Unfortunately, COVID-19 continues to disrupt our lives. As I am sure all of you know, M&M 2021 will again, and hopefully for the last time, be entirely virtual. Talks will be recorded with “live” Q&A sessions associated with each symposium. For M&M 2020 this format worked well, with many lively discussions during the Q&A sessions.
Even though we will miss the opportunity to greet each other in person and socialize, Program Chair Liz Wright and her excellent committee have put together an outstanding program with two pre-meeting congresses and two Sunday short courses. Pre-meeting congresses include the annual “Congress for Students, Post-Docs and Early Career Professionals in Microscopy and Microanalysis” event, as well as a congress addressing “Recent Developments in Advanced Imaging and Spectroscopy.” Sunday Short Courses include “Guidelines for Performing 4D-STEM Characterization” and an interactive course on “Data Analysis in Materials Science.” The meeting itself will feature three plenary speakers. The Physical Science Plenary speaker will be Dr. Ondrej Krivanek, who will speak on his work on sub-angstrom resolution and chemical analysis using electron beams. The Biological Science Plenary speaker stage will be shared by Drs. Kizzmekia Corbett and Jason McLellan, who will discuss their work on development of the COVID-19 vaccines. For more on Dr. McLellan, please see the Pioneers in Microscopy article in this issue. Even with the limitations of a virtual meeting, there will be nearly 1,150 presentations during the week, covering a wide range of topics including equipment development and biological and materials science applications that rely on microscopy and microanalysis technology. In addition to the many platform and poster presentations, there will also be a virtual exhibit hall where attendees can interact with exhibitors in chat rooms, demonstrations, and tutorials.
If you have not already done so, please register at Welcome | M&M 2021 Microscopy & Microanalysis (https://www.microscopy.org/MandM/2021).
