Women researchers shine in science spotlight
More than a hundred attendees from around the world gathered virtually to celebrate International Women’s Day at the Women in Microscopy Conference. The event, co-hosted by Northwestern’s NUANCE Center, highlighted the work of female researchers, product specialists, and lab managers from universities, national labs, and microscope vendors.
The half-day program (watch video) began with remarks from Deb Kelly, president of the Microscopy Society of America (MSA), and Vinayak Dravid, NUANCE director, who both highlighted the importance of diversity in STEM fields. The keynote speaker was highly successful microscopist, Dr. Ilke Arslan, director of the Center for Nanoscale Materials and the Nanoscience and Technology division at Argonne National Laboratory. She recounted her career and the contributions she’s made in many areas of electron microscopy, including tomography and in-situ electron microscopy, demonstrating how technique development in electron microscopy can lead to exciting new scientific discoveries. She concluded by talking about the new, cutting-edge research using ultrafast electron microscopy that she is currently leading.
Novel research presentations at the conference featured the work of several successful postdoctoral scholars from across the United States and offered strong indication of the microscopy field’s future. The diversity of the discussion, drawing from various disciplines, proved that microscopy is a valuable tool in biology, astronomy, and other fields. The presentation from UIUC postdoctoral researcher Kayla Nguyen revealed howe new direct electron imaging techniques can help scientists understand magnetic and topological ferroelectric materials, while NUANCE ‘s own postdoctoral fellow Kun He showed how in-situ techniques can be used to study biomineralization of hydroxyapetite and oxidation of Cu catalysts. Juleen Dickson, a postdoctoral research associate at University of Wisconsin, Madison, presented her research on Cryo-electron tomography of platelet microtubules, which requires quick work with cold samples from mice. “It was so wonderful to meet and connect with so many extraordinary women and electron microscopists from national labs, academia, core facilities, and industry,” said Dickson. “I had so much fun at this conference!”