The McRI Course Experience

The McRI certificate in Applied Polarized Light Microscopy presented by Walter C. McCrone to Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, August 14-18, 1656

Our intensive one-week courses focus on the application of microscopy to the solution of chemical, environmental and forensic problems.

Every course is based on lectures, demonstrations and laboratory practice. Each student learns each technique by hearing about it, watching it being done and then doing it themselves. Live video is used extensively for both macro- and micro-projection in the lectures and classroom demonstrations. Each student is supplied with a polarized light microscope and all necessary accessories, reagents and text materials.

To avoid disappointment on your part – and ours – we want you to know what to expect from these courses. Each course would be a full 3 credit-hour course if taught in a college or university. It is intensive and fast-moving. All of the course material cannot reasonably be absorbed in one week. All of our courses are intensive, graduate level courses. Anyone missing any half-day session the first three days will be left behind. Except in unusual situations they will not be allowed to continue.

Most students return to their laboratories after their first microscopy course equipped with a broad appreciation of the capabilities of microscopy along with the theoretical and practical tools necessary to continue their development as microscopists. Proficiency with the methods comes only with their continued practice.

After several months to a year of laboratory application, many students return to McRI for a second course where the principles and techniques of the initial course are reviewed and expanded upon. The intervening experience provides an essential frame of reference for the second course, even when portions of the second course duplicate the first. Students are then in a position to acquire greater understanding and to refine their technique within the context of their practical work. Subsequent courses provide uninterrupted time for intensive study in a specialized area and increasingly more sophisticated and focused instruction from the teaching staff.

McRI also offers a certification as a formal way for students to be evaluated, monitored and recognized for their knowledge and practical abilities in chemical microscopy. It is meant to provide a tangible training goal and a positive structure to the student’s training.
More Information about the Certification in Applied Chemical Microscopy Program

Our basic course – Applied Polarized Light Microscopy [1201] – is a basic course in the techniques of polarized light microscopy. Several other courses (numbered 1202-1209) are closely related to course 1201, but are designed for microscopists in a variety of specialized fields. Many of our advanced courses expand topic areas introduced in these basic courses, creating a family of specialized, intensive week-long courses. These course topics include: Digitial Imaging & Photomicrography [1105], Advanced Polarized Light Microscopy [1251], Microchemical Methods [1270A] and Particle Manipulation and Sample Preparation for Microanalytical Techniques [1501E].

Over the last decade, a significant percentage of our courses have emphasized the identification of asbestos and other components in bulk insulation and construction materials. Several thousand of our students now analyze millions of asbestos samples each year. Besides teaching asbestos identification methods, the McCrone Research Institute was instrumental in the development of these methods, for which Dr. McCrone received the Irving Selikoff award of the National Asbestos Council in 1990.

Although we maintain a strong program in asbestos analysis, our enrollments are equally significant in other areas of environmental, forensic and industrial microscopy. Over the past ten years, 17 new courses have been introduced, including most recently those covering topics of Indoor Air Quality, Practical Infrared Microspectroscopy FTIR, Raman Microscopy, and several other topics.

More than 45 different courses are offered, some several times each year, some annually, and some every other year. More than 50 Chicago courses are scheduled each year, with additional courses taught on-site, at Cornell University and in the UK by our sister organization, McCrone Scientific Ltd. (London). The current course schedule will be sent upon request or can be viewed by clicking the McRI Course Listing

McRI is not affiliated with any particular microscope manufacturer, nor do we have a division that sells microscope accessories and supplies, and we do not (either directly or indirectly) benefit from consulting work with their students companies.

All of the McCrone courses and their descriptions can be accessed on this website. We will be happy to work with you in planning a curriculum and courses best suited to you and your company.

The McCrone Research Institute reserves the right to reschedule or cancel courses because of low enrollment or extenuating circumstances. All of the participants will be notified by email, fax or phone. We will make every effort to contact participants as early as possible.

An alphabetical listing of McCrone Research Institute Faculty and Staff

Further Information:

McCrone Research Institute
2820 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616-3230
312-842-7100 (phone)
312-842-1078 (fax)
info@mcri.org