MSA Student Council Announces 2019-2020 Elected Executive Council Positions
MSA Student Council (StC) is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 StC Elected Executive Council (EC)!
President - Erica Stevens, University of Pittsburgh
I am a 5th year PhD Candidate at the University of Pittsburgh, studying Materials Science and Engineering. My advisor is Dr. Markus Chmielus, and my work focuses on the additive manufacturing of magnetocaloric materials. Though my daily research activities don't usually require complicated or high-tech microscopy, I have always loved the capabilities of microscopy and microanalysis to reveal the small and hidden aspects of the materials that build our world. Microscopy is both scientifically relevant and indescribably beautiful. In addition - as I discovered at my first M&M in 2016 in Columbus, OH - the microscopy community is the best one I have ever been a part of. I was at the Annual Meeting alone and yet was greeted and welcomed, leaving the event with new contacts, friends, and knowledge. This experience at M&M 2016 led me to get involved with the Student Council as the Regional Liaison Chair in 2017 and President Elect in 2018. I am excited, honored, and humbled to serve as the 2019 President of the MSA Student Council. If you love microscopes even half as much as I do and you'll be in Portland for M&M 2019, I would be thrilled to meet you!
Past-President - Cameron Varano, Pennsylvania State University
I am a Research Assistant Professor at Penn State University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Currently, I am examining macromolecular complexes related to the development of cancer. In 2016 I attended and gave a talk at M&M in Columbus, OH. It was an incredible professional development opportunity and connected me to the MSA Student Council. Involvement in MSA has allowed me to interact with individuals within the world of microscopy. Having benefited greatly from these experiences, I am enjoying the opportunity to help shape the Student Council. During 2016-2017, I served as the Inaugural Pre-meeting Congress (PMCx60) Co-Chair for Biological Sciences and Secretary for Student Council. The following year, I served as President-elect for Student Council, then President. The opportunities created by my involvement in MSA was incredibly impactful on my graduate and early-career experience. I hope to see you in Portland, OR in August.
President-Elect - Abinash Kumar, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
I am a second year PhD student at North Carolina State University working with Prof. James LeBeau (moving to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 2019). Currently, I am working on finding the atomic scale origin for relaxor behavior in materials along with implementing machine learning algorithms in electron microscopy. I have been involved with the area of electron microscopy since my undergraduate at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. My previous experiences involve working with teams in organizing events during my college's cultural and technical festivals and mentoring few undergraduates. These experiences helped me to develop good communication and decision taking skills. As MSA StC provides a great platform for networking, I would like to expand this association by reaching out to many schools and the general public by organizing several events including fundraisers. It would be good to see MSA StC to lead in developing a large association for students across the globe with the help of several microscopy societies.
Secretary - Aubrey Penn, North Carolina State University
I am a second-year graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University working with Prof. James LeBeau. My current research is focused on explaining interfacial phenomena in complex oxide thin films using a variety of scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques. Before coming to NCSU, I received my master's degree in chemistry from Western Kentucky University, where I first became acquainted with electron microscopy. Since then I have grown in my knowledge of the technique and love of the microscopy field, in part, through my association with MSA. I have been a member for two years and had the pleasure to attend my first M&M Conference last August. It would be an honor to serve the Society and its members as the Student Council Secretary. As secretary, I would work to maintain the welcoming and supportive community I have come to know.
Treasurer - Jackson Spurling, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
The opportunities to serve as Region VIII Liaison during 2017-18 and as Secretary during 2018-19 have allowed me to become involved with the MSA StC leadership, particularly in the area of member outreach. In these positions, I have assisted the MSA Student Council chiefly through its goal to provide networking platforms to student members. This has been accomplished through having dialogue with regional members as well as through activities like webinars and social media outreach. I would like to continue to contribute to the Student Council by supporting these and other methods of outreach to student members through the position of Treasurer. I have been honored to serve with StC these last two years, and I hope to be given the opportunity to continue to make MSA a welcoming organization for new and current members by supporting current and future outreach initiatives.
MSA Student Council Program Chair Announcement and Call for Applications
MSA Student Council is pleased to announce the Call for Applications for StC appointed positions is now open.
A description of the roles for the 15 appointed positions (Program Chair, PMCx60 Co-Chairs, Communications Chair, Regional Liaison Chair, and Regional Liaisons) can be found on the MSA Student Council website,
Responsibilities
page. All positions serve a one-year term.
Graduate and undergraduate students that are members of MSA are encouraged to apply. This is a wonderful opportunity to hone your professional skills in leadership, communication, conference planning, and networking all while advancing the growth of the student community in MSA.
The Call for Applications Letter and Official Form can be accessed on the MSA Student Council website,
Responsibilities
page. Application materials must be submitted in a single .pdf and emailed to
[email protected]
no later than August 15th.
MSA Student Bursary Program for M&M 2019
Once again, MSA is offering the student bursary program for the Microscopy & Microanalysis 2019 meeting. Students are encouraged to attend the annual meeting with the opportunity to offset some of the meeting costs. Many Student Council officers and members started their M&M experience as student bursars, which is a great opportunity to interact with peers and assist the society throughout the conference. If you would like to participate in the student bursary program for 2019 to help offset your meeting costs send an email to Student Council at the link below. Registration is now open.
Questions about the bursary/volunteer program or would like to participate contact:
Cameron Varano - Student Council President
Benefits of MSA Student Membership
Did you know MSA Student Members...
- Receive discounted registration to M&M 2019?
- Receive discounted registration to PMCx60 at M&M 2019?
- Receive Microscopy and Microanalysis and Microscopy Today?
- Can apply for the Student Bursary Program for M&M 2019?
And that's just the start! MSA Student Membership is filled with benefits for undergraduate and graduate students and MSA Student Council programming at M&M 2019 is without a doubt some of the most exciting to date! If you have not done so already, visit "
Join MSA
" and renew your MSA Student Membership to take advantage of all the benefits of membership. Let's grow our community!
There are multiple ways to connect with the MSA Student Community - Like and follow Student Council on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, visit our web pages on
microscopy.org/students
or email us at
[email protected]
.
