CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND-The Cambridge Philosophical Society organized a meeting of microscopists and engineers to celebrate the evolution of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Held at the Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge, the meeting commemorated the University of Cambridge and the Cambridge Instrument Company, now Carl Zeiss SMT, for their contribution to the industry and for their building of the world's first five SEMs. Seven of the 11 Ph.D. students involved in building the first SEM in 1951 attended the meeting.
In addition to focusing on the timeline of SEM technology, the meeting addressed new imaging techniques and applications for materials and life sciences such as environmental and variable-
pressure SEM, integrated circuit testing, and the origins of microfabrication and its possibilities in nanotechnology.