(Olympus: Center Valley, PA) -- The First Surface Metrology Seminar for the Americas will convene at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Oct. 24–25, 2011, and will be supported by Olympus, a leader in industrial measurement and imaging instruments. The conference will focus on the latest advances in surface topography, texture, and roughness.

Surface metrology is a rapidly growing field of research. Because objects interact with each other at their surfaces, knowing the exact nature of those interactions can affect our understanding of such diverse phenomena as the way a medical device acts within the human body, the way paint adheres to a car, how a coating makes a pill easier to swallow, or whether a new kind of solar panel will be effective at gathering light.

“This meeting will help attendees deepen their understanding of surface metrology and enhance their work in a wide variety of disciplines ranging from design engineering and manufacturing to anthropology, archaeology, and forensics,” says Chris Brown, Ph.D., a professor at WPI, director of its Surface Metrology Laboratory, and a co-chair of the seminar.

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