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A Message from the 2023 Executive Program Committee

The Microscopy Society of America (MSA) and the MicroAnalysis Society (MAS), warmly welcome you to the Microscopy & Microanalysis (M&M) 2023 meeting at the Minneapolis Convention Center in downtown, Minneapolis, Minnesota!  Minneapolis, nicknamed “the City of Lakes”, is known for its extensive public park systems and abundance of water.  The last time M&M was held in Minneapolis was 27 years ago - in 1996.  

M&M 2023 kicks off with fantastic plenary lectures by Dr. Stefanie Milam from the NASA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project and Dr. Karin Sauer from the Biofilm Research Center at Binghamton University. The main scientific program commences after the midday break on Monday.  Each M&M meeting owes its success to hundreds of symposium organizers who volunteer their time to identify trends in research and engage experts worldwide to present their work at our meetings.

For M&M 2023, more than 140 symposium organizers have assembled 10 symposia in the physical sciences, 15 in analytical sciences, 11 on biological sciences, as well as five cross-cutting symposia.  Among these, two of them will be dedicated to two legendary electron microscopy researchers who sadly passed away in 2022: Drs. Klaus Keil (1934-2022) and David Joy (1944-2022). Both these outstanding scientists, mentors, educators, and leaders made landmark contributions to our field. We also pay tribute to another great teacher and leader from our community by celebrating Dr. Wilbur Bigelow’s centennial birthday in 2023. 

Another unique addition in 2023 is a new symposium titled “A Lens on Diversity in the Microscopy and Microanalysis Community” to be jointly organized by Drs. Rhonda Stroud, Shery Chang, Molly McCartney and Treva Brown, the chair of the newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (DEI).  This symposium serves as a forum for the discussion of the state of the microscopy community, celebration of the contributions from historically under-represented, under-recognized groups, and for sharing inclusive recruitment and retention strategies.  Opting for a more open discussion forum, the first symposium in 2023 will only accept poster presentations.  The “Lens on Diversity” posters will be on display for the entire duration of the meeting.  The organizers invite you to submit abstracts to describe your own experiences, the contributions of women or minority microscopists and STEM education programs in your university/college, etc. This discussion will help us moving toward building a better and more inclusive M&M community.   

On behalf of MSA, MAS, the M&M 2023 Executive Program Committee, the meeting management team, all the symposium organizers and countless volunteers, we look forward to greeting you in Minneapolis for an exciting and stimulating Microscopy & Microanalysis 2023.  

Ru-Ching Hsia M&M 2023 Program Chair Carnegie Institute for Science	James (Jim) LeBeau M&M 2023 Vice-Chair Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Annette von der Handt MAS Co-Chair 2023 University of British Columbia, Canada