The award consists of free registration for the meeting, a copy of the Proceedings, and invitations to the Sunday Opening Reception and the Presidential Reception. In addition, MAS provides a substantial contribution towards travel and lodging expenses. Applicants must be bona fide students at a recognized college or university at the time of the meeting. Awards are based on the quality of the paper submitted for presentation at the meeting. The applicant must be the first author of the submitted paper. Successful applicants must present their papers personally at the meeting in order to receive the award.

Applications consist of:

1) A supporting letter from a member of MAS, preferably a research advisor, attesting to the applicant's status;
2) A scientific paper for presentation, submitted according to the detailed instructions described elsewhere.

The award consists of free registration for the meeting, a copy of the Proceedings, and an invitation to the Sunday Opening Reception and the Presidential Reception. MSA will reimburse awardees up to $1,000 for registration, travel (roundtrip, lowest airfare, USA) and student housing. Applicants must be bona fide students at a recognized college or university at the time of the meeting. Awards are based on the quality of the paper submitted for presentation at the meeting. The applicant must be the first author of the submitted paper. The paper may be submitted for platform or poster presentation. Successful applicants must present their papers personally at the meeting in order to receive the award. The awardees are expected to attend and participate in the entire meeting. Former winners are ineligible for another award.

Applications must consist of:

1) A supporting letter from a member of MSA, preferably a research advisor, attesting to the applicant's status;
2) A scientific paper for presentation, submitted according to the detailed instructions described elsewhere.

The Professional Technical Staff Awards (PTSA) were created to stimulate attendance at the Annual Meeting of MSA for professional technical staff who ordinarily might not participate in a national meeting, and to encourage supervisors to support their staff in professional activities. There will be up to four awards given, based on the quality of a first authored paper submitted for presentation at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006. The awards consist of free full registration for the meeting, a copy of the Proceedings and the Sunday Opening Reception event. MSA will reimburse awardees up to $600 for travel, lodging and other expenses. Applicants must be regular paid-up members of MSA at the time of application. Abstracts will be judged by the MSA Technologists' Forum. Successful applicants must present their papers personally at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006 in order to receive the award. They are expected to attend and participate in the entire meeting. Former winners will not be eligible for another award.

Application shall consist of:

1) A supporting letter from the applicant's employer, manager or supervisor, attesting to the applicant's status as a full-time, professional support staff member.
2) A scientific paper for presentation, submitted according to the detailed instructions described elsewhere.
3) A copy of the paper to be sent by FEBRUARY 15, 2006 to the Chair of the Technologists' Forum: Valerie Woodward, Technologists' Forum, 2067 Coon Rd., Copley, OH 44321-2401 USA, Phone: 216-447-5408, Email: valerie.woodward@noveoninc.com.

In order to be considered, completed applications must be received by February 15, 2006. Papers will be judged by the MSA Technologists' Forum. All applicants will be notified of the outcome in early March. Applicants not receiving the award will have the opportunity to withdraw their paper if necessary.

NOTE: All posters must be available from Monday through Thursday morning.

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

• 1. Advances in Instrumentation & Techniques,
• 2. Applications of Microscopy & Microanalysis - Biological,
• 3. Applications of Microscopy & Microanalysis - Physical.

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.

Diatome Awards (sponsored by Diatome U.S.) are presented for the posters illustrating the best use of diamond-knife ultramicrotomy in either the biological or physical sciences. First prize is a one-week, all-expense-paid trip to Switzerland for two. Second and third prizes are Swiss watches.

MSA Traveling Poster Exhibit Awards for the ten best posters (5 physical, 5 biological) as determined by a panel of judges chosen by the MSA Education Committee. These posters are sent around the country to local society meetings throughout the year under the coordination of the MSA Traveling Exhibit Chairperson. In order for your poster to be considered, it must fit into the shipping cases. The guideline for this is that each individual board must be less than 28 x 46 inches. One-piece roll-up posters are acceptable. If your poster is accepted, you may leave it at the meeting with the Traveling Exhibit Chairperson or ship it to them after the meeting. In either case, a drawing of the poster layout should be included. So that photos can be taken and arrangements made for the poster to join the Traveling Exhibit, poster winners or designee should be at their poster at a time Wednesday afternoon which will be announced in the meeting Daily Newsletter. These awards are sponsored by the MSA Education Committee.

A Photomicrograph Competition sponsored by MSA is held at Microscopy and Microanalysis, with the purpose of promoting the innovative blending of art and science. The competition is open to all forms of microscopic imaging. Winners will be selected on the basis of artistic merit and general audience appeal. It is important, however, that the winning entries be scientifically significant. In particular, they must contain novel information useful in resolving a scientific issue and/or present established information in a way that dramatically enhances its comprehension or interpretation. A maximum of three awards will be presented. First Prize $200. A maximum of 2 runners-up: $50 each. The rules for entries are: 1) Any individual may submit a maximum of two entries. (No individual may win more than one prize). 2) Entries must have overall dimensions of 11 x 14 inches, can be mounted vertically or horizontally, and must be affixed to a stiff lightweight support, such as 1/4" foam board. Micrographs may be mounted so they have borders. 3) Each entry must have a separate text sheet with the title and a 200-word maximum description of the image including the technique and its scientific significance. It is recommended that the text be printed in 14-point Times New Roman font on a separate 8.5 x 11 inch sheet. The entrant's name, address, and image title shall be posted on the back of the 11 x 14 inch entry. 4) Entries must be brought to the meeting and mounted on the display boards by noon on Monday. Non-winning micrographs should be removed Thursday afternoon. Micrographs remaining on the display boards after 3pm on Thursday will be discarded. Winning micrographs will be incorporated into the MSA Traveling Poster Exhibit for 2006-2007, and will be returned to the owner during the summer of 2007. Winners will be announced at the meeting. Submitted micrographs remain the property of the entrants subject to the conditions above.

The Microscopy Society of America values student members and recognizes that they are the future of both the society and the field of microscopy in general. MSA is therefore pleased to offer student bursaries of $200 to registered students. The most important purpose of these bursaries is to encourage students to attend the annual MSA/MAS Microscopy and Microanalysis meeting, where these young scientists can meet and interact with the established microscopy community as well as assisting with the meeting.

Each bursary recipient will be expected to work for a minimum of 20 hours during the meeting and/or at the pre-meeting weekend events. A student may work up to an additional 20 hours, for a total of 40 hours. These extra hours will add to the bursary total at a rate of $10 per hour. The maximum bursary will therefore be $400. The duties will involve, but are not necessarily limited to, providing support in symposia (helping with audio-visual needs, maintaining an attendance count, and helping speakers set up for their presentation), staffing the MSA Megabooth, and monitoring use of the Internet Cafe.

Applicants for the bursaries must be members of MSA or MAS, and enrolled as students at a recognized educational institution. All MSA or MAS student members are eligible for bursaries, including those who are recipients of MSA Presidential Scholars Awards and MAS Distinguished Scholar Awards. Eligible students may apply for bursaries when registering for the conference on the conference website, or at on-site registration. Bursaries are limited and early application is encouraged.

How it will work. The registration form for the meeting will have a check box indicating that the applicant is a registered student and is requesting a bursary. The check box will have a note beside it reminding the applicant that the bursary requires them to work at the meeting. Students who have applied for bursaries will receive letters from MSA explaining the conditions that they need to satisfy in order to receive the bursaries. The tasks at the meeting will be allocated by the Student Worker Organizers Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. When students pick up their registration materials at the meeting, they will receive assignment forms indicating the specific tasks they are to perform, and the person(s) they need to contact in order to carry out those tasks. Each student's assignment forms must be signed by all of the contact persons listed, indicating that all assigned tasks have been performed. Upon completion of assignments and submission of the signed forms, the bursary check will be issued by the appropriate representative at the registration desk.

In honour of Professor Gerard Simon's many contributions to the Society and to promote increased attendance of students to annual meetings of the MSC/SMC, two awards are offered to full-time students for the top papers in the categories of Biology and Physical Sciences. In order to be eligible for the award, the student must be first author of the paper, be a member of the Microscopical Society of Canada-Societe de Microscopie du Canada and registered at a Canadian institution. The awards consist of a bursary of $150Can. and reimbursement of travel/accommodation costs up to a maximum of $750Can.

The application procedure for the Gerard T. Simon award consists of providing:

1) a copy of the submitted paper along with the confirmation details of submission, received when the paper is submitted on-line at the M&M-2006 conference website, and
2) a short letter from the students' supervisor confirming the student status and that the student is the main contributor to the work presented in the paper.

Applications must be received no later than March 01, 2006 and can be sent to: Prof. G. Botton, President MSC-SMC, Dept Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada. e-mail: gbotton@ mcmaster.ca.

The awards will be presented at the Annual General meeting of the MSC-SMC during the M&M-2006 conference. The exact date of the general meeting will be announced in the final program of MM2006.

Dans le but de rendre hommage au travail du Professeur Gerard Simon au sein de notre Societe et afin de promouvoir la participation des etudiants dans nos rencontres annuelles, deux prix sont offerts a des etudiants inscrits dans un programme d'etudes a temps plein pour les meilleurs papiers soumis a la rencontre M&M-2006 dans les categories Sciences Biologiques et Sciences Physiques. Pour etre eligibles, les etudiants doivent etres premiers auteurs du papier, etre membres de la Societe de Microscopie du Canada/Microscopical Society of Canada et etre inscrits dans une institution Canadienne. Les prix consistent en une bourse de $150Can et le remboursement des frais de voyage/hebergement jusqu'a hauteur de $750Can.

La candidature a un prix G.T. Simon doit contenir:

1) une copie du papier soumis ainsi qu'une confirmation de la soumission telle que recue lors de la soumission du papier sur le site Web de MM2006,
2) une lettre signee par le directeur de recherche confirmant le statut de l'etudiant et le fait que l'etudiant est le principal contributeur dans le travail presente dans le papier.

Les demandes doivent etres imperativement recues au plus tard le 1er Mars 2006 a l'adresse suivante: Prof. G. Botton, President SMC-MSC, Dept Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1, Canada. e-mail: gbotton@ mcmaster.ca.

Les prix seront decernes lors de l'assemblee generale de la Societe lors de la rencontre MM2006. La date de cette rencontre annoncee dans le programme final de M&M-2006.

The contest embraces 12 classes representing various material classes and methods of revealing structure such as microphotography, optical and electron microscopy, and a unique techniques category. There are also undergraduate and graduate classes for university students. The best three in each class except class 12 are awarded first, second and third place monetary awards of $200, $100 and $50 respectively. The Jacquet-Lucas Award of $3,000 is selected from the Best in Class from each class except Classes 7, 8, 11, and 12. The Dubose-Crouse Plaque is awarded to the winner of Class 12, for those who are not otherwise eligible to participate. This includes IMS Board members and commercial vendors who exhibit equipment and products at the annual meeting.

Selecting the Winners

The contest is judged on a point system by a panel of eight judges. The judging criteria are based on the following:

1) Technical content--originality of the project in relation to solving a problem--maximum of 45 points.

2) Quality and uniqueness of specimen preparation--maximum of 25 points.

3) Photographic quality of the picture--maximum of 20 points.

4) Uniqueness of presentation in an aesthetic and technical sense, and manner of titles and other printed description--maximum of 10 points.

Technical content is the most important ingredient. In general, an exhibit should tell a story about a problem and how it was solved. Note: Classes 7, 8, and 11, Artistic Microscopy, are judged on aesthetic value only.


For complete requirements, detailed rules, and submission procedures visit http://www.internationalmetallographicsociety.org/contest.html or contact IMC Chair, Jeff Stewart (jeff@metallography.com)
Note the change to the IMS web site address. All entries must be received by July 17, 2006 and should be sent to:Matt Jacobs, American Foundry Society, 1695 N. Penny Lane, Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA

THE HENRY CLIFTON SORBY AWARD:

The Sorby Award was established to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of metallography. Only one individual shall be selected to receive this award each year. An award need not be presented every year. The person selected for this award must:

1. Be living.
2. Be over 55 years of age.
3. Have devoted more than 25 years to the general field of metallography.
4. Be considered an international figure in the field of metallography.

The person selected need not be a member of IMS. The recipient must be approved by the Board of Directors of IMS. The award is a plaque and coverage of all travel and expenses paid to the IMS Annual Convention.

PRESIDENT'S AWARD:

The President's Award was established to recognize outstanding contributions to the International Metallographic Society. Only one individual shall be selected to receive this award each year. An award need not be presented every year. The incumbent President of IMS shall recommend one or more candidates to the Awards Committee prior to the Annual Meeting. The Awards Committee shall assist in the selection of the recipient of this award. The award is a plaque.
The recipient must:

1. Be living.
2. Be a member of IMS.
3. Be a strong supporter and worker for IMS.
4. Have carried out specific assignments that have made a positive impact on the growth and progress of IMS.

PIERRE JACQUET-FRANCIS F. LUCAS AWARD:

This award is given each year to the Metallographic Exhibit judged "Best in Show." The winners will receive a cash award of $3,000.00, the Jacquet Gold Medal, the ASM Lucas Award, a blue ribbon, and will be honored at banquets at both the IMS Annual Meeting and the ASM Annual Event. This is a joint IMS/ASM award. The selection of the winner is made by a panel of judges.

THE BUEHLER TECHNICAL PAPER MERIT AWARD:

This award shall be given annually to the authors of the technical paper published that year in the journal Materials Characterization that was judged most outstanding by a panel consisting of an Officer of the IMS, the research staff of Buehler Ltd., and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal. A cash award of $1,000.00 and a plaque shall be given to the recipients each year by Buehler Ltd.

THE IMS TECHNICAL MEETING BEST PAPER AWARD:

The Best Paper Award shall be given each year to the author(s) of the paper presented at the IMS Annual Technical Meeting judged most outstanding for that year. The award shall consist of a plaque and a check for $1,000.00.