The abstract submission process is now entirely electronic; no hard-copy mailing required!

All papers, whether invited or contributed, whether platform or poster, must be submitted in electronic format, according to the Paper Submission Process outlined below. The process for submission is substantially similar to that for M&M 2004. Since the process is entirely electronic, careful proofreading of the generated PDF file (step 5 of Paper Submission Process) is extremely important.

The Proceedings, a supplement to the journal Microscopy and Microanalysis, will once again consist of a hardbound volume and a CD-ROM. All accepted papers will be published on the CD-ROM, with figures in full color. Select papers will be additionally printed in the hardbound volume, and in this format, the figures will appear as grayscale images.

Papers submitted after this date may not be accepted. Please read all instructions carefully!

Valid submitters must complete all the following steps:

1. Register as a user at the Paper Submission website http://mm2005.microscopy.org/ (The registration form and Abstract submission links can be found by selecting the Button called Registration/Forms).

2. Prepare your paper according to the Instructions for Authors in the following section. The entire paper must fill two pages, no more, no less. For electronic submission, your source file must be either in Microsoft Word (version 2000 or later) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, saved with NO document security, with all figures embedded electronically. Please carefully review instructions for your software to insert graphics into your abstract.

3. Complete an Author Data Form online electronically for each paper at the time that you submit the electronic file of your paper. It will be best to go out of the website and come in again for submission of second and subsequent papers. Make sure that all addresses are complete and all co-authors are listed. Special audio / visual requests must be indicated on this form. The author data will be sent to you via a confirming e-mail following the upload of your submission.

4. Upload your paper when requested after completing the Author Data Form electronically.

5. Review and approve the final PDF version that has been generated from the source file of your uploaded paper. Verify that the PDF file is a faithful representation of the original. Please pay particular attention to artwork and special characters. Printout the Author Data Acknowledgement e-Mail, with the electronically assigned Paper Number and keep it for your records.

Receipt of abstract files will be acknowledged promptly via e-mail. All abstracts will be reviewed by the Program Committee. Reasons for rejection include: lack of relevance; poor science quality; previous publication; excessive commercialism; deliberate fraud or hoax; lack of adherence to these instructions; and/or late submission. Authors of rejected papers will receive a written explanation for the rejection from the Program Chair. Corresponding authors will be notified of session and time assignments on or about May 15, 2005.

Special audio / visual (A/V) equipment requests must be indicated on the Author Data Form (step 3 of Paper Submission Process). Standard A/V equipment for platform presentations includes a 35-mm projector, an overhead projector, and a LCD computer projector. Any additional A/V equipment (e.g., video tape, multiple projectors/ screens) must be indicated on the data form or its availability cannot be guaranteed. Multiple connections to the LCD projector will be provided, and presentation computers must be connected and ready for the presentation in advance of the time of the talk. Presenters must supply their own computer; no computers will be provided.

No A/V equipment will be provided as standard for poster presentations. Requests for A/V equipment with a poster presentation will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the program chair.

You are responsible for presenting your paper. If unforeseen circumstances prevent your attendance, you must:
(1) notify the Program Chair and Meeting Management and
(2) arrange for a colleague to present your paper. Failure to do so may result in rejection of your papers at future meetings.

Information regarding the technical content of the meeting or of specific sessions can be obtained from the M&M 2005 web site, http://mm2005.microscopy.org, or from the Program Chair:

Robert Price
Instrumentation Resource Facility
Developmental Biology and Anatomy
University of South Carolina Medical School
Columbia, SC 29208 USA
Phone: 1-(803) 733-3392; Fax 1-(803) 733-1533
price@med.sc.edu

Direct all other questions about the meeting to the

MSA Meeting Managers
7000 West Southwest Highway
Chicago Ridge, IL 60415
Phone: (708) 361 6045; fax, (708) 361 6166.

1. ELECTRONIC SETUP. Your electronic file must be submitted in either Microsoft WORD (saved as Word 2000) or Adobe PDF format with NO document security. The filename must have the appropriate extension (.doc or .pdf). All papers submitted as PDFs MUST have fonts embedded. Use a 12 point Times New Roman typeface, 6 lines per vertical inch. Use italics for taxonomic terms; do not use underlines. Avoid individualized formatting and special typefaces.

2. TEXT. Papers should be a condensed version of the final presentation and include all significant findings. Write the text so that readers who are not specialists can appreciate the purpose of the study and understand the procedures and conclusions. THE ENTIRE PAPER MUST BE TWO PAGES: NO MORE, NO LESS.

3. MARGINS. Set the margins for each page so that the text occupies a centered rectangle 6.75 in. wide by 9 in. high (17.1 cm wide x 22.8 cm high).

4. PAGE 1. Text only on this page, no illustrations. Title on first line must be 14-point boldface with initial capitals. For the rest of the text, use 12-point Times New Roman. Use single line spacing if more than one line is needed for the title. Leave one line of space before the author names. Start the authors' names, each followed by a comma and one or more asterisks for reference to each author's affiliation. Leave one line of space between author names and affiliations. Asterisk the first author's affiliation and provide the complete postal address. Similarly, on the next line type the next author's affiliation and complete address, etc. Do not center the title, author names or affiliations; return each line to the left margin. Leave one line of space, and begin the first paragraph without indentation. Skip a line between each paragraph. Review the FAQ on the Paper Submission webpage regarding special characters.

5. PAGE 2. This page may include text, figures, and/ or tables (if any). Place Table captions above tables at the left margin; place figure captions below figures. Bring all artwork to the left margin.

Examples:

• TABLE 1. Elements and their concentrations (after Ref. 3).
  
• FIG. 1d. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectrum from second
  region indicates presence of element Y.
  
• Download a PDF Example of a MM formatted paper

6. LINE DRAWINGS, MICROGRAPHS AND PHOTOS. All artwork must be electronically incorporated into the text. Show figure part number and scale line (e.g., 1 µm) as needed. Color may be used and will be displayed as such on the CD-ROM; however, the figures will appear as grayscale images in the hardbound volume. Line art must be created either in a drawing program or scanned into a suitable format for importing into the document; check that the weights of lines and sizes of label fonts in imbedded legends allow the figure to be understandable at the final reproduction size in the document. Review the FAQ on website regarding artwork.

7. TABLES. All tables must be electronically incorporated into the text. Use the table-making functions of the word processor to create the table with a horizontal rule top and bottom and below the column headings. Indicate units (in parentheses) in column headings as needed. Type information single-spaced within the table.

8. REFERENCES. Show citations in the text as an Arabic number on the line in square brackets, preferably at the end of the sentence, before the period [1]. Collect references at the end of the paper, before the figures. Acknowledge sponsorship or help from colleagues in the last reference corresponding to a numeral at the end of the text. Do not use underlines. For three or more authors, use first-named author's name plus "et al...." Examples:

9. COPYRIGHT TRANSFER AGREEMENT. By submitting a paper to these proceedings, authors (except U.S. government employees and contractors) agree that if accepted, the copyright of the paper will be transferred to the Microscopy Society of America.