By the Imaging and Characterization Core Lab team and Andrea Hulsbosch
The KAUST Imaging and Characterization Core Lab (IAC) recently co-hosted a materials science optical microscopy workshop with Leica Microsystems. The workshop attracted scientists from KAUST as well as other Saudi institutions, including King Abdulaziz University (KAU) and glass company Obeikan.
The training was tailored to researchers with an interest in applying cutting-edge techniques on defect detection, infrared silicon interior inspection, topography analysis, polymers, coating analysis, crystal analysis and metallography.
During the event, several Leica application experts discussed fundamental optical microscopy techniques applied to materials science, providing attendees with a solid theoretical background. Topics such as basic optics, differential interference contrast (DIC), dark field, phase contrast, polarization, birefringent materials and metallography microscopy and state-of-the-art digital microscopy were introduced. After the talks, attendees practiced their newly learned theory in a hands-on training at the IAC optical microscopy lab led by IAC staff scientist Ebtihaj Bukhari. They were given access to a suite of optical microscopes, including Leica's latest stereomicroscope DVM6 for 2D and 3D imaging and analysis.
The collaborative event was an implementation of the KAUST-Leica Microsystems Center of Excellence in Optical Microscopy and organized by the team at IAC. In the future, a series of educational events such as workshops, seminars and beta tests of new microscopy equipment will be hosted annually. "We are looking forward to attending more workshops of this kind in the future," said Dr. Mohammed Sazid, assistant professor at KAU.
The aim of events like this one is to enrich the Kingdom's researchers with fundamental knowledge and mastery of the latest optical microscopy technologies and methodologies.