MICROSCIENCE 2010 was held at the ExCeL International Exhibition and Conference Centre, London, from June 29 to July 1. The conference attracted 519 delegates—the first time that the 500-barrier has been broken. Overall, 2139 visitors from 30 countries from across 5 continents passed through the doors during the three days.
The conference featured three parallel themes containing 18 symposia devoted to Life, Materials, and New Frontiers. They struck a balance between biological and physical sciences and spanned light, electron, and other microscopies. This breadth made MICROSCIENCE 2010 the most inclusive event yet in the series.
Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz (NIH, US) gave the Tuesday Opening Plenary Lecture, “Seeing cells in action with photoactivatable fluorescent proteins.” It was an inspirational talk by one of the pioneers of super-resolution microscopy. After such a talk, it was fitting that Dr. Lippincott-Schwartz should be presented with the Pearse Prize, the Royal Microscopical Society's highest award for histochemistry.
Plenary lecturer Dr. Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz.
Wednesday and Thursday followed similar formats with opening Plenary Lectures from Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas and from Professor Wolfgang Baumeister. In all, over 150 invited and submitted talks were given, and 120 posters were on display during the meeting.
“In 2008 and 2010 we focused on developing the scientific standing of the conference, and it has really paid off,” said Dr Debbie Stokes, Co-Chair of the Organising Committee. “The tone and quality was set each day by the Plenary Speakers, and the standard of the science throughout has been very high. The first feedback from delegates has been extremely positive.”
The conference sat alongside Europe's largest exhibition dedicated to microscopy and imaging. A record 1,170 m2 of space was taken by nearly 100 companies. The quality of the stands and the range and value of equipment on show was quite breathtaking. Rod Shipley of FEI, who is Vice-chair of the RMS Corporate Advisory Board, summed it up succinctly; “MICROSCIENCE continues to be the best commercial exhibition in Europe.”
Exhibition hall at MICROSCIENCE 2010.
Huw Thomas of Leica Microsystems UK, and Chair of the RMS Corporate Advisory Board, added, “It's been a very worthwhile event. The visitor numbers have been good and the team on the stand have been busy the whole time. What's most encouraging is that we have met with a number of new groups, and we can look forward to developing relationships with them in the future.”
The international conference and exhibition were the heart of the event, but there were other popular features. The Learning Zone was full with contemporary equipment, generously loaned by exhibitors. There was a range of light microscopes, two confocal, and three electron microscopes. These gave visitors valuable hands-on experience and the opportunity to talk with expert volunteers about the challenges they face in their professional lives. Visitors could also question the manufacturers about their products at the 54 technical workshops that ran throughout the event.
All of these offerings, plus a full and vibrant social program, show that the MICROSCIENCE series is in good health and continues to grow, and all of the positive features will feed in to the planning of the European Microscopy Congress, which the RMS will host in Manchester in 2012.
“This year the RMS put together a super wide-ranging conference on almost all aspects of microscopy, together with one of the best exhibitions you are likely to see,” said Professor Wilson. “In 2012 we are being more ambitious and planning something even better, and I would encourage anybody with a passion for microscopy and imaging to put the date in their diary.”
The European Microscopy Congress 2012 will be held September 16–21, 2012.
