The poster sessions will again provide the best venue for discussions and exchange of scientific information. To promote this interaction, posters will be left up for the entire week, and the poster sessions will be moved to late afternoon, and be accompanied by snacks and beverages. We encourage you to consider submitting posters, and especially look forward to increased student participation through this mechanism.

Papers will be assigned by the Program Committee to which case that preference will be honored. Corresponding authors will be notified of this assignment after the program has been finalized in April. Poster assignments will include which day of the conference the poster will be presented (Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday). The criteria for assignment of papers to platform or poster include the nature and size of the session and the number of simultaneous sessions and in no way reflect the quality of the contribution.

Each Poster will be allocated a 92-in. wide by 46-in. high display area. A 12-in. high strip at the top should contain the title of the paper, and the name and affiliation of the authors. Authors are advised that it is not appropriate to simply attach a copy of the paper to the display board, just as it would not be appropriate simply to read the paper during the platform presentation. The poster should have large legible text and figures, and describe the results in a manner that would be clear to a reader in the author's absence.

Audio/visual equipment for a poster presentation will require exceptional justification. Stereo images may be either a platform or poster presentation, unless "prefer poster" is specified on the Author Data Entry form, in mounted and presented for stereo viewing using viewers provided by the author. Computer animations and live internet presentations may be shown in the Computer workshop area with the permission of the computer workshop coordinator. Authors with videotape data are strongly advised to seek a platform presentation. Authors must provide their own male velcro hooks or push pins for mounting.

All posters will be displayed Monday morning through Wednesday evening. Poster presenters must remain at their poster on their assigned day between 4:00 and 6:00 pm.

This is your avenue for presenting results obtained after the February 17th submission deadline. Contributions for late breaking posters can be submitted until two weeks before the meeting. Because space may be limited, we cannot guarantee acceptance of these contributions, but will attempt to accommodate as many as possible.

MSA Poster Awards will be presented for the best posters in the categories of :

• Advances in Instrumentation & Techniques
• Applications of Microscopy & Microanalysis - Biological
• Applications of Microscopy & Microanalysis - Physical

First Prize $200, Second Prize $100. Prizes will be awarded in each category.

MSA Student Poster Awards will be presented for the best posters in each category (see above). To be considered for the Student Poster Awards, the first author on the poster must be a student. When completing the Data Form, please identify your paper as "Student Poster" so that you will be eligible for the Student Poster Award Program. First Prize $200, Second Prize $100. Prizes will be awarded in each category.