Microscopy and Microanalysis 2003 promises to be an exciting and dynamic meeting. The meeting this year will serve as the VII Interamerican Congress on Electron Microscopy, and will incorporate the Microscopy Society of America (MSA), the Microbeam Analysis Society (MAS), the International Metallographic Society (IMS), and the Organization of Latin American Societies of Electron Microscopy (CIASEM). We are all looking forward to meeting with such a diverse group of people. The scientific program will provide comprehensive coverage of all aspects of microscopy and microanalysis in both the biological and physical sciences. In addition to this broad coverage of topics, two focus areas will be emphasized in this yearÕs program, Nanotechnology and Biological Applications of Optical Microscopy. These two topics have been covered by symposia in most years, but we hope that by highlighting the numerous presentations in these areas, we will attract new attendees to the meeting.

The program will start on Saturday, August 2 with a pre-meeting symposium on Biophotonics, organized by Gerard Marriott of the University of Wisconsin. On Sunday, there will be several short courses (some halfday, and some full-day courses) on various topics of interest to those active in teaching, research, and industrial applications of microscopy and microanalysis. There will also be bilingual workshops (in Spanish and English) that should appeal especially to participants from Latin America. Formal meeting sessions will begin on Monday, August 4, with a blend of Symposia, including invited and contributed presentations, Tutorials, Contributed Sessions, and Poster Sessions. These sessions will offer many opportunities to discover the latest scientific and technical information available, as well as learn the basics behind many popular techniques. As always, there will be unique opportunities for hands-on learning with state-of-the-art instrumentation in the commercial exhibits, which will be bigger than ever.

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. Please review the specific guidelines for the poster honors and prizes, such as the MSA Traveling Poster Exhibit that will be seen at Local Affiliate Society meetings, and the Diatome Award that includes a trip to Switzerland for the winner and a guest. The abstract submission procedure for 2003 will be the same as for 2002, as we continue to move towards a fully electronic procedure. The system worked well enough last year to produce a fully searchable CD proceedings of the meeting, and we hope that most of the bugs in this procedure have been worked out the second time around. Just in case, though, we are still requesting simultaneous hard copy submission. Please carefully follow the instructions on Page 15 to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly.

The program committee has worked hard over the last year to make sure that this program covers as many interest areas as possible. We feel that the program will be very exciting, and we hope to see as many of you as possible in San Antonio. If you have any questions concerning the program, check out the home page (http://www.msa.microscopy.com/ MMHomePage.html), contact the meeting management office, or one of the program chairs listed below. Remember that electronic submission of abstracts must be completed before 5:00 pm PST on February 17, 2003.

Dave Piston, MSA Program Chair
John Bruley, MSA Program Vice-Chair
Paul Kotula, MAS Program Chair
George VanderVoort, IMS Program Chair
Guillermo Solorzano, CIASEM Program Chair

Microscopy and Microanalysis publishes original research papers dealing with a broad range of topics in microscopy and microanalysis. These include articles describing new techniques or instrumentation and their applications, as well as papers in which established methods of microscopy or microanalysis are applied to important problems in the fields of biology or materials science. Microscopy and microanalysis are defined here in a broad sense, and include all current and developing approaches to the imaging and analysis of microstructure. The criteria for acceptance of manuscripts are the originality and significance of the research, the quality of the microscopy or microanalysis involved, and the interest for our readership.

Editor in Chief: Charles E. Lyman
Phone: 1-(610) 758-4249
e-mail: charles.lyman@lehigh.edu

MICROSCOPY TODAY is an MSA magazine that provides material of interest and value to working microscopists in all fields. The magazine is free to microscopists in the US and MSA members worldwide.

Editor in Chief: Ron Anderson
Phone: 1-(845) 463-4124
e-mail: microtoday@attglobal.net