Schedule of Events and Registration

Register and pay securely online or complete the fillable PDF attendee registration form for fax or snail mail.

Check this page regularly for updates to the events schedule.

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Author Presentations
McCrone Lecture Room
View abstracts

10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Morning Break, sponsored by Millette Technical Consulting

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Taquero Taco Lunch, sponsored by TAKA, in memory of Mrs. Madeleine V. Kubic
McCrone Garden

12:00 – 5:00 p.m.
SMSI Silent Auction
McCrone Classroom
Bid on microscopy equipment and other related items of interest at the annual silent auction benefitting the State Microscopical Society of Illinois (SMSI). Winners will be announced Wednesday afternoon after the speaker presentations. Learn more

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Afternoon Break, sponsored by McCrone Research Institute

Photomicrography Competition
Sponsored by pH2, LLC
We invite you to submit photomicrographs taken with any microscopy technique — darkfield, brightfield, fluorescence, interference contrast, polarized light, SEM, etc. The deadline for in-person submissions at Inter/Micro 2023 is 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 13. Awards for Best Overall Image, Most Unique Image, and Best SEM Image will be announced at the SMSI Awards Dinner, Wednesday, June 14. Learn more

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Author Presentations
McCrone Lecture Room
View abstracts

9:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
SMSI Silent Auction
McCrone Classroom
Bid on microscopy equipment and other related items of interest at the annual silent auction benefitting the State Microscopical Society of Illinois (SMSI). Winners will be announced Wednesday afternoon after the speaker presentations. Learn more

10:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Morning Break, sponsored by Millette Technical Consulting

12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Thai Luncheon, sponsored by Cargille Labs
McCrone Garden

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Afternoon Break, sponsored by Cargille Labs

6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
State Microscopical Society of Illinois Awards Dinner
Buddy Guy’s Legends, 700 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago
Sponsored by Cargille Labs
6:00 – 6:30 p.m. Social hour
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Dinner and drinks
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. Award announcement and presentations, photomicrography contest results
Dinner includes a wristband for free admission to live music beginning at 5:30 p.m. until closing.

Join Inter/Micro and the State Microscopical Society of Illinois (SMSI) as they honor Walter J. Rantanen with the 2022 August Köhler Award. Mr. Rantanen is Technical Leader of the Fiber Lab at SGS-Integrated Paper Services. He holds a B.S. in Wood Products Engineering with an emphasis on wood anatomy from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY. He has more than 30 years of experience conducting paper fiber analysis courses through his association with SGS-IPS and The Institute of Paper Chemistry.

Private Event Venue: Buddy Guy’s Legends, owned by seven-time Grammy Award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bluesman Buddy Guy, is renowned as Chicago’s premier blues club, serving tantalizing Cajun and soul cuisine. Since opening in 1989, the Legends stage has been graced by some of the world’s most talented musicians such as The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bo Diddley, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Junior Wells, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to name a few. Learn more and view the SMSI dinner menu

Thursday – Friday, June 15 – 16, 2023

Workshop: Microscope, Cleaning, Maintenance, and Adjustment
Sponsored by Cargille Labs
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (lunch: 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.) both days
McCrone Laboratories and Classrooms

This two-day, hands-on Inter/Micro workshop will introduce the microscopist to the routine — and not-so-routine — cleaning, maintenance, and mechanical adjustments required to keep monocular, binocular, compound, stereo, polarized, phase contrast, and other light microscopes operating like new. Attendees will be introduced to basic microscope functionality, the various methods and schools of thought on lens and parts cleaning, lubrication, optics, image formation, and how to adjust for proper illumination, including a variety of “tricks of the trade” gleaned from microscope publications and previous experience teaching these methods to hundreds of students. Learn more