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| International Federation of Societies for Microscopy | |
|---|---|
| Name | International Federation of Societies for Microscopy |
| Abbreviation | IFSM |
| Formation | 1950s |
| Type | Federation |
| Headquarters | Geneva |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | National and regional societies |
International Federation of Societies for Microscopy is an international federation coordinating national and regional societys in the field of microscopy. It serves as an umbrella for professional associations, linking researchers, instrument manufacturers, and educators across continents including Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Oceania. The federation facilitates large-scale events such as congresses and collaborates with international organizations including United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, and International Council for Science.
The federation traces origins to post‑World War II initiatives that mirrored cooperation seen in organizations like International Electrotechnical Commission, World Health Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency and Council of Europe to rebuild scientific networks. Early meetings involved representatives from societies such as the Royal Microscopical Society, German Society for Electron Microscopy, American Society for Cell Biology, Microscopy Society of America, and the Biophysical Society, with influence from leading figures associated with Ernst Ruska, Max Knoll, Fritz Zernike, and Marvin Minsky. During the Cold War era, the federation navigated interactions with delegations from the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, Japan, and India, paralleling diplomatic patterns seen at the Non‑Aligned Movement summits. In the late 20th century the federation expanded after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, incorporating societies from new states formerly part of the Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, and engaging with regional groups like the European Microscopy Society and the Asia‑Pacific Microscopy Society.
The federation is governed by an executive council and relies on national member societies such as the Royal Microscopical Society, Microscopy Society of America, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Elektronenmikroskopie, Japanese Society of Microscopy, Indian Microscopy Society, Brazilian Society for Microscopy, and the South African Microscopical Society. Affiliations link to major institutions including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Max Planck Society, National Institutes of Health, China Academy of Sciences, and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Membership categories reflect practices used by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and incorporate corporate partners drawn from companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, JEOL, FEI Company, and Hitachi High-Technologies. The federation interfaces with standards bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization and professional networks including the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Core activities mirror programs run by organizations like the International Council for Science and include coordination of congresses, promotion of best practice standards similar to those from the International Standards Organization, support for training initiatives analogous to World Health Organization programs, and outreach modeled on Royal Society education efforts. The federation runs working groups on topics comparable to committees within the European Commission and collaborates with bodies such as the International Union of Crystallography, American Chemical Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Society for Neuroscience to address cross‑disciplinary challenges. Partnerships extend to philanthropic foundations like the Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on capacity building in low‑resource regions.
The federation organizes periodic international congresses held in cities similar to Geneva, Tokyo, New York City, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Cape Town, São Paulo, Moscow, and Beijing, following models of major meetings such as the International Congress of Mathematicians and the World Congress on Information Technology. These congresses attract delegates from institutions including the University of Oxford, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Tokyo, University of Cape Town, and Peking University. Satellite symposia and regional meetings echo formats used by the European Geosciences Union and American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Scientific initiatives include task forces on techniques paralleling developments at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, focusing on methods like cryo‑electron microscopy championed by researchers at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, super‑resolution microscopy influenced by work at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and correlative light and electron microscopy practiced at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Educational programs align with curricula from institutions such as University College London, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and École Normale Supérieure, offering workshops inspired by training at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and fellowship schemes resembling those of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The federation administers awards that recognize contributions akin to honors from the Nobel Committee, the Royal Society, the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich's prizes, and medals similar to those of the American Chemical Society. Award recipients have included scientists with affiliations to Cambridge University, California Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, and Johns Hopkins University, while honorary lectures mirror traditions established by the Royal Institution and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Communications include proceedings and newsletters distributed in modes comparable to journals like Nature, Science, Journal of Microscopy, and Ultramicroscopy, and archive collaborations with publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Oxford University Press, and Wiley. The federation uses online platforms modeled on the Digital Object Identifier system and repositories similar to arXiv and PubMed Central to disseminate protocols and standards adopted by organizations like the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics and the International Union of Crystallography.
Category:Microscopy