The 2015 Microscopy & Microanalysis meeting and exhibition will be held in Portland, Oregon, as it was in 1999 and 2010 and will be once again in 2019. You might wonder why our annual meeting has repeatedly returned to this particular city. There are practical reasons and tourism reasons.
Not all cities have the physical characteristics that M&M meetings need in order to be successful. There are specific criteria for the convention center: the exhibition hall must be large enough, the floor must be stable enough to successfully support sensitive instruments, and the cost must fit our annual meeting budget. There must be enough hotel rooms available, and the hotels should be relatively close to the convention center or there should be free municipal transportation from the hotels to the convention center. The cost of accommodations should be reasonable in order to encourage microscopists and graduate students to attend the meeting. Portland meets these challenges.
Of course, there should be interesting tourist activities within the city and nearby. Again Portland is in the winners’ column. Downtown Portland is a wonderful mixture of culture, fresh air, and fun. There is the zoo, the rose garden, the river cruises, the big-city shopping, the brew pubs, the theater and concert hall, the university, and Powell’s famous independent book store. There is free light rail transportation for convention attendees. And no visit to Portland is complete without sampling the wine, salmon, and cheese. In terms of natural beauty, there are few places in North America where natural beauty completely surrounds a major city suitable for our meeting. Within a two-hour drive or bus ride you can see what Lewis and Clark saw at the end of their trip across the continent; Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, site of the famous 1980 eruption; the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area; Mt. Hood and its stunning scenery; and, of course, the tasting rooms at the vineyards along the Willamette Valley. Finally, there is the fabulous seashore with its iconic sea stacks, quaint towns, and beautiful, undeveloped beaches. Whether you briefly visit the shore towns of Seaside and Tillamook or take a couple of days to drive down the entire spectacular Oregon coastline, you will see some unforgettable vistas.
Finally, Portland has earned many awards such as: “Best Place to Live,” “Best Walking Town in America,” “Best Running Town,” and “Best Cycling City in the U.S." Moreover, from comments we have heard, it seems clear that our meeting attendees like Portland, and Portland likes us. The fit is good.
That is why we keep returning to Portland. See you there!
