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G.I.T. Imaging & Microscopy 1/2006 • 15

Stage Set for Microscience 2006Premier Event Grows Broader and Stronger

Conference and Workshops

The 2006 conference programme in-cludes invited speakers and cutting-edge topics for both materials and life scien-tists. Among the array of topics, the in-ternationally acclaimed experts will cover SEM for the life sciences and mate-rials, fluorescence lifetime imaging, mi-croscopy of cells in situ and high resolu-tion live cell imaging, 3D imaging in materials science and where TEM meets confocal microscopy, plus nanotechnol-ogy in the biosciences, material sciences and industry.

Many of the high profile speakers from the conference will also be leading work-shops. These are completely free for all conference and exhibition attendees and provide a unique opportunity to get to grips with the latest advances and new technologies outlined at the conference and interact with the speakers.

ESEM VII, Flow Cytometry, FEGTEM 8 and SPM

New for 2006, each of the above areas represents a significant expansion both

of the scientific programme and the ex-hibiting companies.

In fact, ESEM VII leads off Micro-science, being held on 26th June on the ExCeL site. This gives delegates the op-portunity to stay on for the first day’s con-ference programme covering SEM, nano materials and nanotechnology and special sessions on ‘Early Stages of Precipita-tion’.

Alongside the full conference agenda on day two, a special programme led by Ricardo Morilla will cover ‘Flow Cytome-try and the Acute and Chronic Leukae-mias’.

The 2006 UK Scanning Probe Micros-copy Meeting, which takes place on 28th and 29th June, also runs alongside confer-ence. A significant number of SPM compa-nies will have booths within the main ex-hibition hall to form an ‘SPM Village’. All registrants will have full access to the ex-hibition, Learning Zone and workshops and scientific programme, and enjoy a se-ries of plenary lectures together with com-pany presentations, complemented by a comprehensive programme of invited and contributed talks running in parallel streams throughout both days. There will

also be a session dedicated to graduate student presentations, allowing younger scientists to inform the community of their recent achievements.

Finally, FEGTEM-8 is also co-ordi-nated with day three of the conference programme, rounding out this exciting development for the scientific pro-gramme.

Exhibition

Over 90 companies occupying more than 1,100 m² were combined at the 2004 event. Increased booth space, additional facilities and a wider range of companies to support the Flow Cytometry and SPM developments in particular, mean Micro-science 2006 will be even bigger and better. Completely free for all visitors, it’s an ideal chance to see and use light and electron microscopes from all the leading companies, as well as additional equip-ment and software.

The RMS Learning Zone

Occupying its own large section of the exhibition hall, the RMS Learning Zone

Between the 27th and 29th June 2006 the

Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) will

host one of Europe’s largest conferences

and exhibitions for users of microscopes

and image analysis systems at London’s

prestigious ExCeL conference and exhibi-

tion centre. With a scientific section cover-

ing more disciplines in greater depth than

ever before and an exhibition hall housing

all the major manufacturers of light and

electron microscopes, image analysis soft-

ware and instruments, and sample prepa-

ration equipment and consumables.

Microscience 2006 is not to be missed!

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16 • G.I.T. Imaging & Microscopy 1/2006

was a huge success when introduced in 2004. Specially designed as a FREE ‚turn -up-and-learn‘ facility, it is ideal for post-graduate training with no need to book in advance. Visitors may simply turn up and try their hand at a subject that inter-ests them, whether that’s a beginners’ course in basic light microscopy or an advanced image acquisition & analysis session. Even if you’re an expert in your own field, as a no-cost way of keeping up-to-date across the broad horizons of microscopy or trying something new, the RMS Learning Zone is unbeatable.

Poster Section & RMS International Micrograph Competition

The “Poster Village” is always a popular place at the congress, with each author or team of authors present to discuss their work. Like 2004, prizes in both stu-

dent and all-comers categories will be awarded daily to the best contributions.

The finals of the RMS International Micrograph Competition also occur at Microscience 2006. Held in association with G.I.T. Publishers, this bi-annual competition attracted a huge volume of entries in 2004 with 12 winners taking away an array of valuable prizes.

And NASA

Finally, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is coming to Microscience 2006. It is providing one of the star speakers, Dr Steve McDanels, to lead a special session at the confer-ence. As manager of NASA’s Failure Analysis and Materials Evaluation Branch at the Kennedy Space Center, he probably knows more than anyone else about the investigations into the Space

Shuttle Columbia disaster. He will dis-cuss the relationships between scanning electron microscopy, confocal micros-copy and quantitative & semi-quantita-tive chemical analysis techniques and detail how they were used during the Space Shuttle Columbia accident investi-gation as well as NASA’s return to flight efforts.

Delegates and visitors can look forward to a unique scientific experience in Lon-don this summer.Full details can be found at www.micro-science2006.org.uk

Contact:Allison WintonRoyal Microscopical Society, Oxford, United KingdomTel.: +44 1865 248768 · Fax: +44 1865 791237allison@rms.org.uk · www.rms.org.uk

7D Exploration of the Living WorldPractical training on new generation spectral confocal and multiphoton micro-scopes was on the agenda of the 7th in-tensive workshop on 3D confocal Micros-copy in Genoa, Italy, early last February. The course was organised by the group of Alberto Diaspro from the local univer-sity Laboratory for Advanced Microscopy, Bioimaging, Spectroscopy (LAMBS). Ex-perts presented a comprehensive lecture programme on the first day, containing various topics on theoretical basics and applications in high resolution multi-dimensional microscopy, as well as intro-ductions of novelties in instrument devel-opment. Tony Wilson, Oxford University, UK, started the session introducing con-focal microscopy and the spectrum of its applications, followed by Jurek Dobrucki, Jagiellonian University, Poland, explain-ing aspects on photobleaching and pho-totoxicity in fluorescence imaging. In his talk Robert Stad from Nikon Europe focussed on combining spectral and life-time imaging on a confocal microscope referring to his company’s hardware and software development. Andrea Castelli and Laura Confalonieri introduced Hama-matsu’s new FLIM and FCS systems and Ferdinando Ciceri from Physik Instru-mente presented piezo controlled stages for micro- and nanopositioning. Bartek

Rajwa from Purdue University, USA, con-tinued the scientific track on multispec-tral imaging in flow cytometry using a multianode photomultiplier (PMT). The lecture session was closed by Mario Faretta from the European Institute of Oncology, Italy. He reported on live cell imaging strategies in modern cancer re-search.

Contact:Dr. Martin FriedrichGIT Verlag, A Wiley CompanyDarmstadt, GermanyTel.: +49 6151 8090 171Fax: +49 6151 8090 176m.friedrich@gitverlag.comwww.imaging-git.com

Hosts and speakers of the confocal workshop