Dragons of Calvert Island
Spiky headed dragons roam the ocean floor from the poles to the tropics. But these are not winged beasts from the pages of science fiction.  Roughly the size of a grain of salt, mud dragons are often overlooked, but a team from the Hakai Institute and the University of British Columbia (UBC) hopes to give them the spotlight they deserve. Read more...

How Nanoparticles Give Electrons Away
One of the main questions that nanoscience researchers have been discussing for some time now is how nanoparticles interact with the support that they are placed on. It is now clear that various physical and chemical factors such as the electronic structure, the nanostructure and - crucially - their interaction with the support control the properties of nanoparticles.  Read more...  
Groundbreaking Microscopy Unlocks Secrets of Plant Virus Assembly
New research into how a plant virus assembles could lay the groundwork for future use to carry drugs into the human body.  Read more...
LAS. Local Affiliated Societies
LAS Director's Message
by: Bev Maleeff, LAS Director

There are more than 25 MSA Local Affiliated Societies providing outreach and networking to the microscopy community. The list of LAS can be found at http://microscopy.org/communities/local.cfm.

Support your local affiliated society! Invite students & early career scientists & technologists to your LAS meetings and get them involved!

LAS leaders: It is now time to start thinking about LAS meetings in early 2016. It's not too early to contact me about funding opportunities, either for Tour Speaker support or for Grants-in-Aid. Details about these programs can be found at http://www.microscopy.org/communities/programs.cfm. or by contacting me directly. Consider inviting an MSA-sponsored Tour Speaker to present at an upcoming local meeting.

If your LAS has held elections recently or you have a new slate of officers starting in January, please contact me as soon as possible with the names and contact information for new LAS officers so that I can update the LAS web page.

MSA members: If you are interested in becoming an MSA Tour Speaker for 2016, please contact me at beverly.e.maleeff@gsk.com with a proposed title and abstract for a talk that you would be prepared to present.


Best wishes to all for a happy holiday season!

Bev


FIG. Focused Interest Groups
Attention all FIG Participants: 

Two Pre-meeting congresses will be sponsored by the Focused Interest Group's at the upcoming meeting in Columbus Ohio.

Exploiting the Diffractive Properties of Electrons for Solving Materials Problems
Organized by Electron Crystallography and Automated Mapping Methods FIG

Essentials of Atom Probe Tomography
Organized by the Atom Probe FIG

Promote your discipline.


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