CENTER VALLEY, PA-The 2nd International Conference on Surface Metrology will convene at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) from October 25-27 and will again be supported by Olympus, a leader in industrial measurement and imaging instruments. The conference will focus on the latest advances in the study of surface roughness, which can affect everything from the way a coating adheres to a pill to the way light travels through solar panels. Since objects interact with one another at their surfaces, this field is one of the fastest-growing areas of industrial research and development.

The three-day conference will include keynote speakers Mady Elias, Ph.D. of the Institut des Nanosciences de Paris, who will discuss the "Influence of surface roughness on visual appearance;" Richard Leach, Ph.D. of the National Physical Laboratory, UK, who will speak on "Do we really know how to measure surfaces?" and Peter S. Ungar, Ph.D. of the University of Arkansas, whose topic is "Microscopic use-wear on teeth and diets of human ancestors and other fossil mammals." Other sessions will focus on the latest advances and insights in surface metrology fundamentals, methods, equipment, software and applications.

The International Conference on Surface Metrology is open to engineers, scientists, technicians and others interested in surface roughness and surface metrology applications. The program features extensive tutorials, exhibits, and technical sessions addressing numerous industries, technologies and applications. There also will be poster sessions, an opening reception and a conference dinner for participants.

The first International Conference on Surface Metrology in October 2009 was a great success, including more than 40 presentations from eight countries.

"Attendees learn about methodologies that are used in diverse fields and can uncover new ideas for approaches that might work for them," says Christopher A. Brown, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Surface Metrology Lab at WPI, who is chairing the conference. Olympus, whose Scientific Equipment Group's industrial microscopes and metrology systems play a leading role in precision R&D, engineering and manufacturing applications in fields as diverse as aerospace, the automotive industry, electronics, materials science/metallurgy, medical devices, photovoltaics and semiconductors, is supporting the conference with personnel and advanced technology, including the recently introduced LEXT OLS4000 laser scanning confocal microscope, which allows high quality imaging and data collection, even with the most complex and hard-to-measure surfaces.

"Surface topography, texture and roughness are among the most important aspects of metrology," says Matt Smith, director of sales and marketing for Olympus America Inc., Scientific Equipment Group-Industrial Microscopes. "Supporting the WPI conference and attending it ourselves is part of our long-term commitment to metrology and to the development of professionals in this exciting field."

For more information on the WPI International Conference on Surface Metrology, contact David Rideout at Olympus America Inc., phone (484) 896-5792; e-mail david.rideout@olympus.com; or visit http://surfacemetrology.org.