In February 1992 Don Grimes created Microscopy Today on his computer as a four-page, desktop-published newsletter. By November it had grown to 14 pages (see cover image below) and was delivered to 11,000 microscopists. In this latter issue there were articles on SEM and AFM, a detailed calendar of coming events, a column by Jean-Paul Revel, and an editorial encouraging readers to join MSA and MAS. Stephen Carmichael's review column made its first appearance in April 1994 (see page 8 for his 129th review!). Phil Oshel began Microscopy 101 in February 1997 and subsequently acquired most of the articles, especially those about microscopy methods. But the most unique aspects of those early MT issues were Don's humorous page fillers and his news about people and companies in the microscopy business. Don was able to make his news column work because he knew nearly everyone in the microscopy and microanalysis field: researchers, manufacturers, and salespeople.

In 1969 a meteorite exploded over Pueblito de Allende in northern Mexico. Many of the fragments were recovered and have provided a wealth of information about the chemical composition of our early universe. Most recently, Chi Ma, Oliver Tschauner, John Beckett, George Rossman, and Wenjun Liu have reported a new mineral in one of these meteorite fragments. Ma et al. named this new form of titanium oxide “panguite” for Pan Gu, the giant in Chinese mythology who, in the beginning, created the world by separating the heaven and earth from chaos. This is an allusion to this ultra-refractory mineral, stable at high temperatures and in extreme environments, being among the first solid materials in our solar system.

Electrochemical and electrocatalytic phenomena underpin a broad spectrum of energy, chemical, and information technologies. Examples range from electrocatalytic activation of oxygen reduction reactions in fuel cells, gas-solid reactions, and ionic transport in gas sensors and oxygen pumps, to a wide gamut of electrochemical and transport phenomena in primary and secondary batteries. Equally important is the role of ionic phenomena in information technologies, as exemplified by a recent wave of interest in memristive and electroresisitive information storage and logic devices. This article examines a new type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), referred to as electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM), that can provide a better understanding of these complex phenomena.

The combination of infrared (IR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) has produced a technique, called AFM-IR, which is becoming one of the most important recent developments in the field of IR spectroscopy and chemical imaging. Conventional Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy is well established as a technique for chemical characterization of small samples down to the 3–10 mm size range. This diffraction-imposed size limit has prevented the application of FT-IR microspectroscopy to smaller analysis regions that are relevant to analysis problems in polymer materials and the life sciences. The nanoIR™ instrument (Anasys Instruments, Santa Barbara, CA) described here uses an AFM probe as the IR absorbance sensor and hence breaks through the diffraction limit to attain spatial resolution improvements of between one and two orders of magnitude beyond previous techniques. Thus, the AFM-IR concept provides chemical information from nanoscale regions of polymers and other organic materials. This article describes the physics behind the technique, followed by results from several applications.

Both atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy are techniques used to gather information about the surface properties of a sample. There are many reasons to combine these two technologies, and this article looks both at the complementary information gained from the techniques and how a researcher having access to a combined system can benefit from the additional information available.

Research and development of nanomaterials, especially those made of organic molecules, has rapidly increased in the last couple of years. Novel nanomaterials exhibit extraordinary material properties and will have a huge impact on chemical, pharmaceutical, and microelectronic products of the near future.

In-situ electron microscopy has gained considerable attention in recent years. It provides a “live” view of a material or device under study at various length scales. For example, by heating or cooling a sample one can study structural change at the atomic scale to understand the driving forces and mechanisms of phase transitions. By applying electric and magnetic fields on a ferroelectric or magnetic architecture in operation, one can directly observe how electric and magnetic domains switch, how anions and cations shift their positions, and how spins change their configuration across a domain wall, aiding the development of better electromagnetic devices. In the study of photovoltaic devices and junctions, a major challenge is to directly correlate light-induced electric currents with local structural inhomogeneities and dynamics. Such a capability would allow us to evaluate the performance of individual p-n junctions and to improve optoelectronic efficiency.

The limitation of spatial resolution in orientation imaging via electron backscattered diffraction analysis in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) makes it difficult to investigate the microstructure of nanocrystalline materials. The use of the recently developed transmission electron microscope (TEM) based product, known as ASTAR, offers the possibility of reliable orientation/phase mapping with a spatial resolution below 3 nm. In ASTAR, a nanoprobe electron beam is scanned over the specimen, and spot diffraction patterns are collected. The electron beam is precessed to reduce dynamical effects and improve pattern quality. Using template matching, the diffraction patterns are indexed automatically.

Microscopists demand better performance from their electron microscopes with every new instrument. With the advancement of new instrument technologies, better images, higher resolution, more precise analysis, and faster throughput are all benefits that are expected of expensive purchases. Still, in many cases, a well-known problem detrimentally affects the quality of results: specimen contamination.

Leeuwenhoek was born in Delft, Holland on October 24, 1632. His father was a basket maker, and although Leeuwenhoek did not receive a university education and was not considered a scholar, his curiosity and skill allowed him to make some of the most important discoveries in the history of biology.

James Clerk Maxwell was one of the greatest scientists of the nineteenth century. He is best known for the formulation of the theory of electromagnetism and in making the connection between light and electromagnetic waves. He also made significant contributions in the areas of physics, mathematics, astronomy, and engineering. He is considered by many as the father of modern physics.

I originally submitted a proposal to talk about physically constructing our new facility at Miami University. Owen Mills contacted me and asked me to talk about how we got to the point of building a new facility. In their presentations, Debby and Reza both talked about preparing and submitting an equipment proposal. Some key factors they brought out in their presentations were: “institutional commitment,” “broader impacts,” “other opportunities,” and to not simply focus on the quality of the research. These are the areas that I would like to talk about.

Selected postings from the Microscopy Listserver from July 1, 2012 to August 31, 2012. Complete listings and subscription information can be obtained at http://www.microscopy.com. Postings may have been edited to conserve space or for clarity.

Following is a list of microscopy related meetings and courses. The editors would greatly appreciate input to this list via the electronic submission form under “events/other microscopy events” at the MSA webpage: www.microscopy.org. We will gladly add hypertext links to the notice on the web and insert a listing of the meeting in the next issue.

I am engaged to a fellow lab mate. Her lab coat flows as she walks; I am spellbound by her ability to pour gels. I find myself daydreaming of her as I pipette aliquots. Alas, I discovered that she has been dallying with a physicist in the next building! I am inclined to confront the scoundrel and my fiancée. I am not normally a violent sort, but my dander has been mightily raised. How would you deal with this situation?