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Can we imagine a future where diseases are detected before symptoms appear? Will we be able to observe how cancer treatment works at the cellular level while the patient is being treated? Can we, atom by atom, build new materials with customised properties? The answer is yes. These are just some of the possibilities that are emerging in the development of micro- and nanoscale imaging techniques. And this is very much the intention behind the European Microscopy Congress (EMC), Europe’s largest and most significant conference in microscopy and imaging of the smallest components of life and matter.
Since 1956, EMC has been a leading international forum for knowledge sharing in this field and is organised by the European Microscopy Society and the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy. In collaboration with the Nordic Microscopy Society, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) had the honour of co-hosting the conference when it was held for the first time on Danish soil and gathered 2,435 participants from 51 countries at Bella Center in Copenhagen on 25-30 August 2024. Micro and nanoscale imaging is of great importance, also for Denmark as a leading nation in the field, and the Otto Mønsted Foundation supported DTU with DKK 350,000 to gather as many experts as possible for the conference.
EMC2024 consisted of a large exhibition with almost 100 suppliers of relevant instrumentation and accessories and a comprehensive interdisciplinary scientific conference. The exhibition alone was a unique opportunity to compare and get demonstrations of the latest products from many different suppliers.
A hotspot for the invisible
During the conference, participants had access to over 1,360 scientific presentations on micro and nanotechnologies in a meeting with the world’s leading researchers. All with the same purpose – to develop the visions for the technologies that will enable researchers to see even further into the invisible world. Technological breakthroughs were presented that will shape the next decades in medicine, nanotechnology and sustainable development. And new collaborations were created between researchers, companies and technological frontrunners, strengthening Denmark’s position as a global player in microscopy and nanotechnology.
EMC is a unique opportunity for PhD students, young researchers and technical staff to learn and network with leading experts in the field. With the support of the Otto Mønsted Foundation, DTU Nanolab, in its role as co-host, was able to award travel grants to 103 young researchers from Slovenia, Australia, Czech Republic, Switzerland and many other countries.
It was a momentous five days with the overall goal of bringing researchers, students, technical staff from universities and industry together to exchange ideas, discuss and share knowledge across disciplines.
“It was a pleasure to observe the lively scientific buzz throughout the conference. A buzz that stems from scientific discussions between researchers of all ages – both during the poster sessions, the scientific talks – and even during the conference dinner. These are the kind of discussions that foster research collaborations across groups and national borders,” says Jakob Birkedal Wagner, Professor and Head of the Characterisation Section at DTU Nanolab.
Jakob Birkedal Wagner’s expectation that the conference would also lead to new research collaborations between DTU and the rest of the research world did not disappoint.
For him and senior researcher Alice Bastos Fanta (DTU Nanolab), the conference led to an initial collaboration with a company in the UK that produces electron detectors to develop and use their products for specific purposes in materials research of thin film materials and customised materials for e.g. solar cells.
Associate Professor Christian D. Damsgaard from DTU Nanolab describes EMC2024 as a great success. Not only in terms of hearing cutting-edge presentations from the world’s leading research groups, but also in terms of the opportunity to create and expand his own research network.
“I took the opportunity to talk to the electron microscopy group from the Institute of Nanotechnology at the Technical University Karlsruhe (KIT). The informal talk we had has now been concretised into an exchange already in 2025, where a PhD student from KIT will visit DTU and perform joint experiments with the goal of writing a joint publication.”
PhD student Joakim Lajer from DTU Nanolab got in touch with Dr Alexandra Suvorova from the University of Western Australia, who showed him new opportunities to use advanced electron microscopy techniques in his research.
“I also attended one of her lectures where she provided insights into funding opportunities that could help me develop my PhD work with new microscopy techniques at her university.”
