Hello Fellow Microscopist,

If you are reading this, consider yourself a part of an experiment, one of my own creation. A blog about microscopy. Or perhaps more precisely, a periodic venting of my own personal views on some aspect of microscopy, the business of microscopy, future trends and/or other factors impacting on those working in “microscopy”.

Who am I?

Some know me as Charles A. Garber and others know me as “Dr. Garber” For those who know me through postings on listservers and newsgroups, I am known as “Chuck”. For the blog, I will be known as “MicroChuck”. No snickering about that name will be tolerated….but it seemed only natural to combine “Chuck” with something suggesting “microscopy”.

Do I have any such credentials to prognosticate about future trends in microscopy? Or other aspects of microscopy? I will let the readers be the judge. I have worked my entire professional life in electron microscopy. And for the past 36+ years, I have created, grown, and nurtured my own firm, Structure Probe, Inc, which to some is better known as SPI Supplies. We now employ 35+ scientists, engineers, and others in our West Chester, PA USA headquarters. Not many companies serving the microscopy and microanalysis market can claim that many years under the same management and ownership. But I do believe this lifetime of working in the microscopy field, not just as a researcher using microscopes but also as an entrepreneur and corporate manager, does give me some unique insights into the microscopy world.

In order to attract a wide viewer base, MicroChuck will not be covering highly technical points and concepts. This is better left to the many fine scientific meetings and publications. Here we will talk about topics of interest to microscopists generally, not just life science or materials science, not just to cutting edge researchers but also to high school teachers and even students. I plan to emphasize future trends, not just from the technical but also from the management, quality, marketing, and even career perspectives. We plan to cover topics that will be of interest and understood by virtually anyone using any kind of a microscope, be it a few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand dollars……

Why am I doing this? I guess my first off response is that I want to share what I think in some instances, represents unique perspectives on our industry and profession. I hope others might benefit from my experience and views. Oh, yes, this will, if done correctly, enhance the already excellent branding (brand reputation) of SPI Supplies and Structure Probe, Inc. There might even be some links to certain pages on the SPI Supplies website but such links would be there only if they enhanced the value of the content in that particular posting. When appropriate there could be even links to sites of other firms or in an extraordinary circumstance, even to relevant website pages of competitors. But the content covered and the thoughts expressed will be 100% my own, and under no circumstances would money or any other consideration be accepted to mention or promote any particular concept or product. This will be a completely independent undertaking and one should not be surprised if my comments at times might even seem to upset those with whom I might like to do business (through SPI Supplies).

At some point, as the traffic builds to the MicroChuck blog, we might invite a limit number of firms serving the microscopy industry to be listed on the side as a “sponsor”. This will be done tastefully and unobtrusively. Yes, for these we will accept a payment to help defray the costs of running MicroChuck. Since there will be an opportunity for any viewer to post their own comments regarding thoughts expressed by MicroChuck, more than anything else it will be our viewers who keep us true to our stated goals and objectives.

Thank you for visiting the MicroChuck blog. This is the introductory posting. I hope you will return often. I hope you will share your views with the concept of the MicroChuck blog.

MicroChuck