Louis Kerr, Sterling Newberry, Nicholas Antoniou

Louis Kerr, Sterling Newberry, Nicholas Antoniou

The 46th Annual Fall Symposium and Business Meeting were held on November 30th at Gordon College’s Ken Olson Science Center. The evening consisted of five technical talks, a buffet dinner, and a business meeting. NESM attendees received a warm welcome from Gordon students and a delightful dinner in a beautiful and inviting atmosphere.

The technical talks began with Dr. Barbara Beltz and her graduate student, Paula Chaves da Silva describing how microscopy has aided them in identifying the hematopoietic system as a potential source for first-generation neuronal precursors. Dr. Alexander Smetana of NanoInk Inc. followed by educating the audience on innovations in nanoscale printing with his talk on Tip Based Lithography.

After a brief break for refreshments, the technical talks continued with a visually stunning presentation by Dr. James Weaver. Dr. Weaver of the Wyss Institute received many “ooh’s” and “aah’s” from the audience as he shared the latest developments in wide-field, polychromatic, and stereo SEM. Dr. Pavel Dorozhkin extended the discussion of innovative techniques by presenting his work on the integration of atomic force microscopy with optical spectroscopy. Dr. Dorozhkin outlined the advantages and difficulties involved in Tip Enhanced Raman Scattering as a technique to increase spatial information and resolution.

After a beautiful dinner, the technical talks continued with the keynote speaker, Dr. Darlene R. Ketten of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Dr. Ketten gave a captivating and dynamic talk about her work on understanding the anatomy of biosonar. Dr. Ketten described how she uses conventional and MicroCT imaging to gain insight into head, pinnal, and cochlear cytoarchitecture in marine mammals and the implications of these structures for ultrasonic encoding and acuity. Dr. Ketten shed light on the world of underwater acoustics and importance of auditory information in aquatic ecosystems.

At the conclusion of the technical talks, Dr. Fettah Kosar, NESM President 2013, led the business meeting portion of the evening. Dr. Kosar discussed many of the new initiatives taken by the NESM Board over the past year. These initiatives include a conscious effort to increase our student membership and student presence at NESM meetings by dramatically reducing registration fees and adjusting the society bylaws to promote activity from young professionals and recent graduates. The business meeting ended with the election of seven members to office: Blair Rossetti – President Elect 2014, Jared Kelly – Clerk 2014, Louis Kerr – Treasurer 2013, Monica Zugravu – Corresponding Secretary 2014, Dr. Trevor Wardill – Biological Science Director 2013, Dr. Jennifer Ross – Biological Sciences Director 2015, and Robert Brandom – Physical Sciences Director 2015.

NESM would like to kindly thank Dr. Ming Zheng and Gordon College for again providing a beautiful venue to host our 46th Annual Fall Symposium and Business Meeting. The meeting was a fantastic success with all of the attendees leaving with full brains and full stomachs.

Blair Rossetti
NESM President-Elect


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