This page logs updates to this web site and is organized in date order, most recent first:

To do its part in stopping the spread of COVID-19, all MSSC 3rd Weds meetings and 1st Sat workshops are cancelled until further notice.

Mar 20, 2020: Meeting on April 15th, 2020 at 7pm CANCELLED. See program schedule page for details.

Mar 13, 2020: Meeting on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 7pm POSTPONED, tenatively re-scheduled for April 15th instead, featuring Dr. Tim Thompson (retired from JPL) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The May 20th will be the annual Pond Life hands-on event. See program schedule page for details.

Feb 1, 2020: Next meeting Wednesday, February 19th, 2020 at 7pm featuring Thomas Weston from UCLA. See program schedule page for details.

January 2, 2020: Happy New Year! Members dues for 2020 waived again. Our first program of 2020 will be on January 15, 2020. See program schedule page for details. First workshop of the year is January 4, 2020, sign in to the members area for the complete 2020 workshop schedule (workshop page).

November 30, 2019: Don't forget RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 14th. See program schedule page for details.

Nov 20, 2019: Change of speaker for November meeting Wednesday, November 20th, 2019 at 7pm now featuring Dr. Gregory instead of Thomas Weston, a UCLA Research Associate and winner of the 2019 Microscopy Today Micrograph Award. See program schedule page for details.

Sep 28, 2019: A month earlier than usual, our annual exhibition night is Wednesday, October 16, 2019. The November meeting Wednesday, November 20th, 2019 at 7pm will feature guest speaker Thomas Weston, a UCLA Research Associate and winner of the 2019 Microscopy Today Micrograph Award. He has been working on techniques for colorizing TEM images.  Something that is more difficult than you would think. See program schedule page for details.

Sep 1, 2019:  This month we will have our annual sales meeting on Wednesday September 18th at 7pm. See program schedule page for details.

July 29, 2019:  The Wednesday August 21st lectureship program (7pm) will feature Dr. Bruce Mutter and titled "Extending Life, Chemistry of Human Aging". See program schedule page for details. Also note that the August workshop has been canceled.

Jun 30, 2019:  The Wednesday July 19th lectureship program (7pm) will be titled Dinosaurs under the Microscope, and given by MSSC President, Jim Solliday. See program schedule page for details.

Jun 16, 2019:  The Wednesday June 19th lectureship program (7pm) will be a recap by MSSC President, Jim Solliday of his attendance at the McCrone conference in Chicago at which he was awarded the August Kohler Award from the State Microscopical Society of Illinois. See program schedule page for details. Also note that the July workshop will be on the 2nd Sat July 13 at Sid Schiff's house.

May 3, 2019:  The Wednesday May 15th lectureship program (7pm) is the Society's annual pond water investigation night. See program schedule page for details.

April 3, 2019:  The Wednesday April 17th lectureship program (7pm) will feature Aaron Celestian is the Curator of Mineral Sciences at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Adjunct Associate Professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Southern California, and Affiliate Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory giving a lecture titled Microbes, Minerals And Mars. See program schedule page for details.

January 31, 2019:  The Wednesday February 20th lectureship program (7pm) will feature Dr. Yair Rivenson an Adjunct Professor at UCLA giving a talk titled "Beyond classification: computational deep learning microscopy". See program schedule page for details. The Wednesday March 20th lectureship program will start at 6:30PM (earlier than the usual 7pm) and is the rescheduled event from January 16th featuring the third in the three-part class on How to Use the Polarizing Microscope by Wayne Moorhead. See program schedule page for details of what supplies to bring, and print or download the workshop materials in advance.

January 6, 2019:  The Wednesday January 16th lectureship program starting at 6:30PM (earlier than the usual 7pm) will feature the third in the three-part class on How to Use the Polarizing Microscope by Wayne Moorhead. See program schedule page for details of what supplies to bring, and print or download the workshop materials in advance. EVENT CANCELLED due to rain - will be rescheduled for a future date.

January 2, 2019: Happy New Year! Members dues for 2019 waived again. Our first program of 2019 will be on January 16, 2019. See program schedule page for details. For members, the first workshop of the year is January 5, 2019, sign in to the members area for the complete 2019 workshop schedule (workshop page).

November 30, 2018: Don't forget RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 8th are due to the MSSC President by December 1. See program schedule page for details.

November 1, 2018: Don't forget annual exhibition night is Wednesday, November 14, 2018. See program schedule page for details.

October 12, 2018: We discovered after the first class that two sessions would not be enough time to cover the very basic information.  Plus, our intention is that all members gain the experience of hands on training.  By popular demand we have decided to extend the class to a third meeting.  This third event will be on the third Wednesday of Jan 2019. The Wednesday October 17th lectureship program will feature the second of this three-part class on How to Use the Polarizing Microscope by Wayne Moorhead. See program schedule page for details of what supplies to bring, and print or download the workshop materials in advance.

August 28, 2018: The Wednesday September 19th and Wednesday October 17th lectureship program will feature a two part class on Use of the Polarizing Microscope by Wayne Moorhead. See program schedule page for details.

August 10, 2018: This month (August) our Wednesday lectureship program is back to its regular 3rd Weds, August 15, 2018, and will feature Danielle Parsons, founder of Wonder Science TV on Termite Gut Microbes. See program schedule page for details.

July 5, 2018: This month (July) our regular Wednesday lectureship program will be on the 4th instead of the 3rd Weds, July 25, 2018 will be a two-parter first on the Sony a77 camera, and then on Experiments in Color and Contrast. See program schedule page for details.

June 14, 2018: Our meeting on June 20th, 2018 will be a presentation on the milkweed leaf miner. There will also be a brief presentation on using a Sony a77 with the microscope. See program schedule page for details.

April 8, 2018: Our meeting on April 18th, 2018 is a reschedule of that originally planned for March. MSSC's Education Officer, Alan deHaas will lead this hands-on class on 3-dimensional micro-crystals, or more commonly called Micro-Mounts. Alan will start with an informative talk on the study of crystals (mineral micro-mounts), following which he will provide practical instruction on how to prepare micro-mounts. If you have one, bring a stereomicroscope and a good adjustable lamp (or an LED flashlight) to the meeting, along with any micro-mounts that you would like to share with the group. See program schedule page for details.

March 21, 2018: Our meeting on March 21st feature Alan deHaas on Micromounts is CANCELLED.

February 9, 2018: Our meeting on February 21st will feature Dr. Alan Rubin from the UCLA Meteorite Lab on "Meteorites and Minerals: Constraints from Microscopy and Geochemistry". See program schedule page for details.

January 10, 2018: Happy New Year! Our first program of 2018 will feature Andrei Faraon on "Flat Metasurface Optics" at the Beckman Auditorium at CalTech at 8:00 pm on January 17, 2018. See program schedule page for details.

January 3, 2018: Happy New Year! Our first program of 2018 will be on January 17, 2018. See program schedule page for details. For members, the first workshop of the year is January 6, 2018, sign in to the members area for the complete 2018 workshop schedule (workshop page). Also remember to pay your membership dues for 2018; your membership will be delinquent after the third month of the year, see signup page.

December 1, 2017: RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 9th are due to the MSSC President by December 5th. See program schedule page for details.

November 30, 2017: This month's member workshop on Sat, Dec 2, 2017 will be dedicated to our recently lost member Bill Hudson and feature an exhibit and auction of his microscopy collection. Sign in to the members area and visit the workshop schedule for details.

November 1, 2017: Don't forget annual exhibition night is Wednesday, November 15, 2017. See program schedule page for details.

October 16, 2017: The October meeting on Weds October 18, 2017 at 7pm at Wildwood School will feature Dr. Laurent A. Bentolila speaking on Super-Resolution Imaging and the Renaissance of the Optical Microscope. See program schedule page for details.

September 17, 2017: The September meeting on Weds September 20, 2017 at 7pm at Wildwood School will be MSSC's annual trade sale meeting. Bring microscope related equipment and supplies to sell or trade. Or just come and see if there is something you just must have. See program schedule page for details.

August 30, 2017: Please be advised that the date for the September workshop has been changed from Sat Sep 2 to Sat Sep 9. This change is to accommodate the holiday.

August 10, 2017: . The Society is very sad to report the passing of long-time member, Bill Hudson on Aug 4th. Bill continued to attend and contribute to meetings well after his 99th birthday. Every member who knew him was touched by his kind and gentle personality. He was an accomplished Chemist and even though he tried a number of time to retire, he continued to work to the day of his passing. The main stay of his work for the last few years was in environmental analysis and consulting. He also served with distinction in our military, retiring as a Major General. During the war, he managed to successfully set down two damaged bombers saving the lives of all of his crew members. He will be greatly missed. Our prayers and best wishes are with his wife Ann and his grand children.

July 23, 2017: The August meeting on Weds August 16, 2017 at 7pm at Wildwood School will feature Erin C. Young speaking on X-ray diffraction and its association with various types of microscopy. See program schedule page for details.

July 3, 2017: No third Weds meeting this July. Instead MSSC field trip to Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Sat, July 15 at 11am. Sign in to the members area and visit the workshop schedule for details.

June 3, 2017: This month's meeting on Weds June 17, 2017 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will be a workshop by Tom Jones on Antique Slide Making. See program schedule page for details. On other news, the Society is very sad to report the passing of long-time member, Allen Bishop on May 24th. For those of you who attended the Saturday workshops you knew well the hospitality of his home. He contributed greatly to MSSC efforts and was well known for his restoration skills with the microscope. Allen filled a seat in our group that no one else will be able to fill. He was a member from the earliest days of the MSSC and contributed many times to our Journal, always with a Scholars authority. He will be greatly missed.

April 16, 2017: My apologies for my tardiness with updates. I have been offline for a few months dealing with a family emergency. Details of the January - April 2017 meetings have been uploaded, see program schedule page for details.

January 3, 2017: Happy New Year! Our first program of 2017 will be on January 18, 2017. See program schedule page for details. For members, the first workshop of the year is January 7, 2017, sign in to the members area for the complete 2017 workshop schedule (workshop page). Also remember to pay your membership dues for 2017; your membership will be delinquent after the third month of the year, see signup page.

December 1, 2016: RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 11th are due to the MSSC President by December 3rd. See program schedule page for details.

November 1, 2016: Don't forget annual exhibition night is Wednesday, November 16th .See program schedule page for details.

October 15, 2016: This month's meeting on Weds October 19, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School will be quite different from anything we have ever done before. Rather then a regular speaker this will be an artist session by John and Erin Schneider, with live music accompanying the projection of chemical art (photomicrographs) obtained through the microscope. See program schedule page for details.

September 11, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds September 21, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will be the society's annual sale and trade meeting. See program schedule page for details.

August 14, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds August 17, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Dr. David Reitze, Executive Director, LIGO Laboratory California Institute of Technology on The Sound of Black Holes. See program schedule page for details.

July 15, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds July 20, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Haowen Ruan, Postdoctoral researcher, Biophotonics Lab, Caltech. See program schedule page for details.

June 12, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds June 15, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Brain Matsumoto on the Color Heine Condenser. See program schedule page for details.

May 1, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds May 18, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School is the annual Pond Water night. See program schedule page for details.

April 16, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds April 20, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Tom Jones on parasitology. See program schedule page for details. Tom Jones' article on Cell phone still and video photomicrography is now live on Micscape, see articles page for details.

March 12, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds March 16, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Ed Jones on forensic micrography. See program schedule page for details.

February 15, 2016: This month's lectureship meeting is on Weds February 17, 2016 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Tom Jones on cell phone photomicrography. See program schedule page for details.

February 1, 2016: Please note the workshop scheduled for Sat. February 6th has been cancelled. Instead an extra special meeting on FRIDAY, February 5 at 7pm at Wildwood School and will feature Dr. Ford's latest work on the historic Leeuwenhoek Microscopes. See program schedule page for details.

January 1, 2016: Happy New Year! Our first program of 2016 will be on January 20, 2016. See program schedule page for details. For members, the first workshop of the year is January 2, 2016, sign in to the members area for the complete 2016 workshop schedule (workshop page). Also remember to pay your membership dues for 2016; your membership will be delinquent after the third month of the year, see signup page.

December 1, 2015: RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 13th are due to the MSSC President by December 7th. See program schedule page for details.

November 1, 2015: Don't forget annual exhibition night is Wednesday, November 18th .See program schedule page for details.

October 27, 2015: We are sadden to report that longtime MSSC member, Ed Tarvyd passed away on October 24, 2015 aged 76. Our condolences go out to his family. A memorial will be held on November 9, 2015 at 7pm at Santa Monica College performing Arts Center - Broad Stage. Ed was a beloved biology professor at SMC for 50 years. His lectures to the society will be remembered fondly by MSSC members. As well as vivid reports from the many research and field study trips he made with students and others to Morro Bay, the deserts of Arizona, Hawaii and beyond the U.S., to locations including Australia, Fiji, Belize, the Peruvian Amazon, and the Galápagos islands. Mary Colavito, SMC's Life Science department chair says that Ed’s legacy is “…incalculable, enriching his colleagues and thousands of students. He will be greatly missed.”

October 13, 2015: The October 21 meeting will be the annual Sales and Trade meeting. Clean house and bring items to exchange/sell, or look for the special item you've been missing. See program schedule page for details.

August 14, 2015: The September 16 meeting will feature Katherine T. Faber, Simon Ramo Professor of Materials Science, Caltech a presentation titled, "Watching Paint Dry and Colors Fade: The Intersection of Art and Science." See program schedule page for details.

August 14, 2015: The August 19, 2015 meeting will feature Dr. John Wang, Professor of Forensic Science, CSULB, speaking about New Microscopic Technology and Forensic Investigation. See program schedule page for details.

July 13, 2015: The July 15, 2015 meeting will feature Prof. Elliot Botvinick, Ph.D. of the Beckman Laser Institute/Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology, UCI, Irvine, speaking about Optical Tweezers. See program schedule page for details.

June 13, 2015: The June 17, 2015 meeting will feature Larry McDavid talking about the Dent Dipleidoscope. See program schedule page for details.

May 16, 2015: The May 20, 2015 meeting is the not-to-be-missed annual Pond Life meeting. One of our best attended and most exciting hands-on meetings! Bring samples of pond water, ditch water, fountain water etc. Bring your own microscope or check out your water sample with one of the 'scopes on hand at the meeting. See program schedule page for details.

April 12, 2015: The April 15, 2015 meeting will feature Professor Brian Matsumoto from UCSB, continuing his demonstration of the Tucsen recorder for photomicrography. Plus there will be a brief overview of the tree lobster, famous as a species for having been rediscovered in 2001 after assumed extinct in 1920. See program schedule page for details.

March 16, 2015: The March 18, 2015 meeting will feature Professor Brian Matsumoto from UCSB, giving a demonstration of the Tucsen recorder for photomicrography. See program schedule page for details.

March 10, 2015: We are sadden to report that longtime MSSC member, Gaylord Moss passed away on March 10, 2015. Our condolences go out to his family. For about six years, Gaylord was the Editor of the Journal of the Microscopical Society of Southern California. He also was involved with the founding of Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, along with our past President George Vitt. Gaylord also held a number of original patents.

February 16, 2015: The February 2015 meeting will feature Gary W. Brown of the G.W. Brown Company from Waterloo, Nebraska. Mr. Brown will bring a number of digital cameras for evaluation and recommendation.  See program schedule page for details.

January 16, 2015: Our first program of 2015 will be a hands-on forensics class, entitled The Forensic Science behind Locksmithing, Tool Marks under the Microscope by David G.. Learn how a forensic expert understands and interprets how locking devices can be defeated. See and identify marks made by lock picking tools under the microscope. See program schedule page for details.

December 31, 2014: Back copies of the Journals from 1996 through 2001 have been uploaded to the website. Login to the members area to access. Remember to pay your membership dues for 2015; your membership will be deliquent after the third month of the year, see signup page.

November 30, 2014: RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 7th are due to the MSSC President by December 4th. See program schedule page for details.

November 10, 2014: Don't forget annual exhibition night is Wednesday, November 19th . See program schedule page for details.

October 9, 2014: The October 15 meeting is the Society's annual trade and sale meeting. Clean house and bring items to exchange/sell, or look for the special item you've been missing. See program schedule page for details. !!! NOTE: the location of this and future MSSC meetings will be at Wildwood School in West LA.

September 12, 2014: The September 17 meeting will feature Z.Hong Zhou Ph.D. from UCLA's Electron Imaging Center for Nanomachines (EICN). Mr. Zhou talk is entitled, "Seeing atoms of life by electron microscopy." See program schedule page for details. !!! NOTE: the location of this and future MSSC meetings will be at Wildwood School in West LA. This month is our annual TRADE & SALES Meeting. Bring items to trade or sell. Its time to get rid of the “stuff” you're not using anymore. Perhaps you'll find something good to take home too?

August 13, 2014: The August 20 meeting will feature Dr. Bruce Zuckerman and his brother Ken Zuckerman. The talk is entitled "Reclaiming Ancient Texts with Hig Tech Imaging." See program schedule page for details. !!! NOTE: the location for this meeting has changed to NT Audio.

July 6, 2014: The July 16 meeting will feature Brian Matsumoto. His talk is entitled "Flourescent Microscopy."See program schedule page for details.

June 6, 2014: We are sadden to report that honorable past MSSC President George W. Vitt passed away on May 2, 2014. Our condolescenes go out to his family. A celebration of his life and work is being planned for October.

May 26, 2014: The June 18 meeting will feature Mark Armitage. His talk is entitled "Recent Contributions to the Discovery of Dinosaur Soft Tissue-Triceratops (Paleontology). See program schedule page for details.

May 14, 2014: The May 21 meeting is the not-to-be-missed annual Pond Life meeting. One of our best attended and most exciting hands-on meetings! Bring samples of pond water, ditch water, fountain water etc. Bring your own microscope or check out your water sample with one of the 'scopes on hand at the meeting. See program schedule page for details.

April 12, 2014: The April 16 meeting will feature a presentation by Dr. Karen Trentelman, Senior Scientist with the Getty Conservation Institute's Collections Research Lab, giving a talk entitled, "The Application of Science to the Study of Works of Art on the Getty Conservation Institute." See program schedule page for details.

March 17, 2014: The March 19 meeting will feature a presentation entitled, "A Royal Maya Tomb under the Microscope!," by Kristina Cheung. See program schedule page for details.

February 11, 2014: The February 19 meeting will feature a presentation entitled, "My Adventures With a Microscope," by Glenn Shipley. See program schedule page for details.

January 13, 2014: The first monthly meeting of 2014 on January 15 will feature a presentation entitled, "Strange Creatures - Aliens," and time permitting, some more as yet unseen Chesluk slides. See program schedule page for details.

January 6, 2014: Happy New Year! The 2014 program schedule can be found on the program schedule page. Please pay your membership dues for 2014 asap, they will be deliquent after the third month of the year, see signup page.

November 19, 2013: RSVPs for the Holiday Banquet on December 14th are due to the MSSC President by December 7th. See program schedule page for details.

November 17, 2013: Don't forget annual exhibition night is this Wednesday, November 20th. See program schedule page for details.

October 12, 2013: The October meeting will feature Jay (Xiaoze. Ou), from the Department of Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology on "Wide field-of-view microscope based on holographic focus grid illumination." See program schedule page for details. Don't forget the annual MSSC field trip is set for November 2 and will be a visit to the Wildlife Learning Center, sign in to the members area for details (workshop page).

September 3, 2013: This month's meeting will be held on MONDAY September 23, instead of our usual third Wednesday. It will be a sales event. Bring your items to sell, and see what gems others bring. See program schedule page for details. Also the annual MSSC field trip is set for November 2 and will be a visit to the Wildlife Learning Center, sign in to the members area for details (workshop page).

July 22, 2013: This month's August meeting will be hosted by Dr. Richard Weinberg at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. We will meet in one of the School's digital movie screening rooms to view movies shot through a microscope at 4k and HD resolution. s. See program schedule page for details.

June 29, 2013: This month's July meeting will feature Prof. Brian Matsumoto on Old and New: Color Heine condenser and HD video.. See program schedule page for details.

June 25, 2013: Check out Joseph Mastropaolo's article on the Morphological originality and statistical probability of Micrasterias cells and semicells compared to the originality of snowflakes.

June 1, 2013: This month's June meeting will be the annual MSSC Pond Life meeting. See program schedule page for details.

May 1, 2013: This month's May meeting will be on MONDAY May 13th (not our usual third Wednesday) and features Dr. Brian Ford on Solving the Mystery of Human Spontaneous Combustion.. See program schedule page for details.

April 14, 2013: This month's April meeting features Craig Smith, from Insight Scientific Films talking about the making of the BBC documentary, the "Wonder's of Life" and other films he has been involved in. See program schedule page for details.

Please also note that the May meeting will be held on MONDAY May 13 instead of our usual third Wednesday and will feature Dr. Brian Ford on Solving the Mystery of Human Spontaneous Combustion. To accommodate Dr. Ford's talk, the annual Pond Life meeting has been moved to June. See program schedule page for details.

March 16, 2013: This month's March meeting features Dr. Weinberg, Research Associate Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts talking about his "Digital Cinema Microscopy" project which won an award from the Corporation for Educational Network Initiatives in California (CENIC). See program schedule page for details.

Also the member-only field trip to RDY Sales in the City of Ventura, CA. will now be on Saturday, April 6th, sign in to the members area for details.

February 18, 2013: This month's February meeting features Dr. Izbicki talking about the use of Scanning Electron (SEM) Photomicrographs to interpret hydrologic data. See program schedule page for details.

February 1, 2013: Members, please note the February Sat workshop will be on the second Sat, Feb 9, this month (not the first Sat). The RDY field trip is now planned for the first Sat in March, see members area for details.

January 24, 2013: Members should keep an eye out for more communications on a February field trip to RDY. Also membership list has been updated. Sign in to the members area for details. Also the 47th Annual Pacific Micromount Conference, 2013 is coming up February 1 and 2, 2013 at the San Bernardino County Museum, see news and events page for details.

January 14, 2013: This month's January meeting features Tom Jones talking about microscopes uses in the Clinical Laboratory. See program schedule page for details.

January 1, 2013: Happy New Year! The 2013 program schedule can be found on the program schedule page.

December 16, 2012: Don't forget tonight is the annual MSSC Holiday Banquet.

November 9, 2012: This month's November meeting is a week earlier than normal on November 14, 2012. The MSSC Holiday Banquet will be on Sunday, December 16, 2012, please rsvp to Jim Solliday by December 7th. See program schedule page for details of both events.

October 15, 2012: This month's October 17 meeting will be a presentation from Brian Matsumoto, onmodified Olympus (OM-D) which has its IR filter removed in order to make the camera sensitive to all wavelengths of light, see program schedule page for details.

September 17, 2012: This month's September 19 meeting will be a presentation from Daniel Lewis, the Huntington Library's Dibner Senior Curator of the History of Science and Technology, who will discuss his new book The Feathery Tribe, a biography of Robert Ridgway, the Smithsonian's first Curator of Birds, see program schedule page for details.

August 9, 2012: This month's August 15 meeting will be a presentation from David Scharf, on "The Art of SEM Photography," see program schedule page for details.

July 10, 2012: This month's July 18 meeting will be a presentation from Brian Matsumoto (UCSB) on "Variations of Phase Contrast." see program schedule page for details.

June 16, 2012: This month's June 20 meeting will be a presentation from John Koivula, on "Gemstone Inclusions," see program schedule page for details.

May 9, 2012: This month's May 16 meeting is the Society's annual Pond Life Meeting. Bring your microscopes and pond water samples for a hands-on session, see program schedule page for details.

April 10, 2012: This month's April 18 meeting will be a sale and trade meeting, see program schedule page for details.

March 19, 2012: This month's March 21 meeting will be by John Izbicki, presenting on "Sources of Fecal Indicator Bacteria along the Malibu, California, Coastline," see program schedule page for details.

March 15, 2012: Additions to the Articles page include a link to Prof. Brian Ford's Crticial Focus article series covering all manner of microscopy-related issues, available on his website and in The Microscope journal.

February 12, 2012: This month's February 15 meeting will be on all things photographic, Brian Matsumoto (UCSB) and his wife Carol will bring us up to date on the latest digital imaging technology, see program schedule page for details.. We are also sadden to report that long-time MSSC member Dario Solares passed away recently. Our condolescenes go out to his family. The March 3 member-only workshop will be a special silent auction at the Solares residence, login to the members area for details.

December 27, 2011: The first meeting of 2012 will be held on Tuesday January 3 is on a presentation by Brian Ford (from the UK) on van Leeuwenhoebe (see program schedule page). Please note: this meeting on the first TUESDAY of January will replace our normal third Wednesday gathering and will be our only lectureship event for the month of January.

December 3, 2011: See news and events for details of the 47th Annual Pacific Micromount Conference, January 28-29, 2012. Also a reminder that there is no monthly meeting in December, instead the MSSC Holiday Banquet, December 11, 2011 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Earth, Wind and Flour Restaurant. The program will include our annual report, highlights from the past year including some exhibits, and a presentation of "Images from the Earth" by MSSC member Mark Armitage. RSVPs required by Dec. 7th. See program schedule for details.

November 27, 2011: We are sadden to report that long-time MSSC member Dr. Robert Faust passed away on November 1, 2011. Our condolescenes go out to his family.

November 2, 2011: Don't forget to join us this month for MSSC's annual exhibition night. Full details of the November 16 meeting can be found on the program schedule page.

October 13, 2011: This month's October 19 meeting is on materials characterization using TEM presented by Dr. Jian-Guo Zheng (see program schedule page).

September 19, 2011: This month's September 21 meeting is on the microbiology of Cancer and the impact of microbes on the development of AIDS presented by Dr. Alan Cantwell M.D. (see program schedule page). Also check out the clean your microscope hands-on workshop on October 8 (members only, see workshops under the members area for full details) and the new list of the best chemicals for polarized light analysis (under the members area).

August 15, 2011: At this month's August 17 meeting we welcome back NASA scientist Dr. Ed. Leighman Gafford with his presentation Fine Art through the Microscope. Note: this presentation was originally scheduled for July but had to be held over until August. (see program schedule page).

July 20, 2011: This month's speaker Dr. Ed. Leighman Gafford had to cancel at the last minute. Instead this meeting will showcase images of Inner Space (see program schedule page).

July 18, 2011: This month's July 20 meeting will be on Fine Art through the Microscope presented by N.A.S.A. Lunar Scientist Dr. Ed. Leighman Gafford (see program schedule page).

June 13, 2011: At this month's June 15 meeting Richard Weinberg will give a talk entitled, "Shooting movies through a microscope with a RED One Camera" (see program schedule page).

May 16, 2011: This month's May 18 meeting is Pond Life night. Bring a microscope and some pond water samples to share (see program schedule page).Check out a new follow-up article "Illuminated Stage VIII" by Richard J. Nelson on using USB microscopes (see articles page). Plus the members list has been updated (see members area).

April 17, 2011: See program schedule for details of the April 20th meeting on macro-photography.

March 12, 2011: At this month's meeting, we'll have a portable x-ray fluorescence analyzer on hand, so bring samples to inspect. See program schedule for full details of this March 16th meeting.

February 20, 2011: Check out four new articles by Richard J. Nelson on using USB microscopes and magnification issues (see articles page).

February 14, 2011: See program schedule for details of the February 16th meeting. The members list has been updated for 2011 (see members area).

December 28, 2010: MSSC wishes you Happy Holidays and a great start to 2011. The 2011 workshop schedule is now live on the site, along with an updated members list (see members area).

December 2, 2010: Sorry for the delays, but the site is now fully up to date, with details of all the meetings and activities that occurred during 2010. In addition, new articles have been uploaded, and the members area now has a list of biological stains available to loan out to members for use in preparing slides.

February 15, 2010: See program schedule for details of the February 17th meeting.

January 19, 2010: The January meeting is cancelled due to the winter storm and bad weather passing through Los Angeles. Instead members are invited on a field trip to Ventura County Sheriff's Department Forensic Crime Lab on January 30, 2010. Members should have received an email from MSSC president, Jim Solliday with further details and directions.

January 1, 2010: Happy New Year! The 2010 Program schedule is now posted on the website, see program schedule for details. Members, please note that the first workshop of 2010 will be held on the second instead of the first Saturday, ie: January 9, see members area. Don't forget membership dues for 2010 are payable as of January 1, please get them to Herb as soon as possible.

Also the books and articles section has moved from the News & Events page to its own new page titled Articles & Resources, hopefully this will make things easier to find on the site. Check out Richard Nelson's article on using the Lancer LED flashlight as an illuminant for your stereo microscope posted today.

December 4, 2009: See news and events for details of the 45th Annual Pacific Micromount Conference, January 29-31, 2010. Also a reminder that there is no monthly meeting in December, instead the MSSC Holiday Banquet, December 13, 2009 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Earth, Wind and Flour Restaurant please rsvp if you plan to attend, see program schedule for details.

November 6, 2009: See news and events for details of the College of Microscopy's course next July for science teachers. Also a reminder that this month's meeting is the annual exhibition night, don't miss this "show and tell" opportunity to share your microscopy interests with fellow members. See program schedule for details.

October 8, 2009: See program schedule for details of the October meeting.

September 10, 2009: See program schedule for details of the September meeting.

August 12, 2009: We are very sadden to report the death of MSSC member, Vic Silveria. We send our condolences to his family. He will be missed by all in the Society.

July 31, 2009: See program schedule for details of the August meeting. Note to accommodate our speaker, this meeting will be on Saturday, August 8 instead of the usual third Wednesday of the month.

July 1, 2009: Please note there will be no meetings in July.

June 16, 2009: See program schedule for details of the June meeting.

May 25, 2009: Updated membership list, see members area.

April 14, 2009: See program schedule for details of the April meeting. Also don't forget the May meeting is the annual Pond Life event.

March 16, 2009: See program schedule for details of the March meeting.

March 15, 2009: Check out the Microscope Historical Society's Journal and the Modern Microscopy online journal. Also added information on McCrone's Microscopy School for teachers in June 2009. More details under news and events.

February 17, 2009: See program schedule for details of the February meeting.

January 19, 2009: See program schedule for details of the January meeting.

December 31, 2008: Happy New Year! See program schedule for dates of the 2009 meetings. For members, the first workshop of 2009 will be held on January 3, see members area. Don't forget membership dues for 2009 are payable as of January 1, please get them to Herb as soon as possible.

December 12, 2008: Updated membership list, see members area.

November 22, 2008: Date of the Holiday Banquet set as December 14th, see program schedule for details.

November 21, 2008:.Check out the new permanent exhibition on the History of the Microscope at the Huntington Library in Pasadena. Also don't forget to enter the 2009 Nikon Small World and Olympus Bioscapes image competitions. See news and events page for further details.

October 20, 2008: Nominations for MSSC Officers for the 2009-2010 term due by December 1, 2008. See members area.

October 14, 2008: See program schedule for details of the October meeting which will be held on the 15th.

October 10, 2008: Updated membership list, see members area.

September 15, 2008: See program schedule for details of the September meeting which will be held on the 17th.

August 19, 2008: See program schedule for details of the August meeting which will be held on the 20th.

July 15, 2008: See program schedule for details of the July meeting which will be held on the 16th.

July 10, 2008: Updated membership list, see members area.

June 30, 2008: Updated membership list, see members area. Added some new links: SKS Science and James McHone's geological microscope site.

June 17, 2008: See program schedule for details of the June meeting which will be held on the 18th.

April 14, 2008: See program schedule for details of the April meeting which will be held on the 16th. Also start collecting your pond water samples - the May meeting is the much-loved and very practical annual Pond Life meeting.

March 17, 2008: See program schedule for details of the March meeting which will be held on the 19th.

January 3, 2008: Happy New Year! See program schedule for details of the January meeting which will be held on the 16th at CalTech in Pasadena - don't forget to rsvp to Jim Solliday by January 6 if you want to attend. Also check out Richard J. Nelson's article on the electron microscope, "Seeing the Very Small."

November 18, 2007: Please note the date change for the November exhibition meeting. This will now be held on the 4th Wednesday of the month (November, 28, 2007) instead of our usual 3rd Wednesday, see program schedule. Also if you plan to attend the MSSC Holiday Banquet on Sunday, December 9, 2007, don't forget to rsvp to Jim Solliday by December 2, see program schedule for more details.

September 20, 2007: Added details of the October meeting, Wednesday, October 17, 2007, see program schedule. Also check out this new link to the Virtual Museum of the History of Mineralogy.

September 17, 2007: Added details of the September meeting, Wednesday, September 19, 2007, see program schedule.

August 15, 2007: Updated membership list, see members area.

August 12, 2007: Added details of the August meeting, Wednesday, August 15, 2007, see program schedule.

July 19, 2007: Updated membership list, see members area.

June 19, 2007: Added details of the June meeting, Wednesday, June 20, 2007, see program schedule. Updated membership list, see members area.

May 11, 2007: Remember this month's meeting is the annual Pond Water night, see program schedule.

April 17, 2007: Added details of the April meeting, Wednesday, April 18, 2007, see program schedule and updated the Links page.

March 19, 2007: Added details of the March meeting, Wednesday, March 21, 2007, see program schedule.

February 19, 2007: Added details of the February meeting, Wednesday, February 21, 2007, see program schedule.

January 15, 2007: Added details of the January meeting, Wednesday, January 17, 2007, see program schedule. For those going on the tour of the Getty Conservation Institute's labs see workshop details under the members area for further information (this tour is now full).

October 16, 2006: Added details of the October meeting, Wednesday, October 18, 2006, see program schedule.

September 18, 2006: Added details of the September meeting, Wednesday, September 20, 2006, see program schedule.

September 12, 2006: This September marks the ten year anniversary of our efforts to provide workshop opportunities under the MSSC label.  MSSC member, George Vitt has put together a copy of the Workshop notes from September 7th 1996, which will bring back to our memory the events of that time.

August 15, 2006: Added details of the August meeting, Wednesday, August 16, 2006, see program schedule.

August 5, 2006: Check out this great presentation by MSSC member Stuart Warter on the "Origin and Development of the Light Microscope." See books and articles section of the news and events page.

July 17, 2006: Added details of the July meeting, Wednesday, July 19, 2006, see program schedule.

June 28, 2006: Don't miss this Saturday's workshop, July 1, 2006, at which Professor Brian Ford will present on the "World's Worst Microscopy," see workshop details under the members area.

June 11, 2006: Added details of the June meeting, Wednesday, June 21, 2006, see program schedule.

April 21, 2006: Remember the next meeting, Wednesday, May 17, 2006, is the annual May Pond Life meeting, see program schedule. Updated membership list, see members area.

April 18, 2006: Added details of the April meeting, Wednesday, April 19, 2006, see program schedule.

March 14, 2006: Added details of the March meeting, Wednesday, March 15, 2006, see program schedule.

February 13, 2006: Added details of the February meeting, Wednesday, February 15, 2006, see program schedule.

January 13, 2006: Added details of the January meeting, Wednesday, January 18, 2006, see program schedule.

January 2, 2006:Check out Richard J. Nelson's new article on "Evaluating A Macro Photography Camera."

January 1, 2006:Happy New Year! Dates for the 2006 program and workshop schedule are now live. Descriptions for each meeting will be posted nearer the meeting date, see program schedule.

The deadline for entry to Nikon's annual Small World Photomicrography Competition is April 28, 2006, and that for Olympus's annual Bioscapes Digital Imaging Competition is September 29, 2006, see news and events page for further information.

December 1, 2005: No meeting this month, instead members are invited to gather for a celebratory dinner on Saturday, December 10, see program schedule.

November 1, 2005: Don't forget this month's meeting on Wednesday, November 16, our annual exhibition night! See program schedule.

October 16, 2005: Added details of the October meeting, Wednesday, October 19, 2005, see program schedule.

September 30, 2005: Vol. 9, No. 2 March/April 2004 Journal available for download from the web site (check the members area).

September 19, 2005: Added details of the September meeting, Wednesday, September 21, 2005, see program schedule.

September 14, 2005: Updated members list, check the members area. See news and events page for details of the 2005 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition, deadline for entries is September 30, 2005.

August 25, 2005: Updated members list, check the members area.

August 15, 2005: Added details of the August meeting, Wednesday, August 17, 2005, see program schedule.

July 19, 2005: Added details of the July meeting, Wednesday, July 20, 2005, see program schedule.

July 14, 2005: Added details of the hands-on workshop on Saturday July 16, 2005, on the fertilization of a Sea Urchin and facilitated by Dr. John Moss, check the members area.

June 13, 2005: Added details of the June meeting, Wednesday, June 15, 2005, see program schedule. Added details of the hands-on workshop on Saturday June 18, 2005, on the preparation of marine specimen slides facilitated by Ed Tarvyd, check the members area.

May 30, 2005: Vol. 8, No. 6 November/December 2003 Journal available for download from the web site (check the members area). Added details of the hands-on workshop on phase contrast, Saturday, August 20, 2005, see workshop information in the members area. The Tri-Ess Science (Student Science) store in Burbank is closing its doors, see Sales for details of its forthcoming final sale dates.

As many of you may know, the Postal Microscopic Society has ceased circulating slides to US members. Alexander Cummins is working to establish a new postal slide exchange for the US, called the American Postal Microscopical Society (APMS), see News and Events for further information.

May 2, 2005: Updated members list see members area. Also don't forget, the annual Pond Water Meeting, Wednesday, May 18, 2005, see program schedule.

April 11, 2005: Added details of the April meeting, Wednesday, April 20, 2005, see program schedule.

March 19, 2005: Vol. 8, No. 5 September/October 2003 Journal available for download from the web site (check the members area). Also if your are interested in photomicrography, check out three new sites added to the Links area: Amateur Microscopy a forum for exchanging microscopy information and photomicrographs, On Closer Inspection is Tom Webster's web site on photomicrography which also includes a gallery of Jim Solliday's work, and Photomacrography.net a resource for photomacrography imagery and information (and sister site to Amateur Photography). Reminder annual membership fee is due.

March 15, 2005: Added details of the March meeting, Wednesday, March 16, 2005, see program schedule. Also uploaded details of the forthcoming MSSC field trip to Cabrillo Marine Aquarium on April 2, 2005, and details of a trip Ed Tarvyd is arranging to San Simeon State Park on April 29 - May 2, 2005, see workshop listings under the members area.

February 13, 2005: Added details of the February meeting, Wednesday, February 16, 2005, see program schedule. Also uploaded Jim Solliday's powerpoint presentation of the Madrona Marsh Field Trip in 2003 (see workshop descriptions under members area) and the 2003 Holiday Banquet Slideshow of crystal forms, see 2003 meeting schedule.

January 26, 2005: Updated membership list, see members area.

January 18, 2005: Added details of the January meeting, Wednesday, January 19, 2005, see program schedule.

January 2, 2005: The members' area is working again. The 2005 meeting schedule has been posted to the web site.

December 29, 2004: The web site is back up, but the members' pages are still unavailable. Please bear with us while we try to get this resolved. Added details of the 2005 meeting schedule, see program schedule. Added some new links to the Links Page for identifying diatoms, check out Microscopy-UK's Pond Life Identification Kit, Indiana University's Paleolimnology & Diatom Home Page, a site cataloging the inventory of diatoms of the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America, and Cardiff University's Diatom and desmid identification site. Finally, ever been stuck needing an illuminant, but with no batteries or power source to hand, then check out Richard J. Nelson's article on the LED "Forever Flashlight."

December 27, 2004: We have been experiencing some intermittent web site hosting problems. Please bear with us while we try to get this resolved.

November 1, 2004: Added details of the November exhibition meeting, Wednesday, November 17, 2004, see program schedule.

October 9, 2004: Added details of the October meeting, Wednesday, October 20, 2004, see program schedule.

September 10, 2004: Added details of the September meeting, Wednesday, September 15, 2004, see program schedule.

August 16, 2004: Added details of the August meeting, Wednesday, August 18, 2004, see program schedule.

August 13, 2004: Updated membership list, see members area. Added a link to Askland Scientific on the links page. New McCrone sponsored online Microscopy Journal, and the Fourth Annual Southeast Micromounters Gathering and Workshop in February 2005 - see news and events page.

August 2, 2004: Updated membership list, see members area.

July 17, 2004: Updated contacts page and membership list, see members area.

July 7, 2004: Updated membership list, see members area. Remember the practical diatom mounting workshop in July (check the members area).

June 25, 2004: Deadline for entries to the 2004 Nikon Small World competition is approaching (June 30), course on light microscopy at UC Santa Barbara (September 13-17), next Mineralogical Society of Southern California show is in Long Beach (October 16-17) - see news and events for further details on all these. Updated membership list, see members area.

June 11, 2004: Added further details of the June meeting, see program schedule. Also updated membership list, see members area.

June 6, 2004: Added details of the June, July, and September meetings, see program schedule. Also new items for sale on the sales page. Membership list updated and added details of the practical diatom mounting workshop in July (check the members area).

June 4 , 2004: Vol. 8, No. 4 July/August 2003 Journal available for download from the web site (check the members area).

May 15, 2004: Sales page added. See microscope equipment for sale under Items for Sale. Also updated membership list, see members area. Don't forget the annual Pond Life meeting on Wednesday, May 19, 2004. An old friend of the MSSC, Bill Akersten is looking for invertebrate specimens - can you help?, see news and events.

May 13, 2004: Added details of the practical workshop on Saturday May 14, 2004 at Santa Monica College at 9:00am (for members only - check the members area for full details).

April 23, 2004: Celebrating the one year anniversary of the MSSC's new Web site! Check out the picture of George Vitt and Gaylord Moss on MSSC's first anniversary in 1997, on the home page temporarily and also at the end of the MSSC history page. Updated links. Added a link to Mathew Cobb's site on Swammerdam's work. Added details of the annual pond life meeting on May 19, 2004. Also don't forget about Opfer's forthcoming microscope auction of antique microscopes on May 3, 2004 in Timonium, Maryland, see Items for Sale.

April 12, 2004: Added details of the meeting on April 21, 2004.

March 17, 2004: Added details of the meeting on March 17, 2004. Also practical workshop on fresh water pond life coming up this Saturday for members only (check the members area).

March 13, 2004: Vol. 8, No. 3 May/June 2003 Journal available for download from the web site (check the members area). Also added more to the MSSC History.

February 15, 2004: Added details of the meeting on February 18, 2004. Also added a link to Steve Durr's Web site which provides an introduction to photomicrography with many good photos of protozoa, algae and bacteria. Also check out UC Santa Barbara's Advance Course on Light Microscopy, March 22-26, 2004.

Remember that annual membership dues are now due - see the new process, checks made payable to our new Treasurer "Herb Gold - MSSC".

For members only (remember to sign in first if you haven't already done so, to access these links) - please note the change of workshop location for the next three months. Also check out details of the hand-ons practical workshops.

January 28, 2004: Added 2004 Meeting Schedule. Also updated the membership list (check the members area). Interested in polarized light microscopy? - check out the course offered by the New York Microscopical Society on the news and events page.

January 17, 2004: Due to health issues our Treasurer, Dave Hirsch, has resigned and will be turning his duties over to MSSC member Herb Gold. Dave has been serving as our Treasurer for over 27 years and has flawlessly maintained the fiscal order of our group, we all offer him our deepest gratitude for his long service. If you have any receipts or claims that have not yet been paid you have until the end of January 2004 to submit them to Dave Hirsch (see Contacts). Members dues are normally collected at the beginning of each year for the period Jan to Dec, however, the By-Laws provide for a grace period of up to but not to exceed three months. For this year only, we will be collecting the dues from February to December with no interruption in membership.

December 5, 2003: Please join members at the MSSC Holiday Banquet on December 14, 2004, click here for more details. Also updated the membership list (check the members area).

November 17, 2003: Sorry for the delay in updating the site, I've not had computer access for a while due to moving house. Come and join us for the Society's Annual Exhibition Meeting on Wednesday October 19, see program schedule for full details. Vol. 8, No. 2 March/April 2003 Journal available for download from the web site (check the members area).

October 11, 2003: Come and join us for a lecture on Zoonotic Larval Nematode Infections and Childhood Diseases by Dr. Lawrence Ash, Department of Biological Sciences, UCLA on Wednesday October 15, see program schedule for full details. Updated news and events page. Replaced image on homepage to an incredible diatom photo by MSSC member John deHaas.

September 12, 2003: Come and join us for a lecture on oral biofilms by Dr. Clifton Franklund, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach on Wednesday September 17, see program schedule for full details.

September 1 , 2003: Added photo of Ken Miller to the contact us page. Added links to the web sites for The Postal Microscopic Society, Virtual Museum of Microscopy, MicroLinks, Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer, and WARD'S Natural Science Establishment, Inc. under links.

August 15, 2003: August meeting details added.

August 1, 2003: MSSC History pages added.

July 10, 2003: 2003 Journal archives updated (check the members area).

June 16, 2003: How to Join page added.

May 16, 2003: Added photos of the MSSC Officers on the contact us page.

April 23, 2003: News and Events pages added.

April 16, 2003: MSSC web site relaunched at www.msscweb.org