A few months ago I read a most exciting article in a scientific magazine. It seemed to me that the ideas presented had the potential to revolutionize all of microscopy and I got very excited at the vistas opened by this unexpected departure from the accepted dogma. The article was only a summary of the current status of the research in the field and I resolved to probe deeper. Since I read the piece just as I was ready to go to sleep I trusted my memory in the unreasonable belief that, should my memory fail, I could always access a computer database to retrieve the information when I needed it. I even recollect feeling very virtuous when, the very next morning, I entered the data into my files. At least I think I remember that.

Can you imagine the motivational value of a young adult being exposed to images of common day objects that they have an interest in, magnified ten, one hundred, or one thousand times? Then imagine the student learning the theory and operation of a scanning electron microscope. Finally, imagine walking into a laboratory to see these same students operating an SEM and taking their own micrographs.

For the past three years I have had the pleasure of teaching the laboratory portion of the SEMEDS program. The program's goal is not just to motivate high school students in science, but to expose them to the wonders of microscopy and how it affects their everyday life.

The program currently has three phases. During phase one, teachers from local high schools are contracted about the program. The teachers volunteer at the beginning of the school year then become students themselves during a four hour class.

The Microscopy Society of America (MSA) is beginning a long-term educational effort; the first goal of the program is to bring the excitement of microscopy to middle schools. We'll begin by developing a curriculum manual that integrates an understanding of how lenses magnify with observation of the microworld; examples will be from both physical and biological sciences. Funding will come from NSF and private foundations, and science education expertise will be provided by the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, a leading developer of science curriculum. As educators often use acronyms, we've named ours MICRO, for Microscopy In Curriculum - Research Outreach.

Writing a manual is just the beginning. MSA is directing its first effort at middle schools, because teachers at that level who want and need to teach science often lack the background to do so as anything more than a dull textbook exercise; teacher training workshops will be offered nationally.

In antiquity men and women consumed more labor to produce products from fiber bearing plants and animals than any other activity. Today the manmade fiber industry has reached dazzling heights frying to improve on the quality of natural fibers like wool, cotton, and asbestos and at the same time trying to offer the product at a better price. The identification of the tiny textile fiber fragments which cover our clothes and floors and contaminate our manufactured products illustrates how light microscopy can help improve the work environment, keep our products clean, and solve the most serious crimes. The consulting microscopist sees fibers as penultimately a problem of materials identification and finally as part of an intriguing mystery. In other words, from an archaeologist's point of view, fabric analysis always reveals something of the weaver in the same way as a forensic scientist learns something of the criminal through identification of extraneous fibers on the victim's clothing.

Oil contamination in SEMs is a common problem. It manifests itself as dark spots and carton buildup in low KV scans and oil condensation on EDX detector windows. While one of the most common sources of this contamination is oil backstreamed from the roughing pump, other sources include pump oils, lubricants, seals, fingerprints, and the samples themselves. Depending upon severity, this effect ranges from a minor irritation to a very major problem.

Historical solutions to this problem have included turbomolecular pumps (TMP), cryopumps, drag pumps, traps, better pump oils, cooler running roughing pumps, double diffusion pumps and fractionating diffusion pumps. Many of these solutions have proved to be costly, require much maintenance and/or have not been very effective.

The primary function of an SEM specimen stage is to optimize the orientation of the specimen to the signal detectors. The ease and precision with which the stage executes this function determine its utility to the microscopist. While the majority of scanning electron microscopes are equipped with general purpose five-axis specimen stages, a six-axis stage can significantly enhance specimen orientation. Specimen manipulation can be further simplified by incorporation of a six-axis hand controller that enables the microscopist to move the specimen intuitively as if the specimen were held directly in the hand.

SEM manufacturers typically install general purpose five-axis specimen stages in their scanning electron microscopes. In addition to translation along the X and Y axes, these stages are capable of tilt (T), elevation (Z motion), and rotation (R). Tilt directs the specimen surface toward the secondary electron detector to optimize signal collection. Elevation adjusts the working distance while rotation orients specific image features within the picture frame.

In 1946 Indiana U. purchased an electron microscope sight unseen for $600, deciding it was an EM. on the basis of weight. Seeing Dr. Fischer's ad far an assistant, I wondered what an E.M, was. I dashed upstairs to find his office. Having come directly from the airport where I was a pilot. I was dirty and needed a shave. I planned to come back when I had cleaned up. I put my nose against the door to read his small handwriting and office hours. Out he came. We hung together nose to nose as he asked, “Did you want something?” “Poor time to tell you no,” I responded. I got the job in spite of my appearance because, as he told me, I knew photography, could learn the panel on an airplane and wasn't afraid of work. We put the microscope together and it ran! We set up a summer lab course, but he asked me to teach it when he got a sabbatical.