Perspectives in Scanning Probe Microscopy from the 2021 Joint International Scanning Probe Microscopy and Scanning Probe Microscopy on Soft and Polymeric Materials Conference

Published

November 30, 2021

Author(s)

Liam Collins, Jason Killgore, Samuel Berweger, Rachael Cohn, neus domingo, Georg Fantner, Rajiv Giridharagopal, Sergei Kalinin, Philippe LECLERE, Simon Scheuring, Rama Vasudevan, Dalia Yablon

Abstract

In March 2020 our plans for organizing and hosting one of the premier scanning probe microscopy (SPM) conferences in Breckenridge, Colorado, USA were well underway. For the first time the meeting would synergistically combine International Scanning Probe Microscopy (ISPM) and Scanning Probe Microscopy on Soft and Polymeric Materials (SPMonSPM), to increase the breadth of audience expertise and experience. We coined the joint conference iSPM3 – a moniker we hope will persist in future events. The plans for 2020 iSPM3 screeched to a halt in mid-March, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily, we were able to regroup and reimagine the conference for 2021 as a virtual experience. The conference took place between June 28 to July 2, 2021 with a mix of live and pre-recorded content. Throughout the week were four live panel discussions, three plenary talks, 23 invited talks, 75 contributed talks, 15 posters and three social events. The technical program represented much of the latest and most impactful research in the field. The panel discussions sought to step back from specific research findings and assess the state of SPM as it pertains to some of the most pressing opportunities and influential successes. The lively discussions painted a vibrant future for SPM in both breadth and detail, and we hope that similar discussion can be a mainstay of future SPM conferences. We attempt, in this article, to distill some of that discussion; to motivate researchers across the field of SPM in the coming years.

Citation

Microscopy and Analysis

Volume

57

Issue

1

Pub Type

Journals

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Local Download

Keywords

Scanning Probe Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy

Citation

Collins, L. , Killgore, J. , Berweger, S. , Cohn, R. , Domingo, N. , Fantner, G. , Giridharagopal, R. , Kalinin, S. , LECLERE, P. , Scheuring, S. , Vasudevan, R. and Yablon, D. (2021), Perspectives in Scanning Probe Microscopy from the 2021 Joint International Scanning Probe Microscopy and Scanning Probe Microscopy on Soft and Polymeric Materials Conference, Microscopy and Analysis, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=933709 (Accessed October 9, 2025)