Last week, from October 20-22, Characterization@UBC hosted its inaugural Fall School, a three-day training program showcasing the breadth of advanced characterization techniques across scientific disciplines, at UBC Fred Kaiser 2020/30.
The Fall School featured an extensive lineup of topics including scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), 4D-STEM, atom probe tomography, X-ray-based methods, and Raman spectroscopy, among others. The program combined seminars, lectures, panel discussion, and lab tours, offering participants a comprehensive view of the techniques and tools driving their research work.
The event opened with remarks from Dr. Vicky Bungay, Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Applied Science at UBC, followed by a keynote lecture by Dr. Juan Carlos Idrobo (University of Washington) on advances in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Invited speakers Dr. Karen Kavanagh (SFU) and Dr. Arthur Blackburn (UVic) also shared their expertise in TEM and Ptychography, respectively.
We are grateful to the many cluster members who contributed as speakers, panelists, and organizers. We would like to specially extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Matt Tarling, Dr. Lacey Samuels, and Dr. Nancy Ford, along with the cluster’s management team – Dr. Ben Britton (cluster lead), Dr. Anette von der Handt, Dr. Ismail El-Baggari, and Dr. Mark Martinez – for their tireless work behind the scenes to realize this training school.
In conjunction with the event, the organizing team hosted a poster session that drew 13 submissions. The following participants were recognized for their outstanding work:
First Prize: Muhammad Haroon Qaiser – “Seeing Crystallographic Defects in a Scanning Electron Microscope”
Second Prize: AnnaMaria Zubieta – “Plastic-Binding Peptides for Microplastic Detection in Water Using a UV-LED Activated Sensor”
Third Prize: Dr. Ruth Birch – “Analytical Electron Microscopy with a Xe-Plasma Focused Ion Beam – Scanning Electron Microscope (pFIB-SEM) at UBC”
People’s Choice Award: Muhammad Haroon Qaiser – “Seeing Crystallographic Defects in a Scanning Electron Microscope”
The event saw strong participation from faculty, staff researchers, and graduate students across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan, as well as SFU, fostering dynamic discussions and new collaborations.
We were thrilled to see such enthusiastic engagement and knowledge exchange across our growing community. The feedback received will help us shape an even better version of Fall School next year – one that continues to bolster and strengthen UBC’s characterization ecosystem.