MICROSCOPY STRATEGIC ADVISORY GROUP

The group met on Wednesday 18th June 2003 in the Faculty Board Room, RSBS.

Present were: Prof. Jonathan Stone (Chair), Dr Paul Cooper (BoZo), Dr David Ellis (Geology), Dr John Fitz Gerald (RSES), Prof Simon Ringer (USyd), Dr Zbigniew Stachurski (FEIT), Dr Sally Stowe (ANUEMU), Dr Helen O’Neill (BAMBI), Dr Ray Withers (RSC),

Documents tabled: 2003 ANUEMU Budget Update.

1. Introductions.

2. Apologies: Prof. Ian Jackson, Dr Rosemary White, Dr Tim Senden, Dr Bruce Walmsley

3. Minutes. The minutes of the meeting of 8th August 2002 were accepted.

4. 2003 ANUEMU Report (previously circulated) was noted.

5. 2004 Major Equipment Bid - Analytical SEM

The group confirmed the next major equipment purchase should be a Schottky (warm cathode) general purpose analytical FESEM, at a cost of approximately $600K, and agreed that a LIEF bid for should be lodged in 2004. Dr Stowe asked for assistance in identifying and marshalling sources of funds in addition to the ARC and EM Reserve.

6. Confocal and deconvolution light microscopy - possibilities for the EMU

Professor Stone pointed out the increasing importance of light microscopy, the high demand for the existing basic light microscopy facilities in the ANUEMU, and the need to provide better access to more advanced LM technologies such as confocal and computational deconvolution.
He reported that an inverted 4-laser inverted confocal light microscope in the Plant Cell Biology Group of RSBS would be transferred to ANUEMU management from July 1, and that efforts were in progress to secure funds for a deconvolution system. The extension of ANUEMU activities was supported by the group. Dr Stachurski suggested that it be featured in the CSEM publication "Materials Monthly".

7. 2003 ANUEMU Budget Update
Dr Stowe tabled a summary of the expected non-salary expenditure in 2003. She reported that the funding problems of the previous year had been alleviated by the lifting of ARC levies from the ANUEMU budget, and supplementation that compensated for the effect of the levy in previous years. A small amount of flexibility had returned to the operating budget.

The question of recovery of funds from ARC grants was raised by Dr Fitz Gerald. Prof. Stone asked Dr Stowe to provide a paper on ANUEMU charging, Prof. Ringer offered his assistance.

Discussion of CM300 operating fund - Dr Fitz Gerald reported that c.$13,000 had been collected so far this year from users' research grants, but warned that average maintenance costs to date had been close to $22,000 pa.

8. Campus-wide Strategies.
(i) Equipment.
The group discussed the existing "Equipment Priorities" document, particularly in relation to TEMs, and the high purchase and running costs of field emission TEMs.

(ii) Review of campus microscopy.
The importance of a number of microscopies, including scanned probe microscopy, was discussed. Prof. Ringer talked of this as a "formative time" in Australian science, when major organisational changes were occurring, and there was opportunity and need for microscopy infrastructure to play an important enabling role.
Dr Ellis raised the possibility of concentrating microscopy facilities in a new, purpose-built site. It was agreed that the distribution of facilities and their funding across campus was a major question to be considered in the future.

9. Other business:
Meeting frequency
The group agreed to meet at two-monthly intervals for sessions of approximately an hour, preferably at 1pm

The Meeting closed at 1.15pm.