MSA 2025 Strategic Initiatives Announced!
The MSA is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Strategic Initiative Awards, recognizing innovative projects that advance the Society’s mission and support the broader microscopy and microanalysis community.
Following a thorough review process, the Strategic Initiative Review Committee has recommended funding for proposals that reflect creativity, strategic vision, and strong potential for impact. These initiatives span a range of focus areas—from community building and outreach to scientific advancement and early career support.
The following projects were recognized as highly deserving of funding:
- Elemental Microscopy journal: To support the development and hosting of the EM Curvenote platform (including computational resources, archival storage, and a software intern), to achieve self-sustainability by 2027 through article processing charges.
- MSA Report on Current Status and Future Needs for EM: To support the creation of a formal report on the status and opportunities for electron microscopy in the United States with the goal of helping to drive investment in electron microscopy research and instrumentation in the US over the next decade.
- Developing a National Network of STEM Outreach Leaders: To support the costs of organizing and implementing X-93 symposia at M&M 2025 and M&M 2026.
- Development of the MSA Early Career Council: To support early career programming and professional development activities at M&M and PMC X60, as well as virtual events and publication support throughout the year. This funding will help increase early career engagement and participation in the microscopy community
- Boots on the Ground II: Growing the Student Microscopy Community: To support student representatives' travel to microscopy-related meetings and workshops, as well as networking and outreach efforts at national and international events.
MSA sincerely thanks all individuals and teams who submitted proposals and the Strategic Initiative Review Committee for their thoughtful evaluations and recommendations. We look forward to the progress and impact these projects will bring in the year ahead. To learn more about MSA's Strategic Initiatives program, visit our website here.