To explore surface metrology and its varied applications, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is hosting a three-day international conference October 26-28 at the WPI Campus Center in Worcester, MA, with support from Olympus America Inc. The conference will focus on the latest advances and insights in surface metrology fundamentals, methods, equipment, software, and applications. 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, is a growing area of industrial research and development.

The International Conference on Surface Metrology is open to engineers, scientists, technicians and the general public interested in surface roughness and surface metrology applications. The program features extensive tutorials, exhibits, and technical sessions addressing numerous technologies, industries and applications.  In addition to engineering topics the conference includes technical presentations on surface metrology in archeology, anthropology and cultural preservation.   There also will be poster sessions, an opening reception and a conference dinner for participants.

Olympus, whose Scientific Equipment Group's industrial microscopes and metrology systems are used 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 technology, including the new LEXT OLS4000 laser scanning confocal microscope, which allows high quality imaging and data collection, even with complex and hard-to-measure surfaces.